Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Computer software
Software is a program that enables a computer to perform a specific task, as opposed to the physical components of the system (hardware). This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to perform a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run properly, by interfacing with hardware and with other software. Practical computer systems divide software into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.
Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer's storage (such as a hard drive, memory, or RAM). Once the software is loaded, the computer is able to execute the software. Computers operate by executing the computer program. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation -- moving data, carrying out a computation, or altering the control flow of instructions.
Related Stories
1
2
Computers & Math News
November 9, 2025
Nov. 9, 2025 — Stanford scientists found that strontium titanate improves its performance when frozen to near absolute zero, showing extraordinary optical and mechanical behavior. Its nonlinear and piezoelectric ...
Nov. 5, 2025 — USC researchers built artificial neurons that replicate real brain processes using ion-based diffusive memristors. These devices emulate how neurons use chemicals to transmit and process signals, offering massive energy and size advantages. The ...
Nov. 5, 2025 — Engineers at the University of Delaware have uncovered a way to bridge magnetism and electricity through magnons—tiny waves that carry information without electrical current. These magnetic waves can generate measurable electric signals within ...
Nov. 2, 2025 — Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in light manipulation by using topological insulators to generate both even and odd terahertz frequencies through high-order harmonic generation (HHG). By embedding these exotic materials into nanostructured ...
Nov. 1, 2025 — More screen time among children and teens is linked to higher risks of heart and metabolic problems, particularly when combined with insufficient sleep. Danish researchers discovered a measurable rise in cardiometabolic risk scores and a metabolic ...
Oct. 30, 2025 — Scientists have developed a groundbreaking tool called Effort.jl that lets them simulate the structure of the universe using just a laptop. The team created a system that dramatically speeds up how researchers study cosmic data, turning what once ...
Oct. 28, 2025 — ETH Zurich scientists have created “MetaGraph,” a revolutionary DNA search engine that functions like Google for genetic data. By compressing global genomic datasets by a factor of 300, it allows researchers to search trillions of DNA and RNA ...
Oct. 28, 2025 — Researchers at Tsinghua University developed the Optical Feature Extraction Engine (OFE2), an optical engine that processes data at 12.5 GHz using light rather than electricity. Its integrated diffraction and data preparation modules enable ...
Oct. 27, 2025 — Two Sydney PhD students have pulled off a remarkable space science feat from Earth—using AI-driven software to correct image blurring in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Their innovation, called AMIGO, fixed distortions in the telescope’s ...
Oct. 22, 2025 — A wireless eye implant developed at Stanford Medicine has restored reading ability to people with advanced macular degeneration. The PRIMA chip works with smart glasses to replace lost photoreceptors using infrared light. Most trial participants ...
Oct. 22, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Surrey developed an AI that predicts what a person’s knee X-ray will look like in a year, helping track osteoarthritis progression. The tool provides both a visual forecast and a risk score, offering doctors and ...
Oct. 14, 2025 — UMass Amherst engineers have built an artificial neuron powered by bacterial protein nanowires that functions like a real one, but at extremely low voltage. This allows for seamless communication with biological cells and drastically improved energy ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Nov. 9, 2025 — New supercomputer simulations hint that dark energy might be dynamic, not constant, subtly reshaping the Universe’s structure. The findings align with recent DESI observations, offering the ...
Oct. 26, 2025 — Life’s origin story just became even more mysterious. Using mathematics and information theory, Robert G. Endres of Imperial College London found that the spontaneous emergence of life from ...
Oct. 26, 2025 — Scientists have found that mushrooms can act as organic memory devices, mimicking neural activity while consuming minimal power. The Ohio State team grew and trained shiitake fungi to perform like ...
Oct. 16, 2025 — Auburn scientists have designed new materials that manipulate free electrons to unlock groundbreaking applications. These “Surface Immobilized Electrides” could power future quantum computers or ...
Oct. 13, 2025 — A team of international physicists has brought Bayes’ centuries-old probability rule into the quantum world. By applying the “principle of minimum change” — updating beliefs as little as ...
Oct. 13, 2025 — Vast amounts of valuable research data remain unused, trapped in labs or lost to time. Frontiers aims to change that with FAIR² Data Management, a groundbreaking AI-driven system that makes datasets ...
Oct. 12, 2025 — A team at the University at Buffalo has made it possible to simulate complex quantum systems without needing a supercomputer. By expanding the truncated Wigner approximation, they’ve created an ...
Oct. 11, 2025 — A team of engineers at North Carolina State University has designed a polymer “Chinese lantern” that can rapidly snap into multiple stable 3D shapes—including a lantern, a spinning top, and ...
Oct. 10, 2025 — Our everyday GPS struggles in “urban canyons,” where skyscrapers bounce satellite signals, confusing even advanced navigation systems. NTNU scientists created SmartNav, combining satellite ...
Oct. 9, 2025 — Mars may look calm, but new research reveals it’s a world of fierce winds and swirling dust devils racing at hurricane-like speeds. Using deep learning on thousands of satellite images from ...