Software is a collection of instructions and data that tell a computer how to work. This is in contrast to physical hardware, from which the system is built and actually performs the work. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all information processed by computer systems, including programs and data. Computer software includes computer programs, libraries and related non-executable data, such as online documentation or digital media. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be realistically used on its own.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists of machine language instructions supported by an individual processor—typically a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. For example, an instruction may change the value stored in a particular storage location in the computer—an effect that is not directly observable to the user. An instruction may also invoke one of many input or output operations, for example displaying some text on a computer screen; causing state changes which should be visible to the user. The processor executes the instructions in the order they are provided, unless it is instructed to "jump" to a different instruction, or is interrupted by the operating system. As of 2015, most personal computers, smartphone devices and servers have processors with multiple execution units or multiple processors performing computation together, and computing has become a much more concurrent activity than in the past.
The majority of software is written in high-level programming languages. They are easier and more efficient for programmers because they are closer to natural languages than machine languages. High-level languages are translated into machine language using a compiler or an interpreter or a combination of the two. Software may also be written in a low-level assembly language, which has strong correspondence to the computer's machine language instructions and is translated into machine language using an assembler.
Not sure if this belongs in this forum, its subforums or engineering.
Thanks for reading, the post is long. Any suggestions would be grateful.
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Application Field: Brain Modelling
Topic: Audio Analysis then Audio Synthesis
OS: Microsoft Windows,
IDE: MSVC (unless the package...
I need to include an electric circuit diagram in a .doc file,but I can't find a software to draw it quickly.Does anyone have any good idea?I don't want to use Protel since it is too large
hello,
is there any curve fitting software for free for linux user??
I know only gnuplot..is there some more software..? something similar to igor or origin or sigmaplot...
Or these scientific fitting software are only available for windows??
please reply me about your free software, which you...
Dear all,
Any quantum mechanical software (e.g., Gaussian03) can compute the fundamental frequencies (3N-6) and force constant for each frequency..
I don't understand exactly about force constant..??
For a particular mode of vibration what does this force constant mean?
For a molecular with...
hi. I'm creating a game where the main part is exploration. i want a database with the milky way's stars (though I'm not sure how many stars my program will be able to handle at this point) and for the other nearby galaxies i would randomly generate such a database of stars for those galaxies...
What software works best for a student to be able to sit at a blank page and be able to efficiently type formulas without having to fight the software for nomenclature, super/subscript and Greek letters?
And how about freebody diagrams, graphs, etc? Isn't there academic software for all of...
Hi,
I am 30 years of age and am currently working as a Software Engineer at a major software company. I have an MS and BS in Computer Science. From childhood, I have always been attracted to math, especially pure math. I have participated in numerous regional Olympiads and stood in the top-3...
I have a custom tower with DVD,CD-rom and even floppy disk which I plan on replacing. It has a AMD athlon processor, and I never used this computer online. Recently a friend of mine hooked it up online (long story) without updating for viruses etc. Now the windows startup won't boot. And I have...
Without consideration for cost, but with consideration for features and ease of use, what software do you think is best for producing graphical visualizations of data points, curve fitting, et cetera)?
Which ones have the easiest learning curve?
Which ones do you use, which ones have you...
Hi all,
I hear all this talk about how open source is awesome and how software should be free and accessible to anyone. While I do enjoy gaining access to free software and whatnot, I can't help but wonder, how do software developers actually make money if the open source thing catches on...
Hello, This is my first time here. Great site! I've searched for a while but didn't find anything. Is there cheap or free software I can download to design 4-bar or whatever linkage mechanisms like in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-tHXsWioR4"?
Thanks,
B
Hi.
This is to all the practicing EEs out there.
What are some of the challenges of electrical engineering work? Is it varied? What is your role (esp. wrt to EE technologists/technicians)?
Preferably, answers will come from various specialties and roles (please state them).
For example...
Hello,
i'm a beginner in linux and there's a thing i don't understand and can't find the answer in books nor on the net: software.
how is it handled in linux? there are some packages or something. are there separate packages for different distributions? if that's true, that's an unpleasant...
I am looking for freeware which enable the simulation of a system with 3 mirrors, a laser, and a detector. So far I've only managed to find software for lenses on the internet. Would anyone lend a hand? :D
I need to use multimedia elements for a 'Design a Room' project. This project is aimed at 8th grade geometry students. Students will have to make buying decisions based on a given budget. They can buy any thing they want, but the limiting factor will be money. They can paint the walls too.
Is...
Hello,
I'd like to say hi to everyone since I'm pretty new here, and I guess my first post goes directly to asking a question. Anyway, could someone here recommend me some program for designing parts of a jet or a space vehicle that resembles a delta winged jet. I'm doing this for learning...
Hi ,i am doing an project 'Designing a wing' ,Can anyone please tell me which software do we use for designing a wing,i searched on the web but didn't find the appropriate one.
many thanks.
I'm looking for some software which will allow me to view/write/edit LaTeX equations. At the moment I am inputting my equations into this forum and clicking "preview post" in order to get equations in the LaTeX format, which is pretty unsatisfactory (though up till now has been so irregular as...
Hi,
New to the forum, I'm currently studying Mechanical Engineering, however me and my flatmate really want to start designing and building circuit boards. I have minimal knowledge when it comes to electronics so there's no time like the present to start learning!
What kind of software...
Hello!
I am doing an investigation on thermodynamic propeties of certains heavy ions "Alkali-Cloride" ions on the basis of mass spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations. For that i use GAMESS as a computer tool to study quantum mechanical properties of those ions (vibration frequency...
Hello!
I am doing an investigation on thermodynamic propeties of certains heavy ions "Alkali-Cloride" ions on the basis of mass spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations. For that i use GAMESS as a computer tool to study quantum mechanical properties of those ions (vibration frequency...
As the title suggests, the computer software I am looking for is one that can solve the logic used in a set of alphanumeric characters in a sequence.
For example, say the numbers 1Z, 2Y, 6X, 42W, 1806V, 3263442U. Which one is next in sequence?
Can you solve it? To solve, let us leave out...
Hey All,
Is there a software package that shows a step by step how it solved a problem? I've looked into Maple, and I think that Maple does this, but not sure.
I'm looking for software that will help me learn calculus, analysis, linear and abstract algebra.
Also, does anyone know about...
Hi,
Is there software that I can use while learning calc I-III? I don't need the software to give me the answers, but something that I can use to be able to manipulate formulas.
Example. If I have to do a question in the textbook, I would have to write the integral and derivative...
Hello. I have just a few questions for you guys!
1) Software Systems Engineering vs Software Engineering? U of R only has the systems style.
2) Would you take Co-operative education if your school offered it with their engineering degree. (Only reason I do not is it is an extra year to...
I think Maple and Mathematica are equally powerful, but am curious to see which one is used by more people. Please take 2 seconds to vote for which one you use more.
I'm not interested in numerical, so if you use MATLAB but not the symbolic math toolbox, don't vote. Please get as many people...
I'll just be graduating with my IT (software) -Engineering degree.
Instead of the complete coding work I was thinking about doing masters in some art field in relation to my degree as I love it.
So can anyone please suggest me some field in the same category?
Homework Statement
I am writing a paper on volumes of revolution. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any suitable programs to represent them graphically. (I apologize if I am posting in the wrong forum.)
Homework Equations
Graphing the volume of revolution of, say...
I noticed there is always the occasional user looking for advice regarding anti virus software.
To make the decision easier and provide some pretty good info along the way, av-comparatives.org had 16 AV/malware detection/removal programs going head to head in a comprehensive test.
10 malware...
Hi all,
so... now that I have to write lab reports at uni level, I'm starting to wonder what software would be best suited for the task. Currently, my workflow goes like this:
iWork Pages (or MS Word) for the actual report.
imported LaTeX (or Mathematica) PDFs for mathematical equations...
Hi,
Can anyone recommend me any free video editing software.I have some avi video clips which I want to edit.I want to circle some objects on the video and add in texts as the video clip plays.
I saw some people doing that in youtube.Anyone can tell me what software they using?
hi
does anyone know what kind of simulation software to be used for switching power supplies design. it should be free software available on the net. it may be student version although advanced version will be preferable!
Okay, I don't know anything about compiling stuff, but I found a website with links to something called GNU software. It's supposed to be part of some freedom of rights for software, because many who have free software (for example Firefox) don't cost money but have certain restrictions, thus...
First of all, I'm not an electrical engineer. I'm just a software developer who has written an application to do push-to-talk over wireless LANs on Windows Mobile devices, mostly for warehouse environments. We've got a prospect right now who wants to run our software on some forklift terminals...
how would I graph this? I'm getting killed by the boundaries on these triple integrals and trying to visualize these graphs without a calculator or any sort of help. for example, how would you get the boundaries from this problem with a graphing software such as maple?
::::problem...
Hi all! I need an Engineering Translation software to convert a textbook from French to English. A normal online translator will not translate the technical terms properly. Could you provide me with links for free download or help me in any other possible way? I'm having lots of difficulties to...
I am planning to do some simulations using path integral molecular dynamics approach. I have never used it before, so I would like to have some information concerning packages that are used for that kind of simulations.
I am aware of PINY and CPMD packages for PIMD. Which one is better? Are...
I was just wondering, but why is the demand for computer scientists (well actually it says "software engineers") projected to grow at a much faster rate than that of computer engineers?
I thought that most comp sci grads go into applications programming, who can basically become replaced by...
Why does BLS predict a rapid demand growth for Software Engineers??
in comparison to all engineers in general...
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos267.htm
BLS = Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Govt)
And on second thought, will the majority of these jobs be going to foreign workers?
Is software "only Mathematics" and therefore not patentable ?
There are arguments in some circlues, that the programs in computers are simply mathematical algorithms, and as such (being "only" math) they should _NOT_ be subject to patents.
Thier argument is "you can't patent an equation" and...
Hello,
I just heard about the software Fortran but i know nothing about it. I heard it is better than Matlab when dealing with numerical methods.
Is it easier to use than Matlab?
Hello,
Does anybody know commercial codes in which you can implement semi-infinite boundary conditions for surface calculations. I know for modeling metallic adhesion semi-infinite BC's have been used in the past along with a Jellium potential approximation. Unfortunately, I've been searching...
Geogebra is a free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for learning and teaching. Looks pretty good to me if you can't afford an advanced software program like Mathematica or Matlab.