Computer software, or just
software, is a collection of
computer programs and related
data that provides the instructions for telling a
computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. In other words, software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. Program software performs the
function of the
program it implements, either by directly providing
instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The
term was coined to contrast to the old term
hardware. In contrast to hardware, software "cannot be touched".
Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning
application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.