Application software is a set of one or more programs designed to carry out operations for a specific application. Application software cannot run on itself but is dependent on system software to execute. Examples of application software include MS Word, MS Excel, a console game, a library management system, a spreadsheet system etc.

The term is used to distinguish such software from another type of computer program referred to as system software, which manages and integrates a computer's capabilities but does not directly perform tasks that benefit the user. The system software serves the application, which in turn serves the user.

Examples of types of application software may include accounting software, media players, and office suites. Many application programs deal principally with documents. Applications may be bundled with the computer and its system software or published separately, and may be coded as e.g. proprietary, open-source or university projectsFor more, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_softwareIninformation technology, an application is acomputer programdesigned to help people perform an activity. An application thus differs from anoperating system(which runs a computer), autility(which performs maintenance or general-purpose chores), and aprogramming tool(with which computer programs are created)[original research?]. Depending on the activity for which it was designed, an application can manipulate text, numbers, graphics, or a combination of these elements. Some application packages focus on a single task, such as word processing; others, calledintegrated softwareinclude several applications.[3]User-written softwaretailors systems to meet the user's specific needs. User-written software includes spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific simulations, graphics and animation scripts. Evenemail filtersare a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is.The delineation between system software such asoperating systemsand application software is not exact, however, and is occasionally the object of controversy. For example, one of the key questions in theUnited States v. Microsoftantitrusttrial was whether Microsoft'sInternet Explorerweb browserwas part of itsWindowsoperating system or a separable piece of application software. As another example, theGNU/Linux naming controversyis, in part, due to disagreement about the relationship between theLinux kerneland the operating systems built over thiskernel. In some types ofembedded systems, the application software and the operating system software may be indistinguishable to the user, as in the case of software used to control aVCR,DVDplayer ormicrowave oven. The above definitions may exclude some applications that may exist on some computers in large organizations. For an alternative definition of an app:seeApplication Portfolio Management.Apps and Killer Apps[edit]Some applications are available in versions for several different platforms; others have narrower requirements and are thus called, for example, aGeographyapplication forWindows, anAndroidapplication foreducation, orLinux gaming. Sometimes a new and popular application arises which only runs on oneplatform, increasing the desirability of that platform. This is called akiller applicationor killer app.In recent years, the shortened term "app" (coined in 1981 or earlier[4]) has become popular to refer toapplications for mobile devicessuch assmartphonesandtablets, the shortened form matching their typically smaller scope compared to applications on PCs.Application software classification[edit]There are many different ways to divide up different types of application software, and several are explained here.Since the development and near-universal adoption of theweb, an important distinction that has emerged has been betweenweb applications written withHTML,JavaScriptand other web-native technologies and typically requiring one to be online and running aweb browser, and the more traditional native applications written in whatever languages are available for one's particular type of computer. There has been contentious debate in the computing community regarding web applications replacing native applications for many purposes, especially on mobile devices such assmart phonesandtablets. Web apps have indeed greatly increased in popularity for some uses, but the advantages of applications make them unlikely to disappear soon, if ever. Furthermore, the two can be complementary, and even integrated.[5][6][7]Application software can also be seen as being eitherhorizontalorvertical.[8][9]Horizontal applications are more popular and widespread, because they are general purpose, for example word processors or databases. Vertical applications areniche products, designed for a particular type of industry or business, or department within an organization. Integrated suites of software will try to handle every specific aspect possible of, for example, manufacturing or banking systems, or accounting, or customer service.There are many types of application software: Anapplication suiteconsists of multiple applications bundled together. They usually have related functions, features and user interfaces, and may be able to interact with each other, e.g. open each other's files.Business applicationsoften come in suites, e.g.Microsoft Office,LibreOfficeandiWork, which bundle together a word processor, a spreadsheet, etc.; but suites exist for other purposes, e.g. graphics or music. Enterprise softwareaddresses the needs of an entire organization's processes and data flows, across several departments, often in a large distributed environment. Examples includeenterprise resource planningsystems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems andsupply chain management software. Departmental Software is a sub-type of enterprise software with a focus on smaller organizations and/or groups within a large organization. (Examples include travelexpense managementand IT Helpdesk.) Enterprise infrastructure softwareprovides common capabilities needed to support enterprisesoftware systems. (Examples include databases, email servers, and systems for managing networks and security.) Information workersoftwarelets users create and manage information, often for individual projects within a department, in contrast to enterprise management. Examples includetime management,resource management, analytical, collaborative and documentation tools. Word processors, spreadsheets, email and blog clients, personal information system, and individual media editors may aid in multiple information worker tasks. Content access softwareis used primarily to access content without editing, but may include software that allows for content editing. Such software addresses the needs of individuals and groups to consume digital entertainment and published digital content. (Examples includemedia players,web browsers, and help browsers.) Educational softwareis related to content access software, but has the content and/or features adapted for use in by educators or students. For example, it may deliver evaluations (tests), track progress through material, or include collaborative capabilities. Simulation softwaresimulates physical or abstract systems for either research, training or entertainment purposes. Media development softwaregenerates print and electronic media for others to consume, most often in a commercial or educational setting. This includes graphic-art software, desktop publishing software, multimedia development software, HTML editors, digital-animation editors, digital audio and video composition, and many others.[10] Product engineering softwareis used in developing hardware and software products. This includescomputer-aided design(CAD),computer-aided engineering(CAE), computer language editing and compiling tools,integrated development environments, and application programmer interfaces. Entertainment Softwarecan refer to video games, screen savers, programs to display motion pictures or play recorded music, and other forms of entertainment which can be experienced through use of a computing device.Applications can also be classified bycomputing platformsuch as a particularoperating system, delivery network such as incloud computingandWeb 2.0applications, or delivery devices such asmobile appsformobile devices.The operating system itself can be considered application software when performing simple calculating, measuring, rendering, and word processing tasks not used to control hardware viacommand-line interfaceorgraphical user interface. This does not include application software bundled within operating systems such as asoftware calculatorortext editor.What is computer application software, and how does it differ from other categories of software? This lesson introduces you to some examples of application software and how they are used.Software TypesThe term 'software' refers to the set of electronic program instructions or data a computer processor reads in order to perform a task or operation. In contrast, the term 'hardware' refers to the physical components that you can see and touch, such as the computer hard drive, mouse, and keyboard.Software can be categorized according to what it is designed to accomplish. There are two main types of software:systems softwareandapplication software.Systems SoftwareSystems softwareincludes the programs that are dedicated to managing the computer itself, such as theoperating system, file management utilities, and disk operating system (or DOS). The operating system manages the computer hardware resources in addition to applications and data. Without systems software installed in our computers we would have to type the instructions for everything we wanted the computer to do!

Applications SoftwareApplication software, or simplyapplications, are often called productivity programs or end-user programs because they enable the user to complete tasks such as creating documents, spreadsheets, databases, and publications, doing online research, sending email, designing graphics, running businesses, and even playing games! Application software is specific to the task it is designed for and can be as simple as a calculator application or as complex as a word processing application. When you begin creating a document, the word processing software has already set the margins, font style and size, and the line spacing for you. But you can change these settings, and you have many more formatting options available. For example, the word processor application makes it easy to add color, headings, and pictures or delete, copy, move, and change the document's appearance to suit your needs.

Microsoft Word is a popular word-processing application that is included in thesoftware suiteof applications called Microsoft Office. A software suite is a group of software applications with related functionality. For example, office software suites might include word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and email applications. Graphics suites such as Adobe Creative Suite include applications for creating and editing images, while Sony Audio Master Suite is used for audio production.AWeb browser, or simplybrowser, is an application specifically designed to locate, retrieve, and display content found on the Internet. By clicking ahyperlinkor by typing theURLof a website, the user is able to view Web sites consisting of one or more Web pages. Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari are just a few of the many available to choose from.