The Evolving Role of Software

Software takes dual role. It is both a product and a vehicle for delivering a product.

As a product:

It delivers the computing potential embodied by computer hardware or by a network of computers.

As a vehicle:

It is information transformer—producing, managing, acquiring, modifying, displaying, or transmitting information that can be as simple as single bit or as complex as a multimedia presentation. Software delivers the most important product of our time—information.

• It transforms personal data
• It manages business information to enhance competitiveness
• It provides a gateway to worldwide information networks
• It provides the means for acquiring information
• The role of computer software has undergone significant change over a span of little more than 50 years
• Dramatic improvements in hardware performance
• Vast increases in memory and storage capacity
• A wide variety of exotic input and output options