Software Development

Software development is a process in which companies in it provide services such as the development, maintenance, publication of computer software e.g. software services, training, documentation, consulting, etc. There has been tremendous changes in terms of software development languages and delivery as various new tools such as Microsoft .NET Technologies, PHP, MS SQL Server, AJAX, ATLAS, Silverlight, JAVA Technologies, J2EE, JSP, J2ME, ASP, ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, MySQL Database, ORACLE, etc. have come up over two decades of time.

Moreover, there is a structural method which has been in use for quite some in the development of software which is termed as Software Development Process which several methods of software development which again are termed as software development model by computer professionals. Computer engineers involved in the process of software development are called software developers.

There are various models for software development and one of them is waterfall model which is considered best available model by software developers.

Generally, software development companies use typical process wherein a set of activities including of research, new development, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, etc. is done in cumulative manner. Though the process of software development is complex and requires various departments, the final solution is an outcome of efforts put by entire software development and allied team.

As has been mentioned, there are various models of software development which includes Agile, Cleanroom, DSDM, Iterative, RAD, RUP, Spiral, XP, Scrum, V-Model, FDD, etc. amongst others, the decision to use them specifically for a project is done on the need basis. Besides the selection of software development model, study of requirement analysis, specification, architecture, implementation, testing and documenting, deployment and maintenance, etc. too is done by a separate team.

A much heard term in software sector is SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) which in fact is a software development process wherein a logical process used by a system analyst so that development of an information system can be done. The information system thus includes requirements, validation, training, and user ownership of the developed software.

Notwithstanding, SDLC has become on standard which is seen as credibility of software development company. In order to show credibility and efficiency, companies stress on following SDLC.

The entire hoopla about SDLC is that it ensures that the developed software meets or goes beyond the specific requirement of client, is under the postulated time period, made cost-effectively, etc. amongst others. Popularity of SDLC can be attributed to the fact that it is efficient and effective in the current and planned IT infrastructure. Moreover, another USP of SDLC is that it is inexpensive to maintain and cost-effective to enhance.

Increasing number of software development companies in India can be attributed to the fact that India has sound pool of talented software developers who are able to deliver Quality and Reliability in their software development service. Moreover, with on time deliveries, domain expertise, cost effective solution, customer oriented service, Indian software development companies such HCL, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Patni, etc. are known globally among their clients.

Application Software

Application Software

Computer systems contain both hard and software.  Hardware is any tangible item in a computer system, like the system unit, keyboard, or printer.  Software, or a computer program, is the set of instruction that direct the computer to perform a task.  Software falls into one of two categories: system software and application software.  System software controls the operation of the computer hardware; whereas, application software enables a user to perform tasks.  Three major types of application software on the market today for personal computers are word processors, electronic spreadsheets, and database management systems (Little and Benson 10-42).

A word processing program allows a user to efficiently and economically create professional looking documents such as memoranda, letters, reports, and resumes.  With a word processor, one can easily revise a document.  To improve the accuracy of one’s writing, word processors can check the spelling and the grammar in a document.  They also provide a thesaurus to enable a user to add variety and precision to his or her writing.  Many word processing programs also provide desktop publishing features to create brochures, advertisements, and newsletters.

An electronic spreadsheet enables a user to organize data in a fashion similar to a paper spreadsheet.  The difference is the user does not have to perform calculations manually; electronic spreadsheets can be instructed to perform any computation desired.  The contents of an electronic spreadsheet can be easily modified by the user.  Once the data is modified, all calculations in the spreadsheet are recomputed automatically.  Many electronic spreadsheet packages also enable a user to graph the data in his or her spreadsheet (Wakefield 98-110).

A database management system (DBMS) is a software program that allows a user to efficiently store a large amount of data in a centralized location.  Data is one of the most valuable resources to any organization.  For this reason, user desire data be organized and readily accessible in a variety of formats.  With aDBMS, a user can then easily store data, retrieve data, modify data, analyze data, and create a variety of reports from the data(Aldrin 25-37).

Many organizations today have all three of these types of application software packages installed on their personal computers.  Word processors, electronic spreadsheets, and database management systems make users’ tasks more efficient.  When users are more efficient, the company as a whole operates more economically and efficiently.