graphics processing unit (GPU)

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  DefiNITIOn  graphics processing unit (GPU) A  graphics processing unit  ( GPU ) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobile phones, personal computers, workstations, and game consoles. Modern GPUs are very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing. Their highly parallel structure makes them more efficient than general-purpose central processing units (CPUs) for algorithms that process large blocks of data in parallel. In a personal computer, a GPU can be present on a video card or embedded on the motherboard. In certain CPUs, they are embedded on the CPU die. [1] In the 1970s, the term "GPU" originally stood for graphics processor unit and described a programmable processing unit independently working from the CPU and responsible for graphics manipulation and
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What is mean by software

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Software is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks. It is the opposite of hardware, which describes the physical aspects of a computer. Software is a generic term used to refer to applications,scripts and programs that run on a device. It can be thought of as the variable part of a computer, while hardware is the invariable part.

The two main categories of software are application software and system software. An application is software that fulfills a specific need or performs tasks. System software is designed to run a computer's hardware and provides a platform for applications to run on top of.

Other types of software include programming software, which provides the programming tools software developers need; middleware, which sits between system software and applications; and driver software, which operates computer devices and peripherals.

Early software was written for specific computers and sold with the hardware it ran on. In the 1980s, software began to be sold on floppy disks, and later on CDs and DVDs. Today, most software is purchased and directly downloaded over the internet. Software can be found on vendor websites or application service provider websites.


Examples and types of software

Among the various categories of software, the most common types include the following:

  • Application software. The most common type of software, application software is a computer software package that performs a specific function for a user, or in some cases, for another application. An application can be self-contained, or it can be a group of programs that run the application for the user. Examples of modern applications include office suites, graphics software, databases and database management programs, web browsers, word processors, software development tools, image editors and communication platforms.
  • System software. These software programs are designed to run a computer's application programs and hardware. System software coordinates the activities and functions of the hardware and software. In addition, it controls the operations of the computer hardware and provides an environment or platform for all the other types of software to work in. The OS is the best example of system software; it manages all the other computer programs. Other examples of system software include the firmware, computer language translators and system utilities.
  • Driver software. Also known as device drivers, this software is often considered a type of system software. Device drivers control the devices and peripherals connected to a computer, enabling them to perform their specific tasks. Every device that is connected to a computer needs at least one device driver to function. Examples include software that comes with any nonstandard hardware, including special game controllers, as well as the software that enables standard hardware, such as USB storage devices, keyboards, headphones and printers.
  • Middleware. The term middleware describes software that mediates between application and system software or between two different kinds of application software. For example, middleware enables Microsoft Windows to talk to Excel and Word. It is also used to send a remote work request from an application in a computer that has one kind of OS, to an application in a computer with a different OS. It also enables newer applications to work with legacy ones.
  • Programming software. Computer programmers use programming software to write code. Programming software and programming tools enable developers to develop, write, test and debug other software programs. Examples of programming software include assemblers, compilers, debuggers and interpreters.

History of software

The term software was not used until the late 1950s. During this time, although different types of programming software were being created, they were typically not commercially available. Consequently, users -- mostly scientists and large enterprises -- often had to write their own software.

The following is a brief timeline of the history of software:

  • June 21, 1948. Tom Kilburn, a computer scientist, writes the world's first piece of software for the Manchester Baby computer at the University of Manchester in England.
  • Early 1950s. General Motors creates the first OS, for the IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine. It is called General Motors Operating System, or GM OS.
  • 1958. Statistician John Tukey coins the word software in an article about computer programming.
  • Late 1960s. Floppy disks are introduced and are used in the 1980s and 1990s to distribute software.
  • Nov. 3, 1971. AT&T releases the first edition of the Unix OS.
  • 1977. Apple releases the Apple II and consumer software takes off.
  • 1979. VisiCorp releases VisiCalc for the Apple II, the first spreadsheet software for personal computers.
  • 1981. Microsoft releases MS-DOS, the OS on which many of the early IBM computers ran. IBM begins selling software, and commercial software becomes available to the average consumer.
  • 1980s. Hard drives become standard on PCs, and manufacturers start bundling software in computers.
  • 1983. The free software movement is launched with Richard Stallman's GNU (GNU is not Unix) Linux project to create a Unix-like OS with source code that can be freely copied, modified and distributed.
  • 1984. Mac OS is released to run Apple's Macintosh line.
  • Mid-1980s. Key software applications, including AutoDesk AutoCAD, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, are released.
  • 1985. Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
  • 1989. CD-ROMs become standard and hold much more data than floppy disks. Large software programs can be distributed quickly, easily and relatively inexpensively.
  • 1991. The Linux kernel, the basis for the open source Linux OS, is released.
  • 1997. DVDs are introduced and able to hold more data than CDs, making it possible to put bundles of programs, such as the Microsoft Office Suite, onto one disk.
  • 1999. Salesforce.com uses cloud computing to pioneer software delivery over the internet.
  • 2000. The term software as a service (SaaS) comes into vogue.
  • 2007. IPhone is launched and mobile applications begin to take hold.
  • 2010 to the present. DVDs are becoming obsolete as users buy and download software from the internet and the cloud. Vendors move to subscription-based models and SaaS has become common. 

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