Application  software

1. Terminology  an application is a computer program designed to help people perform an activity. An application thus differs from an operating system  and a programming tool

2. Application software is a computer program designed to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities for the benefit of the user. Examples of an application include a word processor, a spreadsheet, an accounting application, a web browser, a media player, an aeronautical flight simulator, a console game or a photo editor. The collective noun application software refers to all applications collectively.

3. Metonymy "application", once used as an adjective, is not restricted to the "of or pertaining to application software" meaning For example, concepts such as application programming interface (API), application server, application virtualization, application lifecycle management and portable application apply to all computer programs alike, not just application software.

4. Classification 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 the web, an important distinction that has emerged has been between web applications - written with HTML, JavaScript and other web-native technologies and typically requiring one to be online and running a web 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 as smart phones and tablets.

5. Enterprise infrastructure software Business workflow software Database management system (DBMS) Digital asset management (DAM) software Document management software Geographic information system (GIS)

6. Apps and killer apps Some applications are available in versions for several different platforms; others have narrower requirements and are thus called, for example, a Geography application for Windows, an Android application for education, or Linux gaming. Sometimes a new and popular application arises which only runs on one platform, increasing the desirability of that platform. This is called a killer application or killer app.

7. Accounting softwareData management Contact manager Spreadsheet Database software Documentation Document automation Word processor Desktop publishing software Diagramming software Presentation software Email Blog software Enterprise resource planning Financial software Day trading software Banking software Clearing systems arithmetic software Field service management Workforce management software Project management software Calendaring software Employee scheduling software Workflow software Reservation systems

8. Entertainment software Screen savers Video games Arcade games Console games Mobile games Personal computer games