An application program facilitates the development of a job.
From the perspective of computing , an application program consists of a type of software that is designed to make it easier for the user to carry out a certain job. This particularity distinguishes it from the rest of the programs , among which we can mention operating systems (which are those that allow the computer to function), programming languages (those that provide the necessary tools to develop computer programs in general) and utilities (designed to perform maintenance actions and general tasks).
Software is the intangible and logical element that is part of a computer. Hardware , on the other hand, is the material and physical component. It is said that operating systems constitute the link that unites software and hardware.
Features of application programs
Word processors, spreadsheets and databases are part of the so-called application programs. This shows that computer applications serve to automate tasks such as accounting or writing texts.
It should be noted that the most popular office package or suite internationally is Office , a product promoted by Microsoft . This company, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen , is the largest software firm in the world. Its activity is not limited to application programs, but the company also develops the most popular operating system: Windows .
A spreadsheet is an application program.
Examples of using Microsoft products
In the case of processors, we can highlight Microsoft Word, which is currently the most used in the world and is characterized or defined because it offers the user the possibility of carrying out the creation, design and printing of textual documents of various types. typology such as reports, letters, essays...
Microsoft Excel, for its part, is the most widespread application program in terms of spreadsheets. In many companies of different types, and also on a personal level, people choose to use this software, which is frequently used in accounting and financial tasks.
In terms of databases, it is worth highlighting Access as application programming, which is designed to be able to work with them both in the professional and in the more personal sphere. Thanks to it, tables can be developed to store the relevant data, queries to retrieve certain information, and forms to update those or reports that are used to print the data that are deemed appropriate.
OpenOffice application programs
However, we cannot ignore that these three programs belonging to Microsoft have had an important rival for some time: OpenOffice. And it is a so-called free-style “computer suite” that has a series of applications that allow us to perform the same tasks that those offer us.
Specifically, the rivals would be OpenOffice Writer as a word processor, OpenOffice Calc as spreadsheets, and OpenOffice Base, which works as a database.
Sometimes, application programs are custom designed, that is, according to the needs and aspirations of each user. Therefore, the software allows you to solve specific difficulties. In other cases, these are integrated packages that solve general problems and include multiple applications. For example, an office suite combines applications such as word processors and spreadsheets.