Difference between Software and Algorithm

What is Software?

Software is a piece of code written for the computer system by which the user can easily communicate with computer hardware and manage the system. Software is a set of instructions written for some specific purpose to perform a specific task. Computers completely depend upon hardware and software, and we cannot operate any computer system without software.

Majorly there are two types of software: System software and Application Software.

System software

System software is a piece of code that is designed to manage the computer hardware and its peripheral devices like monitors, printers, and storage devices.

Application software

Application software is a set of programs designed for specific tasks like business purposes, educational purposes, etc. For example, many applications we see on the play store or the app store are examples of application software.

The other category of software is malicious software.

Malicious software

These are the software that are developed for the purpose of harming any computer system. Cybercriminals use this software to steal important data or destroy anybody's computer system.

What is an Algorithm?

The algorithm is a sequence of instructions or procedures which is written to solve for computation purposes or to solve any complex problem. An algorithm takes some inputs and produces some output representing the solution to the problem in some finite amount of time and space. An algorithm can be implemented in any programming language and used in the computer system. We can represent any algorithm using blocks which are also called flow charts.

There are various types of algorithms:

Brute-force Algorithm

To determine the solution to any problem, the simplest and most direct (naive) approach is called the brute-force algorithm. It is not efficient in terms of time and space complexity.

Recursive Algorithm

To solve a big problem, we divide the problem into many small subproblems, and each part is solved recursively. This approach is called recursion.

Backtracking Algorithm

To solve big problems, we divide them into small sub-problems, and each sub-problem has many directions. If our solution fails in any direction, then we backtrack from that recursive call and try for another direction.

Searching Algorithms

Searching algorithms are used to find out some specific value or element in a given data structure. There can be various types like binary search, linear search, etc.

Sorting Algorithms

Sorting means arranging or reordering the elements in some particular order. Those algorithms which are used to sort the data structure are called sorting algorithms. For example, insertion sort, selection sort, merges sort, radix sort, etc.

Euclid's Algorithm

This algorithm is used to find out the greatest common division (GCD) of two numbers. So, it takes two integers as input and returns one integer as output which represents the GCD of these two input numbers.

Difference between Software and Algorithm