Utility programs, commonly referred to as just utilities, are software programs that add functionality to your computer or help your computer perform better. Such software provides remote access to systems and transmits files in a multitude of formats between computers. Quite often, a utility program is built right in to the operating system. Mentioned below are the prominent advantages of utility software. A program that performs a very specific task, usually related to managing system resources. In the following sections, we present a list of computer software and their examples, categorized according to their different types. Utility program dictionary definition utility program. These software are focused on how os works on that basis it perform task to enable smooth functioning of computer. Utility program a type of system software used to solve a particular problem of a user called a utility program. The first step to becoming a successful entrepreneur is to. This lesson introduces you to some examples of application software and how they are used. For example, you may want to compress a file to let you save it on to a flash drive. Utility software is software designed to help to analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. Utility software is a program that provides services to the users in simple words.
Teachict as level ict ocr exam board types of software. Opensource software oss is any computer software thats distributed with its source code available for modification. Computer dictionary definition of what utility means, including related links. Utility computing is a computing business model in which the provider owns, operates and manages the computing infrastructure and resources, and the subscribers accesses it as and when required on a rental or metered basis.
System software is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computers hardware and application programs. Usually, a utility is smaller than a standard program in size and may be included with an operating system or installed separately. Utility is an economic term introduced by daniel bernoulli referring to the total satisfaction received from consuming a good or service. It performs a single task or a number of small tasks. If we think of the computer system as a layered model, the system software is the interface between the hardware and user applications. A program that performs a specific task related to the management of computer functions, resources, or files, as password protection, memory management. For example, a utility program may handle computer files or guard against computer viruses. It is associated with cloud computing and services that allow customers to scale up and down their use of resources as required. Utility software article about utility software by the. A utility or software utility is computer system software intended to. Large firm that owns andor operates facilities used for generation and transmission or distribution of electricity, gas, or water to general public. What is computer application software, and how does it differ from other categories of software. It is used to support the computer infrastructure in contrast to application software, which is aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ordinary users. Utility software simple english wikipedia, the free.
A single piece of utility software is normally described as utility or tool. Some of the examples of the utility programs utilities include. For example, a batch job may run userwritten code to update a database and may then include a step that runs a utility to back up the database, or a job may run a utility t. The software is used to manage files stored in a file system. Utility computing is the process of providing computing service through an ondemand, payperuse billing method. These software may come along with os like windows defender, windows disk cleanup tool.
Utility software, often referred as utility is a system software that is designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer and enhance the computers performance. Utility software, today, is among the most efficient and major types of software available to the industry and hence, its use has increased tremendously over the years. Utility computing is a business model that charges customers for computing, memory and bandwidth based on how much is used. Disk defragmenters system profilers virus scanners application launchers. In economics utility is the capacity of a commodity to satisfy human wants. This chemical has no utility as an agricultural fertilizer. A utility is intended for a wide range of users, rather than an app application program which might be intended to serve a specific purpose for specific users. A utility or software utility is computer system software intended to analyze, configure, monitor, or help maintain a computer. For this task you would choose to use a file compression utility program. Disk defragmenters, system profilers, network managers, application launchers, antivirus. Difference between application software and utility. This last appendix is useful, however its utility could have been improved by including a world wide web address for each of these companies.
Many utilities could be considered as part of the system software, which. Utility software is a system that helps set up, analyze, strengthen and maintain a computer. Utility definition and meaning collins english dictionary. It is a program that is designed to perform specific tasks that help in making the device work better and keeping the environment safe. An example of utility software is a system that helps a user set up a brand new computer. The system software which is stored on non volatile memory is known as firmware. Like windows file explorer is a file management tool. Utility definition is fitness for some purpose or worth to some end. They can fix bugs, improve functions, or adapt the software to suit their own needs.
Utility software can be seen in many operating systems to day e. Disk defragmenters, system profilers, network managers, application launchers, antivirus software, backup software, disk repair, disk cleaners, registry cleaners, disk space analyzer, file manager, file compression, data security and many more. It is a program that performs a specific task, which is usually related to managing the system resources. System software is computer software which is used to control and coordinate the computer hardware and to provide a environment for executing application software. Communication software is an application or program designed to pass information from one system to another. Utility software is used to perform basic maintenance tasks on a computer. Examples include disk utilities like defragmenters, compressors and cleaners. Storage space is always at a premium in computer systems. The list of 10 best utility software is given below. Utilities can also be applications such as screensavers, font and icon tools, and. For example, word processors, spreadsheet programs, and database applications are considered. However, utilities often form part of the application systems. These are designed to help, analyze, configure and maintain computer systems. Various examples of system software are operating systemos, bios, device firmware, certain system utility software which helps to configure, optimize and maintain the computer.
Utility software dictionary definition utility software. Utilities definition, the state or quality of being useful. That means it usually includes a license for programmers to change the software in any way they choose. Antivirus, backup software, file manager, disk compression tool all are utility software. Below is a list of many different utility program categories. These are builtin into operating systems as well as available as standalone products like security suits. A utility software is actually a kind of computer software which is designed to help in management and tuning of computer hardware, operating system and application software. In other usages, a utility is an application that is very specialized and relatively limited in capability. Types of utility software and their usage vents magazine.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of merriamwebster or its editors. In learning about computers, the first step usually is to understand the major types of software, their uses, and applications. Examples of utility programs are antivirus software, backup software and disk tools. Utility programs are used for the management of computer systems and also perform maintenance types tasks. There are different types of computer software which are useful for several purposes. Examples of some of the commonly used utility software may include the following. For example, a batch job may run userwritten code to update a database and may then include a. A kind of system software which is designed to help you configure, optimize, analyze and maintain the computer is known as utility software. Encryption software can be based on either public key or symmetric key encryption. Utility software definition and meaning collins english. Utility program definition of utility program by the. Utility programs have many other names and get known as either a service, utility software or just as system software. A utility program is designed to do one or perhaps two tasks very well and nothing else.
A type of system software used to solve a particular problem of a. Communication software forms a part of communication systems with software components classified according to functions. Information and translations of utility software in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Utility software dictionary definition utility software defined. Operating systems contain a number of utilities for managing disk drives, printers, and other devices utilities differ from applications mostly in terms of size, complexity and function. A list of different types of computer software with examples. Using this approach, software encryption may be classified into software which encrypts data in transit and software which encrypts data at rest. Its not absolutely required to run programs and, if it didnt come with the operating system, you could perhaps add it. These include antivirus, backup, disk repair, file management, security, and networking programs. There are also operating system utilities such as antivirus programs, registry cleaners and system restoration programs. Utility program definition, system software used to perform standard operations, as sorting data or copying data from one file to another, for application programs or. This type of utility software was first introduced in windows xp to replace the fdisk command. The print utility that comes with the operating system is an example.
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