<communications> The transmission of extra data on a channel in order to control the device sending data in the other direction on that channel. For an EIA-232 connection, this means sending Control-S and Control-Q characters to stop and start transmission. Since software handshaking requires the transmission and processing of extra data it can be less efficient than hardware handshaking. (1996-10-16)

<programming> (Or "computer program", "program", "code") The instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device on which they run (the "hardware"). The term was coined by the eminent statistician, John Tukey. Programs stored on non-volatile storage built from integrated circuits (e.g. ROM or PROM) are usually called firmware. Software can be split into two main types - system software and application software or application programs. System software is any software required to support the production or execution of application programs but which is not specific to any particular application. Examples of system software would include the operating system, compilers, editors and sorting programs. Examples of application programs would include an accounts package or a CAD program. Other broad classes of application software include real-time software, {business software}, scientific and engineering software, {embedded software}, personal computer software and {artificial intelligence} software. Software includes both source code written by humans and executable machine code produced by assemblers or compilers. It does not usually include the data processed by programs unless this is in a format such as multimedia which depends on the use of computers for its presentation. This distinction becomes unclear in cases such as {spread sheets} which can contain both instructions (formulae and macros) and data. There are also various intermediate compiled or semi-compiled, forms of software such as library files and byte-code. Some claim that documentation (both paper and electronic) is also software. Others go further and define software to be programs plus documentation though this does not correspond with common usage. The noun "program" describes a single, complete and more-or-less self-contained list of instructions, often stored in a single file, whereas "code" and "software" are uncountable nouns describing some number of instructions which may constitute one or more programs or part thereof. Most programs, however, rely heavily on various kinds of {operating system} software for their execution. The nounds "code" and "software" both refer to the same thing but "code" tends to suggest an interest in the implementation details whereas "software" is more of a user's term. (2002-07-21)

We should try to genericise this bit of the software.

Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.

Customised software (also known as bespoke software or tailor-made software) is software that is specially developed for some specific organization or other user. As such, it can be contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the mass market, such as commercial off-the-shelf software, or existing free software.

Software categories are groups of software. They allow software to be understood in terms of those categories, instead of the particularities of each package.

Medical software is any software item or system used within a medical context, such as:reducing the paperwork, tracking patient activity