Computer software is a generic term for organized collections of code representing instructions executed by a computer. Software is often written first as source code, and then converted to a binary format that is specific to the device on which the code will be executed.

Software for personal computers is often broken into two major categories: system software that provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software used to accomplish specific user-oriented tasks.

The term was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1957.