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What's software development

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What's software development

What is software development?

Software development is the activity of creating computer programs, performed by a developer or group of developers.


Sounds like a pretty obvious definition, doesn't it? But do you know how this is done or, before that, what is software?


Software is a virtual product, which essentially consists of a set of codes – instructions written in a certain computer language.


When the user is going to use a software, however, he does not see codes.


That's because these instructions will be translated by the screen of the electronic equipment and presented in a different way or even materialized in actions in some types of devices.


Developers (or “devs”, in the jargon of the category) are programmers, that is, they write the program from the aforementioned codes.


But not every programmer is a developer.


Because this nickname is given to professionals who participate in the entire software development process.


It is not enough, therefore, to just write codes.


The developer needs to know how to conduct a project, from conception onwards, understanding what the client's needs are.


A job that involves listening, gathering information, making prototypes, testing, adjusting, approving and implementing.


Software development is a complex activity that requires a lot of technical knowledge.


Hence the high added value of the function.


Software development what is a computer system


Software development goes far beyond programming code


What is a computer system?


Software, or program, is one of the parts that make up a computer system. The other is hardware.


While software is, as we've just explained, a sequence of encoded instructions, hardware is the electronic device that will take these instructions and translate them into a format that is useful to the user.


In this way, the software is the logical part and the hardware the physical part, which serves as an interface between the code and the user.


But when we talk about a computer system, the reference is to the set of hardware capable of processing software information.


The computer system is intended to support task automation services or support user activities with information processing.


How does software development work?

When describing a developer's work, it should already be clear that software development is a complex process.


It involves several steps between project conception – whether it is a personal project or a demand received from a client – ​​and its completion.


It is also related, especially when it comes to a team of developers, to a work methodology for project management.


We'll detail these subjects – the steps and methodologies used in software development – ​​later on.


None of this would be useful without the code itself. Software can only be brought to life, therefore, with instructions written in a certain language.


What are these languages? These are instruction patterns recognizable on certain systems and devices.


Using the right instructions in a given language, it is possible to do the magic of transforming words into actions or other elements on the screen of a computer, tablet or smartphone.


It is worth noting that not all environments support the same languages.


It's like tourism: in some countries, only knowing a certain language will you be able to communicate.

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