The Nature of Software

The nature of computer software is quite unique. It is not directly analogous to anything in the realm of human understanding. People try to equate it with physical objects - "software is like the engine of a car", or with other forms of information - "software is like literature".

It's quite dissimilar to a car's engine - the computer processor would more closely fit that analogy.

Software is not a physical object - it can very easily and very cheaply be copied, stored, and exchanged - it is essentially pure information.

But it is unlike other forms of information in its purpose and use. It is not like literature because its primary purpose is not to be read by people it is not purely linear like a book - it's not read from beginning to end. In this way it also differs from music and video. Although in this category of information it is quite similar to sheet music which is a set of instructions for a musician or group of musicians to produce a piece of music - but is still linear.

Software is its own animal altogether and in order to understand it properly, we need to see it as such rather than simplifying it with improper analogies.