system software

system software

Posted Feb 3, 2006 14:21 UTC (Fri) by eru (subscriber, #2753)
In reply to: Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com) by nix
Parent article: Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com)

I dispute your statement that a WM is `system software' in any real sense. Window managers do not need enormous efficiency or low-level access, and the X Protocol has interface libraries written in numerous languages. All a language really needs is network support.

Don't know what is the official definition, but Webopedia states: Refers to the operating system and all utility programs that manage computer resources at a low level. Software is generally divided into systems software and applications software. Applications software comprises programs designed for an end user, such as word processors, database systems, and spreadsheet programs. Systems software includes compilers, loaders, linkers, and debuggers. ( http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/s/systems_software.html). You probably agree that a WM is more like a manager for computer resources (the screen in this case) than like an application.

I think a more pertinent definition for "system software" would be a program that mainly facilitates or organizes the use of other programs that solve the user's actual problems, instead of solving them itself. While neither definition talks about low-level efficiency, a system program that itself hogs resources turns into part of the problem, instead of the solution. So if you want to write system software that does not steal resources from the apps that do the actual useful work, you use languages where you can control the resource usage. Today that usually means C.

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