The Comparison Between General Purpose Application Software and Function-Specific Application Software.

Application software are designed to help us to perform a singular or multiple related specific tasks. They're also often called software applications, applications or apps.

There are two types of application software which is the General Purpose Application Software and the Function-Specific application software.

So now let us look further into the differences and functions of both types of application software.

1) The General Purpose Application Software

General purpose application software packages are generally tools that provide specific capabilities, but not in support of a specific purpose.

In other words,

These software performs common information processing jobs for end users but not in support of a specific purpose. They are also known as productivity packages because they greatly increase the productivity of the end users. For example, a spreadsheet program is a general purpose application. It does spreadsheets, but those could be spreadsheets that you use to balance your checkbook, or manage your fantasy football league.

Examples of General Purpose Application Software:

Desktop Publishing Software - Often used to create graphics for point of sale displays, promotional items, trade show exhibits, retail package designs and outdoor signs. In very simple words, it could be said that it is a page maker application.

Word-Processing Software - Used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of printable material.

Spreadsheet Software - Used for any kind of spreadsheet work including analysis, planning or modeling. This is a general purpose software with many functions.

2) Function-Specific Application Software

Function-specific software are highly specialized software that are designed to handle specific tasks. They're more limited in what they can do, but they usually perform much better than a general purpose program in a specific task.

For example, TurboTax (a tax preparation package) is a special purpose application. Sure, it adds and subtracts numbers like a spreadsheet, but you can't use it to plan your monthly budget. It does only one thing - prepare tax returns.

Examples of Function-Specific Application Software:

Computer-Aided Design Software - Used for the design of objects, real or virtual. CAD often involves more than just shapes but also the dimensions of the designed objects.

Supply Chain Management Software - Used in executing supply chain transactions, managing supplier relationships and controlling associated business processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning Software- A large and complex software system that integrates all the various departments of an organization under a single software solution. Given the name, the primary task of the enterprise system is to optimize the use of resources and to provide the organization's management team with analytical information that would be helpful in the making of decisions and in the daily operations of the company. There are multiple ERP software systems in the market, catering to wide variety of industries.