Difference between Application Software and Operating System

Application Software:

Application Software is one of the type of software which runs or executes as per user request. High level languages such as java, c, c++ etc are used to develop the application software. Application software is a specific purpose software which is intended to perform some task grouped together. Without an operating system application software can not be installed. It’s examples are Photoshop, VLC media player, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google chrome etc. 

Operating System:

An operating system is a computer program, works as interface between user and hardware and provides common services for computer programs. The entire process or functionality of computer system depends on the operating system. It is developed by using c++, c, assembly languages. 

An operating system performs some variety of tasks like, It manages files and directory creation and deletion, process creation, deletion, synchronization, memory allocation and deallocation. An operating system also prevents the computer system from unauthorized access and secures the resources, information and data. It’s examples are Microsoft Windows, Linux, Unix, DOS. Overall, we can say that without an operating system a computer system is nothing.

In above diagram, we can clearly see that the system and application program or software depend upon the operating system which is act as the interface between user and computer hardware. 

Difference between Application software and Operating system:

S. No.	Basis of Comparison	Application software	Operating System
1.	Definition	A computer program which is intended to perform some task classified along.	A system computer program that manages hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs.
2.	Installation	Application software is downloaded from internet.	Operating system comes installed on the device purchased.
3.	Development Languages	It is developed by using virtual basic, C++, C, and Java.	It is developed by using C++, C, and assembly languages.
4.	Goal	The application software’s primary goal is to accomplish a specific task.	To manage hardware resources efficiently.
5.	Size	It is usually in Megabytes(MB).	It is usually in Gigabytes(GB).
6.	Functionality	The application is only launched when the user wants it.	When the user turns on the computer, it begins to boot up and continues to run until the user turns it off.
7.	Usage	It is built to perform some specific tasks.	It works as an interface between user and hardware and performs a variety of tasks like memory management, scheduling, process management, etc.
8.	Dependency	It always depends upon the operating system.	But it does not depend upon application software. It provides the path to execute or run the application software.
9.	Run Time	It runs when the user desires to run the application.	It boots up when the user wants and runs until the user switches off the machine.
10.	Examples	Its examples are Photoshop, VLC player, etc.	Its examples are Microsoft Windows, Linux, Unix, and DOS.

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