What is a Software: Understanding the basics of it

Introduction

• With the help of AI today, it is easy to build a software. I personally tried building a sample portfolio website using AI tools such as Google Gemini CLI alongside with other required softwares. In the past, people need expertise in this area. From understanding how software works to using particular software tools. This takes over a decade of education and experience to become proficient in it.
• This is no longer the case today. All you have to do is to write well and AI will turn your desires into realities. Regardless to say, it is still important to understand how software works. AI is trained under machine learning. While it is efficient, it can make mistakes. With no experience, developers can spend weeks in fixing AI bugs too

The Composition of a Software

• A software consist of two different parts: the Front End and the Back End.

Front End

• The Front End is where the user interacts with the software. Technical term for this is the User Interface and User Experience. It can be split into three categories:

1. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): This is the structure of a software. Where should this text box go? Where is the menu bar? What should the header and footer contain? While the term is used more in developing websites, the concept still apply to the software.
2. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS): This is the design of a software. What colors should the background be? What font sizes and styles should be used? All of these informations are contained in a css. file.
3. Javascript: This is where you design the interactions of a software. What happens if the user presses this button? When should a pop up notifications come up?. All of these information are included in the js. file.

Back End

• The Back End is where all the information of the software is stored. Take Face book as an example. User Profiles, Users' username and password are stored in a server. Back End developers need to be proficient in using Structured Query Language (SQL) as well as keeping themselves up to date with services, databases and relevant hardwares

The Workflow of a Software Application

• The general workflow of a software application is when the user interacts with a software, the software sends information to the server. The server checks the information and respond to the Front End suitably.
• Take a simple login page as an example. The user types in username and password then presses login. The information (username and password) is sent to the server to check whether it is in the database. If it is in the database, the user will then proceed to the homepage. If not, an error notification will pop up.

References

• Satangmongkol K. (2026), Mini Gemini Bootcamp, The School of Duck, https://www.duckstep.co/mini-gemini-bootcamp
• Satangmongkol K. (2025), Data Science Bootcamp 12, Data Rockie School, https://data-science-bootcamp1.teachable.com/p/data-science-bootcamp-12
• Coursera IBM (2026), Introduction to HTML, CSS, & JavaScript, https://www.coursera.org/learn/introduction-html-css-javascript