Classification

There are many different and alternative ways in order to classify application software.

By the legal point of view, application software is mainly classified with a black box approach, in relation to the rights of its final end-users or subscribers (with eventual intermediate and tiered subscription levels).

Software applications are also classified in respect of the programming language in which the source code is written or executed, and respect of their purpose and outputs.

By property and use rightsedit

Application software is usually distinguished among two main classes: closed source vs open source software applications, and among free or proprietary software applications.

Proprietary software is placed under the exclusive copyright, and a software license grants limited usage rights. The open-closed principle states that software may be "open only for extension, but not for modification". Such applications can only get add-on by third-parties.

Free and open-source software shall be run, distributed, sold or extended for any purpose, and -being open- shall be modified or reversed in the same way.

FOSS software applications released under a free license may be perpetual and also royalty-free. Perhaps, the owner, the holder or third-party enforcer of any right (copyright, trademark, patent, or ius in re aliena) are entitled to add exceptions, limitations, time decays or expiring dates to the license terms of use.

Public-domain software is a type of FOSS, which is royalty-free and - openly or reservedly- can be run, distributed, modified, reversed, republished or created in derivative works without any copyright attribution and therefore revocation. It can even be sold, but without transferring the public domain property to other single subjects. Public-domain SW can be released under an (un)licensing legal statement, which enforces those terms and conditions for an indefinite duration (for a lifetime, or forever).

By coding languageedit

Since the development and near-universal adoption of the web, an important distinction that has emerged, has been between web applications — written with HTML, JavaScript and other web-native technologies and typically requiring one to be online and running a web browser, and the more traditional native applications written in whatever languages are available for one's particular type of computer. There has been a contentious debate in the computing community regarding web applications replacing native applications for many purposes, especially on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Web apps have indeed greatly increased in popularity for some uses, but the advantages of applications make them unlikely to disappear soon, if ever. Furthermore, the two can be complementary, and even integrated.

By purpose and outputedit

Application software can also be seen as being either horizontal or vertical. Horizontal applications are more popular and widespread, because they are general purpose, for example word processors or databases. Vertical applications are niche products, designed for a particular type of industry or business, or department within an organization. Integrated suites of software will try to handle every specific aspect possible of, for example, manufacturing or banking worker, or accounting, or customer service.

There are many types of application software:

• An application suite consists of multiple applications bundled together. They usually have related functions, features and user interfaces, and may be able to interact with each other, e.g. open each other's files. Business applications often come in suites, e.g. Microsoft Office, LibreOffice and iWork, which bundle together a word processor, a spreadsheet, etc.; but suites exist for other purposes, e.g. graphics or music.
• Enterprise software addresses the needs of an entire organization's processes and data flows, across several departments, often in a large distributed environment. Examples include enterprise resource planning systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems and supply chain management software. Departmental Software is a sub-type of enterprise software with a focus on smaller organizations or groups within a large organization. (Examples include travel expense management and IT Helpdesk.)
• Enterprise infrastructure software provides common capabilities needed to support enterprise software systems. (Examples include databases, email servers, and systems for managing networks and security.)
• Application platform as a service (aPaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers development and deployment environments for application services.
• Information worker software lets users create and manage information, often for individual projects within a department, in contrast to enterprise management. Examples include time management, resource management, analytical, collaborative and documentation tools. Word processors, spreadsheets, email and blog clients, personal information system, and individual media editors may aid in multiple information worker tasks.
• Content access software is used primarily to access content without editing, but may include software that allows for content editing. Such software addresses the needs of individuals and groups to consume digital entertainment and published digital content. (Examples include media players, web browsers, and help browsers.)
• Educational software is related to content access software, but has the content or features adapted for use in by educators or students. For example, it may deliver evaluations (tests), track progress through material, or include collaborative capabilities.
• Simulation software simulates physical or abstract systems for either research, training or entertainment purposes.
• Media development software generates print and electronic media for others to consume, most often in a commercial or educational setting. This includes graphic-art software, desktop publishing software, multimedia development software, HTML editors, digital-animation editors, digital audio and video composition, and many others.
• Product engineering software is used in developing hardware and software products. This includes computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer language editing and compiling tools, integrated development environments, and application programmer interfaces.
• Entertainment Software can refer to video games, screen savers, programs to display motion pictures or play recorded music, and other forms of entertainment which can be experienced through use of a computing device.

Applications can also be classified by computing platform such as a particular operating system, delivery network such as in cloud computing and Web 2.0 applications, or delivery devices such as mobile apps for mobile devices.

The operating system itself can be considered application software when performing simple calculating, measuring, rendering, and word processing tasks not used to control hardware via command-line interface or graphical user interface. This does not include application software bundled within operating systems such as a software calculator or text editor.

Information worker softwareedit

• Accounting software
• Data management
  • Contact manager
  • Spreadsheet
  • Database software
• Documentation
  • Document automation
  • Word processor
  • Desktop publishing software
  • Diagramming software
  • Presentation software
  • Email
  • Blog software
• Enterprise resource planning
• Financial software
  • Day trading software
  • Banking software
  • Clearing systems
  • Arithmetic software
• Field service management
  • Workforce management software
• Project management software
  • Calendaring software
  • Employee scheduling software
  • Workflow software
• Reservation systems

Entertainment softwareedit

• Screen savers
• Video games
  • Arcade games
  • Console games
  • Mobile games
  • Personal computer games
• Software art
  • Demo
    • 64K intro

Educational softwareedit

• Classroom management
• Reference software
• Sales readiness software
• Survey management
• Encyclopedia software

Enterprise infrastructure softwareedit

• Business workflow software
• Database management system (DBMS)
• Digital asset management (DAM) software
• Document management software
• Geographic information system (GIS)

Simulation softwareedit

• Computer simulators
  • Scientific simulators
  • Social simulators
  • Battlefield simulators
  • Emergency simulators
  • Vehicle simulators
    • Flight simulators
    • Driving simulators
  • Simulation games
    • Vehicle simulation games

Media development softwareedit

• 3D computer graphics software
• Animation software
• Graphic art software
  • Raster graphics editor
  • Vector graphics editor
• Image organizer
• Video editing software
• Audio editing software
  • Digital audio workstation
• Music sequencer
  • Scorewriter
• HTML editor
• Game development tool

Product engineering softwareedit

• Hardware engineering
  • Computer-aided engineering
  • Computer-aided design (CAD)
  • Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
  • Finite element analysis

Software engineeringedit

• Compiler software
• Integrated development environment
  • Compiler
  • Linker
  • Debugger
• Version control
• Game development tool
• License manager