The systematic process of designing, creating, testing, and maintaining computer programs and applications to solve specific problems or meet user needs.
Emerged in the 1960s as programming evolved from individual craft to industrial process. The term 'software' was coined by statistician John Tukey in 1958 to contrast with 'hardware,' while 'development' reflects the structured methodologies that emerged to manage complex projects.
Software development has shifted from waterfall methodologies requiring detailed upfront planning to agile approaches that embrace iterative improvement and rapid feedback. The rise of open-source libraries and cloud platforms means modern developers spend more time integrating existing solutions than building everything from scratch.
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