I have read and heard that known similar patents and other prior art should be disclosed in the patent application, yet I find no examples of such disclosures in the "Background" sections (or any other sections) of existing similar or related patents, granted or not. So is it important or advisable to include, or not?
If so: Should the patent prior art be a listing of existing similar patents (number and title) with commentary on the similarities and differences as compared with the submitted invention disclosure?
For non-patent prior art, and referring specifically to software, how should existing software be presented for comparison to the invention of the disclosure? Links to the software's website, or articles about it?
Is it better to list all of this in an IDS form rather than in the main patent application document?