Prepared By: Mr. A.J .

Patel

Introduction to Software
System software: System software is a type of computer program that is
designed to run a computers hardware and application programs. If we think of
the computer system as a layered model, the system software is the interface
between the hardware and user applications.
The operating system (OS) is the best-known example of system software. The OS
manages all the other programs in a computer.
System software and application programs are the two main types of computer
software. Unlike system software, an application program (often just called an
application or app) performs a particular function for the user. Examples (among
many possibilities) include browsers, email clients, word
processors and spreadsheets.
The system software is installed on your computer when you install your operating
system. You can update the software by running programs such as "Windows
Update" for Windows or "Software Update" for Mac OS X
System software is bridge between Hardware and Application software.

Software: Software is a general term for the various kinds of programs used to
operate computers and related devices.



Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel

Operation System: An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that
manages computer hardware resources and provides
common services for computer programs. The operating system is an essential
component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs
usually require an operating system to function.
Functions of an operating system
The basic functions of an operating system are:
i. Booting the computer
ii. Performs basic computer tasks Ex. managing the various peripheral devices
Ex. mouse, keyboard
iii. Provides a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface (GUI)
iv. Handles system resources such as computer's memory and sharing of the
central processing unit (CPU) time by various applications or peripheral
devices
v. Provides file management which refers to the way that the operating system
manipulates, stores, retrieves and saves data.
Types of file system:
File Allocation table (FAT)
New Technology file system (NTFS)
Multi user:
A multi-user operating system allows multiple users to access a computer system
at the same time. Time-sharing systems and Internet servers can be classified as
multi-user systems as they enable multiple-user access to a computer through the
sharing of time. Single-user operating systems have only one user but may allow
multiple programs to run at the same time.

Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel





Multi Tasking:
Multi-tasking operating system allows more than one program to be running at the
same time, from the point of view of human time scales. A single-tasking system
has only one running program.

Multi threading:
The ability of an operating system to execute different parts of a program,
called threads, simultaneously. The programmer must carefully design the
program in such a way that all the threads can run at the same time without
interfering with each other.

Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel

Multi processor:
Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within a
single computer system. The term also refers to the ability of a system to support
more than one processor and/or the ability to allocate tasks between them.

Application software: Application software consists of Programs that direct
computers to perform specific information processing activities for end users.
These programs are called application packages because they direct the processing
required for a particular use, or application, which users want to accomplish.
Thousands of application packages are available because there are thousands of
different jobs end users want computers to do.
Application software is a program or group of programs designed for end users.

Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel

Examples
1.Image organizer
2.Media content creating/editing
3.3D computer graphics software
4.Animation software
5.Graphic art software
6.Image editing software
7.Raster graphics editor
8.Vector graphics editor
9.Video editing software
10.Sound editing software
11.Digital audio editor
12.Music sequencer
BIOS: Basic input output System
The BIOS is typically placed in a ROM chip that comes with the computer (it is
often called a ROM BIOS). This ensures that the BIOS will always be available and
will not be damaged by disk failures. It also makes it possible for a computer
to boot itself. Because RAM is faster than ROM, though, many computer
manufacturers design systems so that the BIOS is copied from ROM to RAM each
time the computer is booted.
Many modern PCs have flash BIOS, which means that the BIOS have been recorded
on a memory chip, which can be updated if necessary.
When BIOS boots up (starts up) your computer, it first determines whether all of
the attachments are in place and operational and then it loads the operating
system (or key parts of it) into your computer's random access memory (RAM)
from your hard disk or diskette drive.


Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel

File Management:
Files: A computer file is a resource for storing information, which is available to
a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage.

Folders: Folders make it easy to organize all of your files and Google documents,
spreadsheets, and presentations in Google Drive. Folders can also be stored
hierarchically, like folders on your desktop. In addition, folders can be shared.



Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel


Drives: Most computers these days will have 2 or 3 drives. Most of the time the C
drive is where the operating system is as well as where you store anything you
download. D drive is the recovery partition, and the E drive would be your optical
drive, either CD or DVD.

Tree:
Non--linear data structure
Hierarchical arrangement of data
Has components named after natural trees
root
branches
leaves



Prepared By: Mr. A.J .Patel


Path: A path, the general form of the name of a file or directory, specifies a unique
location in a file system.
Path is the complete location or name of where a computer, file, web, or other
object is located.
The MS-DOS path or file path for system.ini file may be:
c:\windows\system.ini
In Linux using the pwd command your path may be:
/home/hope/public_html/
The path to the share help on the hope computer on the Computer
Hope network may be:
\\hope\help
The path (URL) to this page on the Computer Hope Internet page is:
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/path.htm