CS101 Introduction to Computing
Lecture 13
Application Software
The focus of the last lecture was on
Operating Systems
Learning Goals for Today
To learn about application software To become familiar with various software used in the following application areas:
e.g.
Scientific/engineering/graphics Business Productivity Entertainment Educational
Two Major Types of Software
System Software Application Software
Hardware Operating System Device Driver
Language Scientific Business Productivity Entertainment Utility Translator Apps. Apps. Apps. Apps.
System software Application software
Application Software
Application software are programs that interact directly with the user They generally do not talk directly to the hardware
Classification According to the Mode
Interactive-mode
The user runs the program on the computer and keeps on interacting with the computer while the program runs Example: Word processor
Batch-mode
The user starts the program and the computer processes the provided data and produces results without any further intervention of from the user Example: Payroll
Classification According to Application Area
Scientific/engineering/graphics Business Productivity Entertainment Educational
Scientific/Engineering/Graphics Apps
Key feature: Intense floating-point calculations Scientific/engineering/mathematical apps
Computers initially were designed just to run them Generally designed for specialists Rudimentary UIs Many run in batch mode
Scientific SW
Simulation of natural systems
Deforestation and effect on green-house gases
Simulation of artificial systems
NeuralWare (Simulator for artificial neural networks) Thermo-nuclear explosions
Mathematical computation packages
Mathematica (can do hundreds, if not thousands of functions, e.g. solving a differential eq, symbolically) MathCAD
Engineering SW
Computer-aided design (CAD)
AutoCAD SPICE Virtual wind tunnels
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
Telecommunication system SW
Centrex
Industrial control SW
Graphics & Animation SW (1)
Two types:
Moving graphics e.g. cartoons
1. Vector graphics
Treats everything that is drawn as an object Objects retain their identity after they are drawn These objects can later be easily moved, stretched, duplicated, deleted, etc Are resolution independent Relatively small file size Example: MS Visio, Corel Draw, Flash
Graphics & Animation SW (2)
2. Bit-mapped or raster graphics
Treats everything that is drawn as a bit-map If an object is drawn on top of another, it is difficult to move just 1 of them while leaving the other untouched Changing the resolution often requires considerable touch-up work Relatively large file size Example: MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop
Business Applications
Most of the SW being developed today belongs to this category
SW that is required to run most any sort of biz:
Payroll General ledger Order entry Accounts receivable & accounts payable Inventory control
Lets now discuss a few business SW categories which are not that common, but are becoming more and more popular with time
E-Commerce Software
Key requirements:
Reliability Security Ability to handle 1000s of transactions, simultaneously
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) SW
Very large scale, complex & expensive SW
Ties together all key activities & major systems of an organization into a single SW system Key benefit: Optimization of the business processes of an organization as a single system instead of many loosely-related standalone systems
Example: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Baan
DSS (Decision Support Systems) SW
Sometimes also called expert systems Many times are based on a branch of computer science called artificial intelligence This category of SW is designed to help business managers in making effective decisions in complex situations based on the analysis of the relevant data
Productivity SW
Most popular category in terms of licenses sold
Common features
Ability to simplify, automate everyday business tasks Highly interactive and user-friendly design Designed to run on PCs Most users do not use 90% of the SW features
Popular productivity SW
Word Processing Presentations -- Spreadsheets -- Databases
Word Processors
Probably the most popular productivity app Initially designed as a replacement for the typewriter Automation
Automatic end-of-line soft carriage return Style sheets Table of contents & index Spelling & grammar checking
Two approaches: WYSIWYG (e.g. Word, WordPerfect, Star) or traditional markup (LaTeX)?
Desktop publishing
Web Page Development SW
Web pages can be developed using a simple plain-text editor like the notepad, but more efficient, easy-to-use HTML editors can make the process quicker Some of them are WYSIWYG (i.e. you dont really need to know any HTML to use them), others are not, while some provide both types of interfaces (DreamWeaver) Most popular word processors now come with a built-in Web page development facility
Spreadsheet SW (1)
Electronic replacement for ledgers Is used for automating engineering, scientific, but in majority of cases, business calculations A spreadsheet - VisiCalc - was the first popular application on PCs. It helped in popularizing PCs by making the task of financial-forecasting much simpler, allowing individuals to do forecasts which previously were performed by a whole team of financial wizard
Spreadsheet SW (2)
Consist of cells arranged in rows and columns
Each cell may contain numeric values, text or formulas Automation
Recalculations Charts
Presentation Development SW
Used to prepare multimedia material for lectures & presentations to display key points, graphics, animation, or video with the help of multimedia projectors Have replaced acetate films (slides) that were used with over-head projectors Key advantage over acetate slides:
Easy to modify Can be sent electronically Its multimedia nature makes it more interesting for the audience
Small-Scale Databases SW (1)
Easy to use applications designed for efficient storage and fast and easy retrieval of data That data may be in the form of numbers, text, or even multimedia, i.e. sounds, graphics, animation, video
Small-Scale Databases SW (2)
Before the advent of the currently popular relational database model, the databasing function was performed using what is called the flat-file model That model is not very efficient for storing and searching in large databases A database consists of a file or a set of files. Information in these is stored in the form of records, and the records are further subdivided into fields
Productivity SW Suites
A set of stand-alone productivity applications designed to work easily with each other Share a common UI Are available as a bundle along with additional useful utilities Examples: MS Office, Corel WordPerfect Office, Lotus SmartSuite, Star Office SW Suites for other app areas are available as well, e.g. the Adobe suite of graphics apps
Document-Centered Computing (DCC) - 1
The increasing cooperation among the apps included in productivity suites has given rise to a new computing paradigm called DCC
DCC implies that instead of developing parts of a doc in a number of apps, and then cutting&-pasting them to form the final doc, you stay in a single doc and call-up appropriate apps to insert the required objects
Document-Centered Computing (DCC) - 2
Lets say that we want to write a letter containing a map, a table and a graph
We can:
Launch the WP and type the text in Insert a drawing by calling up the drawing toolbar app (without leaving the WP) & draw the map Insert a table by calling up the spreadsheet app (without leaving the WP) & build the table Insert a graph based on that table using the same spreadsheet app without leaving the WP
Entertainment SW
Key feature:
Simple, intuitive, many times social UIs
The user is generally assumed to know nothing about computers Both Microsoft & Apple are pursuing a PC-as-apersonal-entertainment-hub strategy. Probable result: Already popular entertainment SW will become even more popular
Music & Video Players
Music players (WinAmp) Video/Music players (Real player, Windows Media player, QuickTime player) The Web Browsers can also display video, animation, and play music with the help of helper applications like Flash
Music Generation & Movie Editing SW
A PC can be made the hub of a music making studio with help of appropriate HW & SW Inexpensive, easy-to-use video editing SW has recently become available for the iMac
Games
Many types
Educational (especially for toddlers) Strategy/Simulation Sports Shootem ups
The saddest aspect: You do not need any opponents or partners to play computer games The application SW category that provides the toughest challenge for computer HW
Educational SW
Category with probably the highest growth rate Current focus on augmenting traditional training and education methods, but it is shifting towards replacing traditional methods
Electronic Encyclopedias
Great resource of useful information presented in a very interesting format Superior to the paper-based version because:
Access speed is dramatically higher
Can contain animation and sound Much lower cost as thousands of pages in dozens of volumes have been replaced by a couple of CDs
On-Line Learning
With time, the VU Web site will become more and more focused on interactive online learning The Website of our textbook Understanding Computers is an example of an on-line learning Website Key features of good online learning SW:
The student can learns at his or her own pace The student can select his or her own hours
Interactive CDs
Same as on-line learning, but through a CD instead of a Web site Key advantage:
Ideal for students with slow Internet access
Easy to install, un-install
Attributes of Good Application Software
User Interface
Consistent Intuitive Configurable Adapts to the users need
Has a tutorial and a complete help manual
Does not have any critical bugs
Most Popular Application Software Categories
1. Web browsers 2. Email clients 3. Word processors
What have we learnt today?
Application software are programs that interact directly with the user for the performance of a certain type of work That work generally falls into one of the following usage areas
Scientific/engineering/graphics Business Productivity Entertainment Educational
Focus of the Next Lecture
Next lecture will be the first among the four lectures that we plan to have on productivity SW That first lecture will be on word processing Well learn about what we mean by word processing Well discuss the usage of various functions provided by common word processors
