Computer Software

A. Kindly discuss on the following:

1. Identify the three categories of software and their functions.

1. System Software: System software or operating system is the software used by the
computer to translate inputs from various sources into a language which a machine can
understand. Basically, the OS coordinates the different hardware components of a
computer. There are many OS in the market. The most popular Os are from the stable
of Microsoft.

2. Application software: A normal user rarely gets to see the operating system or to
work with it. But all of us are familiar with application software which we must use to
interact with a computer. Popular examples of application software are the Microsoft
office suite which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. We have used these
applications extensively. Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox is two applications used to
access the internet. E-mail software like Outlook express is used to manage Emails. It is
obvious that all software utilized for working on a computer is classified as application
software.

3. Programming languages: Now this is a kind of computer software which is used

exclusively by computer programmers. Unless we are also programmers, we are
unlikely to come across programming languages. A simple way to understand
programming languages is to think of them as bricks which can be used to create
applications and operating system. C++, Java and Simlab are some popular
programming languages. Generally Java is used for internet applications. C++ is a
language of professional developers and used extensively in developing operating
systems. PHP is another language used for internet applications. There is a new class
of languages which are being utilized for the mobiles. These are light weight, modular
languages which are used to design mobile applications.

2. Describe four important analytic themes in Information Science.

Descriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics answers the question of what happened. Let us bring an example
from ScienceSoft’s practice: having analyzed monthly revenue and income per product
group, and the total quantity of metal parts produced per month, a manufacturer was
able to answer a series of ‘what happened’ questions and decide on focus product
categories.
Descriptive analytics juggles raw data from multiple data sources to give valuable
insights into the past. However, these findings simply signal that something is wrong or
right, without explaining why. For this reason, our data consultants don’t recommend
highly data-driven companies to settle for descriptive analytics only, they’d rather
combine it with other types of data analytics.

Diagnostic analytics

At this stage, historical data can be measured against other data to answer the question
of why something happened. For example, you can check ScienceSoft’s BI demo to see
how a retailer can drill the sales and gross profit down to categories to find out why they
missed their net profit target. Another flashback to our data analytics projects: in the
healthcare industry, customer segmentation coupled with several filters applied (like
diagnoses and prescribed medications) allowed identifying the influence of medications.

Diagnostic analytics gives in-depth insights into a particular problem. At the same time,
a company should have detailed information at their disposal, otherwise, data collection
may turn out to be individual for every issue and time-consuming.

Predictive analytics

Predictive analytics tells what is likely to happen. It uses the findings of descriptive and
diagnostic analytics to detect clusters and exceptions, and to predict future trends,
which makes it a valuable tool for forecasting. Check ScienceSoft’s case study to get
details on how advanced data analytics allowed a leading FMCG company to predict
what they could expect after changing brand positioning.

Predictive analytics belongs to advanced analytics types and brings many advantages
like sophisticated analysis based on machine or deep learning and proactive approach
that predictions enable. However, our data consultants state it clearly: forecasting is just
an estimate, the accuracy of which highly depends on data quality and stability of the
situation, so it requires careful treatment and continuous optimization.
Prescriptive analytics

The purpose of prescriptive analytics is to literally prescribe what action to take to

eliminate a future problem or take full advantage of a promising trend. An example of
prescriptive analytics from our project portfolio: a multinational company was able to
identify opportunities for repeat purchases based on customer analytics and sales
history.

Prescriptive analytics uses advanced tools and technologies, like machine learning,
business rules and algorithms, which makes it sophisticated to implement and manage.
Besides, this state-of-the-art type of data analytics requires not only historical internal
data but also external information due to the nature of algorithms it’s based on. That is
why, before deciding to adopt prescriptive analytics, ScienceSoft strongly recommends
weighing the required efforts against an expected added value

3. Explain five types of programming languages and their general capabilities.

Functional Programming Language

Functional programming language typically uses stored data, frequently avoiding loops
in favor of recursive functions.The functional programing’s primary focus is on the
return values of functions, and side effects and different suggests that storing state are
powerfully discouraged.

Object-oriented Programming Language

This programming language views the world as a group of objects that have internal
data and external accessing parts of that data. The aim this programming language is
to think about the fault by separating it into a collection of objects that offer services
which can be used to solve a specific problem. One of the main principle of object
oriented programming language is encapsulation that everything an object will need
must be inside of the object.

Scripting Programming Language

These programming languages are often procedural and may comprise object-oriented
language elements, but they fall into their own category as they are normally not full-
fledged programming languages with support for development of large systems. For
example, they may not have compile-time type checking. Usually, these languages
require tiny syntax to get started.

Logic Programming Language

These types of languages let programmers make declarative statements and then
allow the machine to reason about the consequences of those statements. In a sense,
this language doesn’t tell the computer how to do something, but employing restrictions
on what it must consider doing.

Procedural Programming Language

The procedural programming language is used to execute a sequence of statements

which lead to a result. Typically, this type of programming language uses multiple
variables, heavy loops and other elements, which separates them from functional
programming languages. Functions of procedural language may control variables, other
than function’s value returns. For example, printing out information.

4. Discuss PDA applications that can be used as part of physical assessment.

Limited information is available on personal digital assistant (PDA) use patterns in

medical settings. Recognizing that use patterns may be important considerations for
development of handheld-based information systems, the authors characterized PDA
use at their institution. A survey was mailed to all internal medicine physicians at the
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, in May 2002. PDA use prevalence, user
demographics, hardware preferences, and work setting and application use frequencies
were assessed for respondents reporting current PDA use. Use patterns of trainees
(residents and subspecialty fellows) and attending physicians were compared. Trainees
reported more frequent PDA use in the hospital setting and for direct patient care.
Attending physicians reported more frequent PDA use in administrative settings and for
calendar functions. These findings may reflect differences in the information needs and
work roles of learners and experienced physicians. Such factors may be important
considerations for the development and implementation of institutional PDA resources.
5. Explain the differences among LANs, WANs, and MANs.

LAN- A network that connects a group of computers in a small geographical area.

WAN- It spans large locality and connects countries together. Example Internet.

MAN- It covers relatively large region such as cities, towns.

B. Define the following:

a. software

Computer software, or simply software, is a collection of data or computer instructions

that tell the computer how to work. This is in contrast to physical hardware, from which
the system is built and actually performs the work.

b. Information Science

The study of processes for storing and retrieving information, especially scientific or
technical information.

c. Programming Languages

A programming language is a formal language, which comprises a set of instructions

that produce various kinds of output. Programming languages are used in computer
programming to implement algorithms. Most programming languages consist of
instructions for computers.

d. PDA's

A personal digital assistant, also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device
which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced
by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in particular those based on
iOS and Android.
e. Networks

Computer network is a digital telecommunications network which allows nodes to share

resources. In computer networks, computing devices exchange data with each other
using connections between nodes.

> LAN

A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers within a

limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building.
By contrast, a wide area network not only covers a larger geographic distance, but also
generally involves leased telecommunication circuits.

> WANs

A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large
geographical area for the primary purpose of computer networking. Wide area networks
are often established with leased telecommunication circuits.

> MANs

A metropolitan area network is a computer network that interconnects users with

computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a metropolitan area.

References:

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-
rev1&sxsrf=ACYBGNSTQ7DJYHNZOO998ZCG0QJmS1VqaA%3A1578032511154&ei
=f90OXsr_CJHGmAXgzJT4AQ&q=what+is+pda+in+computer&oq=what+is+pda&gs_l=
mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.4.0l6j0i10j0.63698.66094..68316...1.1..1.912.2716.0j2j3j2j6-
1......0....1.......8..0i71j35i362i39j35i39j0i67j0i273.XsRhY23xcLQ

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-
rev1&sxsrf=ACYBGNS0XsWiFNw0Ej4jQXIwrdGggz3EFQ%3A1578032688072&ei=MN
4OXp7-
A_eEr7wPpIKykAk&q=what+is+software+in+computer&oq=what+is+software+i&gs_l=m
obile-gws-wiz-
serp.1.0.0i20i263j0i67j0l6.2402.4554..5275...1.1..0.182.475.0j3......0....1.........0i71j0i22i
30.G_ElygtNA5s
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-
rev1&sxsrf=ACYBGNS0XsWiFNw0Ej4jQXIwrdGggz3EFQ%3A1578032688072&ei=MN
4OXp7-
A_eEr7wPpIKykAk&q=what+is+information+science&oq=what+is+information+sc&gs_l
=mobile-gws-wiz-
serp.1.0.0j0i10j0l2j0i10j0j0i10j0.5358.10675..11771...9.0..1.245.1843.0j10j1......0....1.....
....35i39j0i67j0i20i263j0i273.Yfx5LPeSNOM

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-rev1&sxsrf=ACYBGNQ-IsSh-
xwxHu8H9OJ3z3f_5Hr-
SA%3A1578032753762&ei=cd4OXraBLoK5mAWBtKuQCw&q=what+is+programming+l
anguages&oq=what+is+programming+languages&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-
serp.3..0l5j0i22i30l3.68674.89677..90400...2.1..1.216.2885.0j15j2....2..8....1.......8..0i71j
35i362i39j35i39j0i67j0i273j0i20i263.1zuFMJByqAU

https://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/different-types-of-computer-software-jjwap.html

https://www.scnsoft.com/blog/4-types-of-data-analytics

https://www.typesnuses.com/types-of-programming-languages-with-differences/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.researchgate.net/publication/10607427_Survey_A
ssessment_of_Personal_Digital_Assistant_PDA_Use_among_Trainees_and_Attendings/amp