SOFTWARE

What is it?
DEFINITION OF A SOFTWARE

A collection of programs that direct the operation of a computer.

 Hardware
 Software
 User instructions
DEFINITION OF A SOFTWARE

 Software, also called a program, consists of a series of related

instructions, organized for a common purpose, that tells the
computer what tasks to perform and how to perform them.
TYPES OF SOFTWARE

Two categories of software are:

System Software and Application
Software (or applications).
APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Application software consists of programs designed to make

users more productive and/or assist them with personal tasks.
Application software has a variety of uses:
 To make business activities more efficient
 To assist with graphics and multimedia projects
 To support home, personal, and educational tasks
 To facilitate communications
APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Define: - Are created to do a specific task.

 Business / Productivity
 Graphics
 Communication
 Home and Education
INTEGRATED SOFTWARE

 Is a program that includes all the major types of application

 Microsoft office
 Corel Suite
 Data can be transfer from one integrated software to another
 May not include all the application you require
 Software

COMMON PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

Therefore, the major productivity tools that are used by

businesses, clients, and end users (for personal purposes)
are:

• Word processors –used to create documents

• Spreadsheet –used to analyse numerical data and to

present information graphically

• Database Management Systems -used to analyse

numerical data and provide multiple viewing and
reporting of data gathered

• Presentation –used for conveying information visually and

audibly to large group of individuals; often times it is
used to sustain audiences interest visually
 Software

These application software packages allows their users to

create, edit, revise, store, and prints documents, among
others.
Some functionality within these packages enable users to
perform inserting, deleting, and moving of words or
sentences or paragraphs, in documents.
Mainly, they enable users to be more efficient in their tasks,
allowing them to ‘format’ their documents, with respect
to style and font, among others.
The three common word processors are WordPerfect,
Microsoft Word, and the OpenOffice Word Processor.
Some of these word processors facilitate features that are
used in desktop publishing packages. Enabling users to
integrate graphics and text for a professional look
(however, they lack the ease with which text and
graphics may be manipulated)
 Software

Sample screen shot of a word processor

 Software

These application software packages allows their users to create

tables and financial schedules, by entering data in rows and
columns. Often times they are arranged as a grid.

A main function that these packages allow users to perform are

automatic calculation of numerical data (affording the user a
save on creating arithmetic formulae).

One of the most useful features of a spreadsheet package is

their ability to perform ‘what-if’ analysis. That is, users may
ask: “What if I change a number? How will the other data be
affected?”

Some spreadsheet packages enable their users to link other

spreadsheets together, also known as dynamic file linking.
 Software

Spreadsheets can be used to display numerical data in a

graphical form. Some of the forms are pie charts or bar
graphs, which are easily read, analysed, and interpreted than
numerous columns of data.

Some of common terminologies that are associated with a

spreadsheet package are: cell, cell address, cell pointer,
column label, formulae, graphics, recalculation, row labels,
value, and scrolling, among others.
 Software

Sample screen shot of a spreadsheet

 Software

These application software packages consists of programs for

storing, cross-indexing, retrieving, and manipulating large
amount of data. Application software packages as such,
are know as Database Management System Software
(DBMS) or database manager, based on their ability to
secure data and verify their integrity for users.
These application software packages were developed to
replace the file manager (flat-file management system)
that would organize data into records, however limiting
access to one file at a time. Today, database systems are
created to ensure that normalization of data records are
predominant, multiple views of data is enabled, and
querying of records are possible.
Some of common terminologies that are associated with a
database management system software are: fields,
records, file, calculate and format, select and display,
querying and sort, among others.
 Software

Sample screen shot of a database management system

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Business Software
Business software is application software that assists people
in becoming more effective and efficient while performing
their daily business activities. Business software includes
programs such as word processing, spreadsheet,
database, presentation, note taking, personal information
manager, business software for phones, business software
suites, project management,
accounting, document management, and enterprise
computing software
 Software

These application software packages allows users to create

visual or audio aids for presentation and communicating
ideas simpler, to large audience. These programs typical
have predefined formats for presentations, including
ability to integrate multimedia to enhance presentations.

These application software packages allow users to manage

their personal finances, legal documents, referencing,
research and image gallery/editing, among others.

These application software allow users to share information

with users through network connections such as the
Internet. Some means of sharing information are:
newsgroup, FTP programs, chat room, and instant messages.
SYSTEM SOFTWARE

System software consists of the

programs that control or maintain the
operations of the computer and its
devices.
 Operating System
 Utility Program
SYSTEM SOFTWARE

 The Role of System Software

 System software serves as the interface between
the user, the application software, and the
computer’s hardware. To use application software,
such as a word processing program, your
computer must be running system software —
specifically an operating system. Three popular
personal computer operating systems are
Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
SYSTEM SOFTWARE

 An operating system (O/S), affects the control and performance

of a computer system. Controls hardware. Tells computer what
to do and how to do it. Provides the user interface between user
and computer hardware (h/w). The operating system is a set of
programs residing in main memory (RAM) which directs all
computer operations.
OPERATING SYSTEM

 This is a set of programs that conduct communication between

the hardware and application programs.
 Examples
 MSDOS
 Windows XP
 Widows 2000
 Linux
 Apple Macintosh
SYSTEMS SOFTWARE

Stand-Alone Operating Systems

A stand-alone operating system is a complete operating system that works on
a desktop computer, notebook computer, or mobile computing device.
Some stand-alone operating systems are called client operating systems
because they also work in conjunction with a server operating system.
Client operating systems can operate with or without a network. Other stand-
alone operating systems include networking capabilities, allowing the home
and small business user to set up a small network.
Examples of currently used stand-alone operating systems are Windows 7,
Mac OS X,
UNIX, and Linux. The following pages briefly discuss these operating systems.
SYSTEMS
SOFTWARE
Server Operating Systems
A server operating system is an operating system that is designed specifically
to support a network. A server operating system typically resides on a server.
The client computers on the network
rely on the server(s) for resources.
Many of the stand-alone operating systems function as clients and work in
conjunction with a server operating system.
Some of these stand-alone operating systems do include networking capability;
however, server operating systems are designed specifically to support all sizes
of networks, including medium- to large-sized
businesses and Web servers.
Examples of server operating systems include Windows Server 2008, UNIX,
Linux, Solaris, and NetWare.
SYSTEMS SOFTWARE
Embedded Operating Systems
The operating system on mobile devices and
many consumer electronics, called an embedded
operating system, resides on a ROM chip.
Popular embedded operating systems today include
Windows Embedded CE, Windows Mobile, Palm OS,
iPhone OS, BlackBerry, Google Android, embedded
Linux, and Symbian OS.
 Stand-alone • DOS
SYSTEMS SOFTWARE
• Early Windows versions (Windows 3.x, Windows 95,
Windows NT Workstation, Windows 98, Windows 2000
Professional, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP,
Windows Vista)
• Windows 7 /Windows 8
• Mac OS X
• UNIX
• Linux
Server • Early Windows Server versions (Windows NT Server,
Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003)
• Windows Server 2008 / 2012
• UNIX
• Linux
• Solaris
• NetWare
Embedded • Windows Embedded CE
• Windows Mobile
• Palm OS
• iPhone OS
• BlackBerry
• Google Android
• Embedded Linux
FUNCTIONS OF THE OS

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FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM
Booting the Computer - Starting and shutting down a computer
or mobile device
Providing a user interface
 A graphical user interface (GUI), you interact with menus and
visual images by touching, pointing, tapping, or clicking buttons
and other objects to issue commands.
 A command-line interface, a user types commands represented
by short keywords or abbreviations (such as dir to view a directory,
or list of files) or presses special keys on the keyboard (such as
function keys or key combinations) to enter data and instructions.
 Menu driven interface
 Managing programmes
manage the processing of multiple applications at once.
 Managing memory – keep track of memory location, whether it
is free or not. Move data to and from primary and secondary
memory.
 Is the allocation of main memory and other storage areas to the
system programmes as well as user programmes and data.
 Coordinating tasks
 The operating system determines the order in which tasks are
processed. A task, or job, is an operation the processor
manages. Tasks include receiving data from an input device,
processing instructions, sending information to an output
device, and transferring items from storage to memory and
from memory to storage.
 Configuring devices –
 A driver, short for device driver, is a
small program that tells the
operating system how to
communicate with a specific device.
Each device connected to a
computer, such as a mouse,
keyboard, monitor, printer, card
reader/writer, digital camera,
webcam, portable media player, or
smartphone, has its own specialized
set of commands and, thus, requires
its own specific driver.
Monitoring performance
A performance monitor is a program that assesses and
reports information about various computer resources
and devices.
Establishing an internet connection
Operating systems typically provide a means to establish
Internet connections. You can establish wired connections,
such as cable and DSL, or wireless connections, such as Wi-Fi,
mobile broadband, and satellite.
Providing file management
File management, that is, the storage of file of various storage
devices to another. It also allows all files to be easily changed and
modified through the use of text editors or some other files
manipulation routines.
Other device or media-related tasks
Updating operating system software
Many programs, including operating systems, include an automatic
update feature that regularly provides new features or corrections to the
program. That is, the operating system automatically checks to see if new
updates are available, and if so, downloads them from the Internet and
installs them on your computer. With an operating system, these updates
can include fixing program errors, improving program functionality,
expanding program features, enhancing security, and modifying device
drivers.
Allow users to control a network
Some operating systems are designed to work with a server on a network.
These multiuser operating systems allow multiple users to share a printer,
Internet access, files, and programs.
Administer Security
 UTILITY SOFTWARE

►Protect and maintain the computer

 Anti-Virus Software – Nortan,  Firewall

McAfee
 Uninstaller
 Disk Defragmentation -
 Compression  Disk Scanner
 Encryption Software  Screen Saver
 Archive – Winzip, winwar  Backup Utility
 UTILITY SOFTWARE

►Protect and maintain the computer

File viewer – Displays the contents of a file. E.g. Quickview
in Windows.

File compression – Reduces the size of a file usually to a

ZIP extension. E.g. PKZIP, WinZip.

Diagnostic utility – Compiles technical information about

your computer hardware and reports physical and logical
problems. Physical – scratch on disk, Logical – corrupted
file. E.g. Scandisk, Norton disk doctor.
 UTILITY SOFTWARE
►Protect and maintain the computer
Defragmenter – Reorganizes files and unused space on a
disk so that data can be accessed quickly and programs run
faster. E.g. defrag in Windows

Backup – Copies selected files to another disk/tape. It alerts

you if an additional disk is needed. The opposite RESTORE
utility should also exist. E.g. MSBACKUP, NovaBACKUP

Anti-virus – Prevents, detects, removes viruses from a

computer system. E.g. Norton Anti-virus, Mcaffee, Trend
Micro PC-cillin.
 UTILITY SOFTWARE

►Protect and maintain the computer

Screen saver – Causes the screen to display an image or

blank screen if no keyboard or mouse activity occurs for a
specified period of time. This prevented ghosting in the
past. Ghosting is where images are permanently etched in
the screen. You can also put a password on the screen
saver to prevent access.
QUESTIONS
What Is System Software, and What Are the Two Types
of System Software? System software consists of the programs that control
or maintain the operations of a computer and its devices. Two types of
system software are operating systems and utility programs. An operating
system (OS) is a set of programs containing instructions that work together to
coordinate all the activities among computer hardware resources. A utility
program, also called a utility, performs maintenance-type tasks,
usually related to managing a computer, its devices, or its programs.

What Are the Functions of an Operating System?

The operating system starts and shuts down a computer, provides a user
interface, manages programs, manages memory, coordinates tasks, configures
devices, establishes an Internet connection, monitors performance, provides
utilities, updates automatically, controls a network, and administers security.
 QUESTIONS
What Are the Types of Application Software Used in
Communications? Application software for communications
includes Web browsers to access and view
Web pages; e-mail programs to transmit messages via
a network; instant messaging software for real-time
exchange of messages or fi les; chat room software to
have real-time, online typed conversations; text, picture,
and video messaging software; RSS aggregator program
to keep track of changes made to Web sites
 QUESTIONS
What Are the Four Categories of Application Software?
Application software consists of programs designed to make users more
productive and/or assist them with personal tasks. The major categories
of application software are business software; graphics and multimedia
software; home, personal, and educational software; and
communications software.

What Are the Advantages of and Ways to Access Web Applications?

A Web application, or Web app, requires less disk space on a computer
than installed software and is less costly to upgrade. Users often
interact with Web applications directly at the Web site, referred to as the
host, through their Web browser. Some Web sites require that you
download the software to your computer or device.