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Computer Software

Software Engineering

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2 views17 pages

Computer Software

Software Engineering

Uploaded by

authornews24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer Software

Professor Dr. Md. Ismail Jabiullah


Department of CSE
Daffodil International University
Learning Objectives

 In this Lecture you will learn about:


 Term “Software” and its relationship with “Hardware”
 Various types of software and their examples
 Relationship among hardware, system software, application
software, and users of a computer system
 Different ways of acquiring software
 Various steps involved in software development
 Firmware
 Middleware
Software
 Hardware refers to the physical devices of a
computer system.
 Software refers to a collection of programs
 Program is a sequence of instructions written in a
language that can be understood by a computer
 Software package is a group of programs that solve
a specific problem or perform a specific type of job
Relationship Between
Hardware and Software
 Both hardware and software are necessary for a
computer to do useful job. They are complementary to
each other
 Same hardware can be loaded with different software
to make a computer system perform different types of
jobs
 Except for upgrades, hardware is normally a one-time
expense, whereas software is a continuing expense
 Upgrades refer to renewing or changing components
like increasing the main memory, or hard disk
capacities, or adding speakers, modems, etc.
Types of Software
 Most software can be divided into two major categories:

 System software are designed to control the operation and


extend the processing capability of a computer system

 Application software are designed to solve a specific problem


or to do a specific task
System Software
 Make the operation of a computer system more
effective and efficient
 Help hardware components work together and
provide support for the development and execution
of application software
 Programs included in a system software package are
called system programs and programmers who
prepare them are called system programmers
 Examples of system software are operating systems,
programming language translators, utility programs,
and communications software
Application Software
 Solve a specific problem or do a specific task
 Programs included in an application software
package are called application programs and the
programmers who prepare them are called
application programmers
 Examples of application software are word
processing, inventory management, preparation of
tax returns, banking, etc.
Logical System Architecture
Ways of Acquiring Software

 Buying pre-written software


 Ordering customized software
 Developing customized software
 Downloading public-domain software
 Each of these ways of acquiring software has its own
advantages and limitations
Advantages and Limitations
of Buying Pre-written Software

Usually costs less


Planned activity can be stared almost
immediately
Often, operating efficiency and the
capability to meet specific needs of user
more effectively in not as good for pre-written
software packages as for in-house developed
software packages
Advantages & Limitations of
Ordering Customized Software

 User need not maintain its own software


development team, which is an
expensive affair
 User needs to always depend on the
vendor for carrying out the changes and
the vendor may separately charge for
every request for change
Advantages & Limitations of
Developing Customized
Software
 Easier to carry out changes in the software, if it is developed in-
house

 Developing software in-house means a major commitment of


time, money, and resources

 In-house software development team needs to be maintained


and managed
Advantage & Limitations of
Downloading Public-domain
Software
 Available for free or as shareware, and are usually
accompanied with source code

 Usually community-supported as author does not support users


directly

 Can be downloaded and used immediately

 They may not be properly tested before release

 Open Source Software (OSS) are becoming popular due to:


 Allows any user to download, view, modify, and redistribute
 User can fix bugs or change software to suit needs
 Copyright is protected for both original and subsequent authors

 Not all open source software are free and vise-verse


Software Development Steps

 Developing a software and putting it to use is a


complex process and involves following steps:
 Analyzing the problem at hand and planning the
program(s) to solve the problem
 Coding the program(s)
 Testing, debugging, and documenting the
program(s)
 Implementing the program(s)
 Evaluating and maintaining the program(s)
Firmware
Firmware is software substituted for hardware
and stored in read-only memory
Firmware technology has enabled production
of various types of smart machines having
microprocessor chips with embedded
software
Middleware
Basic idea is to have a separate software layer
to:
 Act as “glue” between client and server parts of
application
 Provide programming abstraction
 Mask heterogeneity of underlying network, hardware,
and OS

Encourages three-tier software architecture


against two-tier popularized by Server-Client
architecture
Key Words/Phrases

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