SOFTWARE

Tools for Productivity &

Creativity
 Objectives
 The Operating System: What It Does
 Other System Software: Device Drivers & Utility Programs
 Common Features of the User Interface
 Application Software: Where to Get It, How to Use It
 Data Files & Program Files
 Word Processing Software
 Spreadsheet Programs
 Database Software
 Office Suites & Integrated Packages
 Specialty Application Software

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 “Massive digital disruption,” says James

McQuivey, is occurring “at a scale

and pace most are simply not prepared for.”

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 Software
• Application software: Application software is software that has been
developed to solve a particular problem for users to perform useful
work on specific tasks or to provide entertainment
• System software: System software runs at the most basic level of your
computer and enables the application software to interact with the
computer and helps the computer to manage its internal and external
resources, as well as manage the hardware.
• Discussion question: Give examples of software under each category.

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 Basic components of system software
• Operating systems: An operating system is the principal
component of the system software in any computing system.
• Device drivers: Device drivers help the computer control peripheral
devices
• Utility programs: Utility programs are generally used to support,
enhance, or expand existing programs in a computer system.

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Basic components of system software

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THE OPERATING SYSTEM: What It
Does
• The operating system (OS) consists of the low-level, master
system of programs that manage the basic operations of the
computer
• They handle the control and use of hardware resources including,
– disk space, memory, CPU (processor) time allocation,
– and peripheral devices.
• Each application program is written to run on top of a particular
operating system

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 What OS does
The work of the operating system begins as soon as you turn on, or
“boot,” the computer.
• Booting is the process of loading an operating system into a
computer’s main memory
• When you turn on the machine, programs called diagnostic routines
test the main memory, the central processing unit, and other parts of
the system to make sure they are running properly
– When you power up a computer by turning on the power “on”
switch, this is called a cold boot
– If your computer is already on and you restart it, this is called a
warm boot or a warm start.

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 What OS does
• .
THE BOOT DISK:
Normally your
computer would boot
from the hard drive,
but if that drive is
damaged, you can use
a disk called a boot
disk (or a restore disk )
to start up your

• Booting from cloud

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 What OS does
• CPU management
– The central component of the operating system is the kernel
– The kernel, manages the CPU, while the computer is running and
copies into memory other “nonresident” programs (programs that
were not in memory) to perform tasks that support application
programs.
• Memory management
– The operating system also manages memory—it keeps track of the
locations within the main memory, where the programs and data are
stored.
– Virtual memory uses both hardware and software to enable a
computer to compensate for physical memory shortages, temporarily
transferring data from random access memory (RAM) to disk storage

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 What OS does
• File management
– A file is
• (1) a named collection of data (data file) e.g. word processing documents,
spreadsheets, images, songs
• (2) a program (program file) that exists in a computer’s secondary storage,
such as a hard disk e.g. word processing program or a spreadsheet program.
– Finding & Handling Files
• The operating system records the storage location of all files. If you
move, rename, or delete a file, the operating system manages such
changes
– Organizing Files: Directories/Folders, Subfolders, & Paths
• The operating system’s file system arranges files in a hierarchical manner,
first into folders (also called directories ) and then into subfolders
(subdirectories).

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 What OS does
• Task Management
– A task is an operation such as storing, printing, or calculating.
– Multitasking is the execution of two or more programs by one
user almost at the same time on the same computer with one or
two central processors;
• That is, the programs are sharing the same processing
resources
– Task Manager shows you the programs, processes, and services
that are currently running on your computer

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 What OS does
• Security Management
– Operating systems allow users to control access to their computers
– Some OSs even allow you to protect individual files with separate
access passwords.

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 OTHER SYSTEM SOFTWARE: Device Drivers
& Utility Programs
• Device drivers are specialized software programs that allow input
and output devices to communicate with the rest of the computer
system.
• Utility programs, also known as service programs, perform tasks
related to the control, allocation, and maintenance of computer
resources
– Among the tasks performed by utilities are backing up data,
compressing files, recovering lost data, and identifying hardware
problems
– Examples of external utility programs (such as Norton System
Works and McAfee Utilities

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 More on Utilities

• Reading Assignment
– File Defragmentation
– Disk Cleanup
– Backup
– Data Recovery
– Virus Protection

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 THE USER INTERFACE

• Today the computer’s “dashboard” is usually a graphical user interface

(GUI) (pronounced “gooey”),
• Allows you to use a mouse or keystrokes to select icons (little graphic
symbols) and commands from menus or menu bars (lists of activities).
• features of a GUI
– Desktop

– Icons and rollovers

– Menus

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 Categories Of Operating
Systems
• Stand-alone: often called a desktop operating system that works on
a single desktop or notebook (laptop) computer. Sometimes called
client operating systems when works with server

• Network: designed for the sole purpose of supporting workstations,

database sharing, application sharing, and file and printer access
sharing among multiple computers in a network.
• Embedded: Embedded operating systems used in portable devices
are also called mobile operating systems e.g. Google Android, iOS,
BlackBerry, and Windows phone
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 Application Software
• Is software that has been developed to solve a particular problem
for users—to perform useful work on specific tasks or to provide
entertainment eg MS Office, Google Chrome.
• People interact mainly with the application software, which
interacts with the system software, which interacts with the
computer.

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 Sources of Software
• Custom Software

– Is tailor-made software crafted by an individual or team of

programmers for a particular function or business purpose
• Packaged Software

– Is copyrighted, mass-produced software that’s offered for sale

in stores or on the web to a variety of users
– Also called proprietary software or commercial software

– Packaged software is protected by copyright

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 Sources of Software
• Pirated software
– Pirated software is software obtained illegally, such as
downloaded off the Internet, transmitted via an illicit
CD/DVD copy made by a friend, or bought in a market in a
foreign country.
• Abandonware:
– Sometimes a software publisher will abandon selling or
supporting a software program so that it is considered
“abandonware.” Still, U.S. copyrights continue to be valid for
up to 95 years from the date the software was first published,
so you shouldn’t think it’s legal to copy abandoned software .

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 software license

• In paying for a software license

– You sign a contract in which you agree not to make copies
of the software to give away or resell.
– you have bought only the company’s permission to use the
software and not the software itself

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 Types of software licenses
• Site license:
– Allows the software to be used on all computers at a specific
location
• Concurrent-use license
– Allows a certain number of copies of the software to be used
at the same time
• Multiple-user license
– Specifies the number of people who may use the software
• Single-user license
– Limits software use to one user at a time

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 Public-domain Software
• Is not protected by copyright and thus may be duplicated by
anyone at will, with no fear of legal prosecution.
• Sometimes developed by government agencies or universities
and often downloadable from the web
• Have been donated to the public by their creators

• E.g.
– Freeware: copyrighted software that is distributed free of charge

– Shareware: copyrighted software that is distributed free for a trial period

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 WEB APPLICATION
• A web application,

– or web app, is software that runs on a remote

– Internet server rather than on a person’s own personal

computer
• Web apps are booming in popularity as cloud computing
becomes more established

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Types of Application Software

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 Data Files & Program Files
• Data files
– are files that contain data, such as words, numbers,
pictures, or sounds.
– Data files don’t instruct the computer to do anything; they
are there to be acted on by program files.
• Program files
– are files containing software instructions that execute, or
run, when the program is opened.
– Examples are word processing or spreadsheet programs,
which are made up of several different program files.

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 Exchanging Data Files: Exporting &
Importing

• Exporting

– is defined as transforming data into a format that can be used

in another program and then transmitting it
• Importing

– is defined as getting data from another source and then

converting it into a format compatible with the program in
which you are currently working.

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 Data Compression
• Compression
– Is a method of removing repetitive elements from a data file so that it requires less
storage space and therefore less time to transmit.

• Types of compression
– Lossless compression algorithms reduce the size of files without losing
any information in the file, which means that we can reconstruct the
original data from the compressed file
– Lossy compression algorithms reduce the size of files by discarding the
less important information in a file, which can significantly reduce file
size but also affect file quality.
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 Word Processing Software

• Word processing software allows you to use computers to

create, edit, format, print, and store text material,
• The best-known word processing program is Microsoft Word, but
there are others, such as Corel WordPerfect, Apple iWork Pages
• Visit the link below for more.
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC13M8FGlNc
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lS1nHBJ2Yc

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 Spreadsheet Programs

• A spreadsheet program, or worksheet, allows users to create

tables and financial schedules by entering data and formulas into
rows and columns arranged as a grid on a display screen
• Today the principal spreadsheet programs are Microsoft Excel,
Corel Quattro Pro, Apple iWork Numbers
• Visit the link below for more.
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1VUZEVuDJ8&t=425s
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhZckWTLkJM

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 Database Software
• A database is a collection of interrelated files in a computer
system
• These computer-based files are organized according to their
common elements so that they can be retrieved easily.
• Database software is a program that sets up and controls the
structure of a database and access to the data. eg MS Access
• The Benefits of Database Software
– Integration
– Integrity

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 Presentation Graphics Software

• Presentation graphics software is intended primarily for creating

slide-show presentations, reports, portfolios, and training materials.
• Uses graphics, animation, sound, and data or information to make
visual presentations.
• Pages in presentation software are often referred to as slides,
• visual presentations are commonly called slide shows
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7Tku3_RGPs

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcOq9LnBshY

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 Reading Assignment
• Desktop Publishing Software
• Video/Audio Editing Software
• Animation Software
• Multimedia Authoring Software
• Web Page Design/Authoring Software
• Project Management Software
• Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

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 Quiz
• Which type of software can you download and duplicate without any
restrictions whatsoever and without fear of legal prosecution?
A. Packaged software
B. Shareware
C. Public-domain software
D. Pirated software
E. Rental ware
• Which of the following refers to the execution of two or more programs by one
user almost at the same time on the same computer with one central
processor?
A. Multitasking
B. Multiprocessing
C. Time-sharing
D. Multiprogramming
E. Coprocessing

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