Fundamentals of Computer Hardware & software

Software Distinguish between the two categories of software. Define application software Give examples of types of application software Explain the terms General-purpose Integrated Specialised Customised Custom-written

Software Categories Application Software System Software These are programs developed to carry out specific tasks or solve particular problems. System Software Manages and supports the resources and operations of a computer system. It enables the running of application software and management of system resources.

Application Software Examples include: Entertainment software Home & personal software Productivity software Specialist software

General-purpose software Also called “off-the-shelf” Not written for any specific business or organization but can be used or adapted to suit their specific needs. Usually well tested Relatively cheap Example Spreadsheet and word-processing packages.

Integrated software A set of related programs combined in a unified package that allows data to be transferred easily between the programs. Main advantage is the ease with which data can be transferred from one component to another using a cut/copy-paste operation. Examples Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, Sun OpenOffice, iWorks

Specialised software Software written for a specific task rather than for a broad application area. Example payroll, expert systems, accounting programs, theatre and airline booking systems

Customised software General-purpose software which has been modified to meet the needs of an individual or organization better. Customized through the use of special codes or macros (which are short programs written to automate several steps in software) Usually written by experienced end users of the program.

Custom-written software (tailor-made) Written by programmers within a company or contracted out to a software house to meet the specific needs of a company. Every company is unique and may have unique needs, so a solution tailored to achieve the company’s goals, based on their specialized requirements offers advantages when compared to general-purpose packages.

System Software There are two major categories of system software: Operating System Utility programs One textbook has a third… Language translators

Operating System A set of programs managing the operations of a computer, without which the computer cannot function. the term ‘booting’ refers to the process of loading the operating system into a computer’s main memory from disk. It remains in the main memory until the computer is turned off.

Types of Operating System Linux Microsoft Windows MSDOS OSX OS/2 Microsoft NT Server Unix

Functions of the OS Managing computer resources Managing files and memory Maintaining security Managing tasks Multitasking (concurrent processes – running at the same time) Multiprogramming Multiprocessing Time-sharing Batch Processing Real-time processing Providing a user interface

User Interfaces Command-driven Menu-driven Graphical (GUI or WIMP) User enters a command by typing in codes or words. Menu-driven Allows the use of either a mouse, cursor-keys or keyboard to make a selection from a menu. Graphical (GUI or WIMP) Windows Icons Menus Pointers Use graphic images, menus and keystrokes to choose commands, start programs, folders, files, tasks, procedures .