Application Software System Software

Software A computer is made up of tools and other hardware that will help people work better and more efficiently. A computer contains two major sets of tools, software and hardware. Software is generally divided into systems software and applications software.

System Software Software designed to operate the computer hardware and provides infrastructure for application software which consists of operating system and utility software such as compilers, loaders, linkers, and debuggers.

System Software Basic types of system software: Operating system BIOS Device driver Utility software Compilers Assemblers Debuggers

Operating System Device Driver BIOS Utility Software Software consisting of programs and data that runs on computers, manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for execution of various application software. Allows the parts of a computer to work together and also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application software. Device Driver Provides basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected to or built into the computer. BIOS BIOS which stands for Basic Input Output System contains code needed to run the keyboard, screen, disk drives and other functions Utility Software Helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. Examples: disk cleaners, anti virus software, data compression programs, disk drive partition utilities, storage, backup and archiving programs.

Compiler Debugger Linker Program that translates source code into object code. Compiler looks at the entire piece of source code , collects and reorganizes the instructions. Allows the parts of a computer to work together and also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application software. Debugger A special program used to find errors(bugs) in other programs. A debugger allows a programmer to stop a program at any point and examine and change the values of variables. Linker Program that combines object modules to form an executable program. Many programming languages allow you to write different pieces of code called module separately. Eventually, you need to put all the modules together. This is the job of the linker.

Application Software Comprises of programs designed for an end user such as word processors, database systems, and spreadsheet programs. Application software often includes multiple applications bundled together as a package or suite, like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice which both contain a suite of applications for common office usage. There are many types of applications software.

Types of application software for modern usage: Word Processing Software Database Software Spreadsheet Software Presentation Software Database is a structured collection of data. Database software allows the users to store and retrieve data from databases. E.g.: ORACLE, Microsoft Access Spreadsheet software allows users to perform calculations. They simulate paper worksheets by displaying multiple cells that make up a grid. E.g.: Microsoft Excel A software that is used to display information in the form of a slide show. E.g.: Microsoft PowerPoint This software enables the users to create and edit documents. E.g.: MS-Word, WordPad, Notepad Multimedia Software Educational Software Content Access Software Simulation Software A software that allow users to create and play audio and video media. E.g.: Real Player, Media Player Used in teaching and self-learning. It has the capabilities of running tests and tracking progress. A software used primarily to access content without editing. E.g.: Media Players, Web Browsers, Help browsers, Games Software for simulation of physical or abstract systems for either research, training or entertainment purposes. E.g.: flight simulators and scientific simulator

E.g.: Fedora, Ubuntu, Redhat Major Operating Systems for Personal Computers Linux Mac A Unix-like computer OS assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution E.g.: Fedora, Ubuntu, Redhat A series of graphical user interface-based OS developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. E.g.: Mac OS X Windows Windows XP Windows 98 Windows 95 Windows 2000 Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 Unix Unix is an operating system developed by Bell Labs to handle complex scientific applications using command line interface.

Functions of Operating System Processor Management Input/output Management Memory Management Co-ordination and assignment of the different output and input device while one or more programs are being executed. Allocation of main memory and other storage areas to the system programs as well as user programs and data. Assignment of processor to different tasks being performed by the computer system. File Management Establishment & enforcement of a priority system Manages reading and writing in the file system and they are protected from access by unauthorized users. Determines and maintains the order in which jobs are to be executed in the computer system.

Important characteristics of Operating System Multitasking Multi-user An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the same time and different times Single stream Programs and data were submitted in groups or batches Multithreading Allows different parts of a single program to run concurrently.