SOFTWARE Tools for Productivity &

Creativity

Software consists of all the electronic instructions that tell

the computer how to perform a task..

- System software (OS, Device Drivers, Utility Software)

- Application software (MS Office, Graphics Software, Web
browsers)
 SYSTEM SOFTWARE: The Power behind
the Power

System software is the interface

between the user and the
application software and the
computer hardware.

System software enables the

application software to interact with
the computer and helps the
computer manage its internal and
external resource
 SYSTEM SOFTWARE: The Power behind
the Power

Three basic components of system software

• Operating systems: An operating system is the principal component of

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.
 THE OPERATING SYSTEM: What It Does

The operating system (OS), also called the software

platform, consists of the low-level, master system of
programs that manage the basic operations of the computer.

-handle the control and use of hardware resources including

disk space, memory, CPU time allocation, and peripheral
devices

-allows you to concentrate on your own tasks or applications

rather than on the complexities of managing the computer
 THE OPERATING SYSTEM: What It Does

Booting CPU File Task Security

management management management management
process of supervisor, or FINDING & MULTITASKING allow users to
loading an kernel, manages HANDLING : HANDLING control access
operating the CPU FILES MORE THAN to their
system into a Memory ORGANIZING ONE PROGRAM computers
computer’s Management FILES: CONCURRENTL
main memory Queues, buffers DIRECTORIES, Y
and spooling SUBDIRECTORI
ES, & PATH
 OTHER SYSTEM SOFTWARE: Device Drivers & Utility
Programs

Device Drivers: Running Peripheral Hardware

Device drivers are specialized software programs that allow input and
output devices to communicate with the rest of the computer system.

Utilities: Service Programs

Utility programs, also known as service programs, perform tasks

related to the control and allocation of computer resources.
 COMMON FEATURES OF THE USER INTERFACE

What are some common features of the graphical software environment, and how
do they relate to the keyboard and the mouse?

User interface — the user-controllable display screen that allows you to

communicate, or interact, with the computer

Using Keyboard & Mouse

SPECIAL-PURPOSE KEYS. Special-purpose keys are used to enter, delete, and edit
data and to execute commands. An example is the Esc (for “Escape”) key, which tells
the computer to cancel an operation or leave (“escape from”) the current mode of
operation. The Enter, or Return, key, which you will use often, tells the computer to
execute certain commands and to start new paragraphs in a document.
 COMMON FEATURES OF THE USER INTERFACE

FUNCTION KEYS. Function keys, labeled “F1,” “F2,” and so on, are positioned along
the top or left side of the keyboard. They are used to execute commands specific to the
software being used. For example, one application software package may use F6 to exit
a file, whereas another may use F6 to underline a word
 The GUI: The Graphical User Interface

Graphical User Interface (GUI) (pronounced “gooey”), which allows you to

use a mouse or keystrokes to select icons (little symbols) and commands from
menus (lists of activities).

DESKTOP, ICONS, & MENUS. Three features of a GUI are the desktop,
icons, and menus.

Desktop: After you turn on the computer, the first screen you will encounter is the
desktop (see right), a term that embodies the idea of folders of work (memos, schedules,
to-do lists) on a businessperson’s desk. The desktop, which is the system’s main
interface screen, displays pictures (icons) that provide quick access to programs and
information.
 The GUI: The Graphical User Interface

Icons and rollovers: We’re now ready to give a formal definition:

Icons. are small pictorial figures that represent programs, data files, or
procedures.

A rollover feature, a small text box explaining the icon’s function, appears
when you roll the mouse pointer over the icon. A rollover may also produce an
animated graphic.
 The GUI: The Graphical User Interface

Menus: Like a restaurant menu, a menu offers you a list of options to

choose from —in this case, a list of commands for manipulating data, such as
Print or Edit. Menus are of several types. Resembling a pull-down window
shade, a pull-down menu, also called a drop-down menu, is a list of options
that pulls down from the menu bar at the top of the screen

A rollover feature, a small text box explaining the icon’s function, appears
when you roll the mouse pointer over the icon. A rollover may also produce an
animated graphic.
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

Application Software: For Sale, for Free, or for Rent?

COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE. Commercial software, also called proprietary software or

packaged software, is software that’s offered for sale, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft
Office XP, or Adobe PhotoShop.

Several types of software licenses exist:

Site licenses. allow the software to be used on all computers at a specific location.
Concurrent-use licenses. allow 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.
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

PUBLIC-DOMAIN SOFTWARE. Public-domain software is not protected by copyright and thus may be
duplicated by anyone at will. Public- domain programs—sometimes developed at taxpayer expense by
government agencies— have been donated to the public by their creators.

SHAREWARE. Shareware is copyrighted software that is distributed free of charge, but users are
required to make a monetary contribution, or pay a registration fee, to continue using it —in other words,
you can try it before you buy it

FREEWARE. Freeware is copyrighted software that is distributed free of charge, today most often over
the internet
RENTALWARE: ONLINE SOFTWARE. Rentalware is online software that users lease for a fee and
download whenever they want it. This is the concept behind application service providers (ASPs), or
software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology, the idea of leasing software over the internet
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

PIRATED SOFTWARE. Pirated software is software obtained illegally, as when you get a CD/DVD from
a friend who has made an illicit copy of, say, a commercial video game

ABANDONWARE. “Abandonware” does not refer to a way to obtain software. It refers to software that is
no longer being sold or supported by its publisher. U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by
corporations are valid for up to 95 years from the date the software was first published. Copyrights are not
considered abandoned even if they are no longer enforced.

CUSTOM SOFTWARE. Occasionally, companies or individuals need software written specifically for
them, to meet unique needs
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

Tutorials & Documentation. How could software tutorials and documentation be helpful to me?

TUTORIALS. A tutorial is an instruction book or program that helps you learn to use the product by taking
you through a prescribed series of steps. For instance, our publisher offers several how-to books that
enable you to learn different kinds of software. Tutorials may also form part of the software package.

DOCUMENTATION. Documentation is all information that describes a product to users, including a

user guide or reference manual that provides a narrative and graphical description of a program
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

A Few Facts about Files & the Usefulness of Importing & Exporting

THREE TYPES OF DATA FILES. Three well-known types of data files are these:

• Document files: Document files are created by word processing programs and consist of documents such
as reports, letters, memos, and term papers.

• Worksheet files: Worksheet files are created by electronic spreadsheets and usually consist of collections
of numerical data such as budgets, sales forecasts, and schedules.

• Database files: Database files are created by database management programs and consist of organized
data that can be analyzed and displayed in various useful ways. Examples are student names and
addresses that can be displayed according to age, grade-point average, or home state.
 APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

A Few Facts about Files & the Usefulness of Importing & Exporting

EXCHANGING FILES: IMPORTING & EXPORTING. It’s useful to know that often files can be
exchanged—that is, imported and exported—between programs.

• Importing: 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.

• Exporting: Exporting is defined as transforming data into a format that can be used in another program
and then transmitting it. Exporting implies that the sending application reformats the data for the receiving
application; importing implies that the receiving application does the reformatting.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

Types of Application Software

APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

Word processing software allows you to use computers to create, edit, format, print, and
store text material, among other things. Word processing is the most common software
application

Spreadsheet 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

Database software is a program that sets up and controls the structure of a database and
access to the data.

In its most general sense, a database is any electronically stored collection of data in a
computer system. In its more specific sense, a database is a collection of interrelated files in
a computer system.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Getting Started

Presentation graphics software uses graphics, animation, sound, and data or information
to make visual presentations

Financial software is a growing category that ranges from personal-finance managers to

entry-level accounting programs to business financial-management packages.

Desktop publishing (DTP) involves mixing text and graphics to produce high-quality output
for commercial printing, using a microcomputer and mouse, scanner, laser or ink-jet printer,
and DTP software

Animation is the simulation (illusion) of movement created by displaying a series of still

pictures, or frames, very quickly in sequence. Computer animation refers to the creation of
moving images by means of a computer
Project management software is a program used to plan and schedule the people, costs,
and resources required to complete a project on time