Chapter 4 Computer

Software
Types of Application & System
Software

Chapter 4 Computer Software 2

Application Software
 General Purpose
 Programs that perform common information processing
jobs for end users; e.g., word processing, spreadsheet
 Also call productivity packages
 Custom Software
 Software applications developed within an organization for
use by that organization
 Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS)
 Many copies sold
 Minimal changes beyond further than scheduled upgrades improvements
 Purchasers have no control over specifications, schedule,
or evolution, and no access to source code or internal
documentation
 Product vendor retains the intellectual property rights of
the software
Chapter 4 Computer Software 3
Application Software
 Open-source Software
 Developers collaborate on the development of an
application using programming standards which allow
anyone to contribute to the software
 As each developer completes a project, the application
code becomes available and free to anyone who wants it

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Business Application Software
 Function-Specific Application Software
 Thousands of these packages support
specific applications of end users
 Examples: customer relationship
management, enterprise resource planning,
supply chain management, Web-enabled
electronic commerce

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Software Suites, Integrated
Packages
 Most widely used productivity packages are
bundled together as software suites
 Advantages
 Cost less than buying individual packages
 All have similar GUI
 Work well together
 Disadvantages
 All features not used
 Takes a lot of disk space (bloatware)

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Components of Top Software
Suites

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Web Browsers
 Software applications that support navigation
through the point-and-click hyper-linked
resources of the Web
 Becoming the universal platform from which end
users launch…
 Information searches
 E-mail
 Multimedia file transfer
 Discussion groups
 Other Internet-based applications

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Search Engines
 Browsers are used to gain access to Internet
search engines
 Google, Ask Jeeves, Look Smart, Lycos,
Overture, Yahoo!
 Using search engines to find information has
become an indispensable key part of Internet,
intranet, and extranet applications

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E-mail, Instant Messaging, and
Weblogs
 E-mail
 Software to communicate by sending and
receiving messages and attachments via the
Internet, intranet, or extranet
 Instant messaging (IM)
 Receive electronic messages instantly
 Weblog or blog
 A personal website in dated log format
 Updated with new information about a subject
or range of subjects
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Word Processing/Desktop
Publishing
 Word Processing
 Create, edit, revise, and print documents
 Example: Microsoft Word, Lotus WordPro,
Corel WordPerfect
 Desktop Publishing
 Produce printed materials that look
professionally published
 Example: Adobe PageMaker, Microsoft
Publisher, QuarkXPress
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Electronic Spreadsheets
 Used by virtually every business for…
 Analysis, planning, modeling
 Electronic Spreadsheet
 Worksheet of rows and columns
 Can be stored on local computer or on
network
 Requires designing format and developing the
relationships (formulas)
 Most help you develop charts and graphic
displays of spreadsheet results
 Supports what-if questions
Chapter 4 Computer Software 12
Presentation Graphics
 Common presentation graphics packages…
 Converts numeric data into graphics displays
 Used to create multimedia presentations of
graphics, photos, animation, and video clips
 E.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, Lotus Freelance,
Corel Presentations
 Top packages can tailor files for transfer in
HTML format to websites

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Personal Information Managers
 Software for end user productivity and
collaboration
 Stores information about clients
 Manages schedules, appointments, tasks
 Most include ability to access the Web and
provide e-mail capabilities
 Some support team collaboration by sharing
information with other PIM users
 Example: Lotus Organizer, Microsoft Outlook

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Groupware
 Software that helps workgroups collaborate on
group assignments
 E-mail, discussion groups, databases, video
conferencing
 Example: Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise,
Microsoft Exchange
 Windows SharePoint Services and
WebSphere both allow teams to create
websites for information sharing and
document collaboration

Chapter 4 Computer Software 15

Software Alternatives
 Outsourcing development and maintenance of
software
 Application service providers (ASPs)
 Companies that own, operate, and maintain
application software and computer system
resources
 Use the application for a fee over the Internet
 Pay-as-you-go
 Use expected to accelerate in the coming
speed up

years

Chapter 4 Computer Software 16

Software Licensing
 All COTS and ASP software is licensed
 Involves the underlying..
 Intellectual property rights
 Copyright
 Trademark
 Trade secrets
 Also involves traditional contract law, including
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
 You don’t buy software
 You buy a license to use the software
 Licensed to protect the vendor’s property rights

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Categories of Group Software
 System Management Programs
 Manages the hardware, software, network,
and data resources of computer systems
 Example: operating systems, network manage-
ment programs, database management systems,
system utilities
 System Development Programs
 Helps users develop IS programs and
procedures and then prepare them for
processing
 Includes language translators and editors, CASE
and programming tools
Chapter 4 Computer Software 18
Operating Systems
 Integrated system of programs that…
 Manages the operations of the CPU
 Controls the input/output, storage resources,
and activities of the computer system
 Provides support services as the computer
executes application programs
 The operating system must be loaded and
activated before other tasks can be
accomplished

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Operating System Basic
Functions

Chapter 4 Computer Software 20

User Interface
 The part of the operating system that allows you
to communicate with it
 Three main types…
 Command-driven
 Menu-driven
 Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

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Resource Management
 Part of the operating system that manages the
hardware and networking resources of a
computer system
 Includes CPU, memory, secondary storage
devices, telecommunications, and
input/output peripherals
 Common functions
 Keeping track of where data and programs
are stored
 Subdividing memory; providing virtual memory
capability
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File Management
 Part of the operating system that controls the
creation, deletion, and access of files and
programs
 Keeps track of physical location on storage
devices
 Maintains directories of information about the
location and characteristics of stored files

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Task Management
 Part of the operating system that manages the
accomplishment of end user computing tasks
 Controls which task gets access to the CPU,
and for how long
 Can interrupt the CPU at any time to
substitute a higher priority task
 Supports preemptive blocking and
cooperative multi-tasking and multi-
processing

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Popular Operating Systems
 Windows
 GUI, multitasking, networking, multimedia
 Microsoft’s operating system
 NT, XP, 2003
 Different versions manage servers
 Unix
 Multitasking, multi-user, network-managing
 Portable - can run on mainframes, midrange,
and PCs
 Linux
 Low-cost, powerful reliable Unix-like
operating system
 Open-source
 MAC OS X
 Apple operating system for the iMac
 GUI
 Multitasking
 Multimedia

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Open-Source Licensing
Characteristics
 The Program
 Must include source code and allow distribution in
source code as well as compiled form
 The License
 Shall not restrict any party from selling or giving
away the software as a component of an
aggregate combine software distribution
containing programs from several sources
 Must allow modifications and derived works, and
must allow them to be distributed under the same
terms as the license of the original software
Chapter 4 Computer Software 26
Open-Source Licensing
Characteristics
 The License (cont’d)
 Must not restrict anyone from making use of the
program in a specific field
 The rights attached to the program must apply to
all to whom the program is redistributed, without
the need for execution of an additional license
 Must not be specific to a product

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Application Servers
 Provide an interface between an operating
system and the application programs of users
 Middleware
 Software that helps diverse software
applications exchange data and work together
more efficiently

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Object-Oriented Languages
 Combines data elements
and the procedures that
will be performed upon
them into objects
 Example: data about a
bank account and the
procedures performed
on it, such as interest
calculations

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Object-Oriented Languages
 Most widely used software development
languages
 Easier to use and more efficient for graphics-
oriented user interfaces
 Reusable: can use an object from one
application in another application
 Example: Visual Basic, C++, Java
 Most object-oriented languages provide a GUI
that supports visual programming

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Web Languages
 HTML
 A page description language that creates
hypertext documents for the Web
 XML
 Describes Web page content by applying
identifying tags or contextual labels to the data
 Java
 Object-oriented programming language that is
simple, secure, and platform independent
 Java applets can be executed on any computer

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 Web Services How Web Services Work
 Web services are
software components
that are
 Based on framework
of Web and object-
oriented standards
and technology
 Used to link the
applications of
different users and
computing platforms
via the Web

Chapter 4 Computer Software 32

Language Translator Programs
 Translate instructions written in programming
languages into machine language
 Assembler
 Translates assembler language statement
 Compiler
 Translates high-level language statements
 Interpreter
 A compiler that translates and executes each
statement in a program, one at a time

Chapter 4 Computer Software 33