College of Information Technology

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Computer Software

What is software?
Software refers to the intangible components of a computer system, particularly the programs, or list of instructions, that the computer needs to perform a specific task. It is the key to a computers versatility. Sometimes the term software refers to a single program, but often the term refers to a collection of programs and data that are packaged together. The software you use determines what type of computer you can use and what you can do with the computer.

Software consists of programs, which enable a computer to perform specific tasks

Stages of Software Development

Stages in developing software:

Planning Programming Debugging Documentation Beta Review Quality Control

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Types of Software

Systems Software
Includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the computer to function.

Applications Software
Includes programs that do real work for users, such as, word processors, spreadsheets, and database management systems.

What is System Software?

System software helps the computer carry out its basic operating tasks. It manages the fundamental operations of the computer, such as loading programs and data into memory, executing programs, saving data to disks, displaying information on the monitor, and transmitting data through a port to a peripheral device. It enables the application software to interact with the computer hardware. In addition, it is also referred to as background software as it helps computer in managing its own internal resources.

What is System Software?

System software is a collection of program including the following:

Operating System programs that a coordinate

computer resources, provide an interface between users and the computer, and run applications. Utilities perform specific tasks related to managing computer resources. Device drivers specialized programs designed to allow particular input or output devices to communicate with the rest of the computer system Programming languages

Operating System
An Operating System (OS) is a set of programs containing instructions that coordinate all the activities among computer hardware resources. In most cases, the operating system resides on the computers hard disk. On smaller handheld computers, the operating system may reside on a ROM chip.

Operating System manages software and hardware

resources of a computer. Microsoft Windows Mac OS UNIX Linux, etc.

Function of Operating System

The following are the functions of an operating system:

Start up the computer Administer security Control a network Provide user interface Manage programs Manage memory Schedule hobs and configure devices Access the web Monitor performance and provide housekeeping services
Most operating systems support multitasking, or the ability to switch between different applications stored in memory

Note:

Categories of Operating System

Basic Categories of OS:

Embedded operating systems are used for handheld computers and smaller devices like PDAs. The entire operating system is stored within or embedded in the device Example : Windows CE and Windows XP Embedded Network Operating systems (NOS) are used to control and coordinate computers that are networked or linked together. These are typically located on one of the connected computers hard disk Example: Windows NT Server, Windows XP Server, and UNIX Stand-alone operating systems, also called desktop operating systems, control a single desktop or notebook computer. These operating systems are located on the computers hard disk Examples: Windows XP, Windows NT, SuSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu

Utility Software
Utility Software - A program that performs a very
specific task, usually related to managing system resources.

Example:
Anti-virus Disk compression Disk clean-up File compression

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Applications Software

Word processing Spreadsheets Presentations Database management Electronic Mail Web browsers

Word Processing
Word processor enables creation of documents such
as letters, reports, manuals, and certificates.

Example:
Word (Microsoft) WordPerfect (Corel)

Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet program is used to perform calculations
such as grading sheets, income taxes, accounting, etc.

Example:
Excel (Microsoft) Lotus 1-2-3

Presentations
Presentation software is used to create professionallooking presentations that can handle text, drawing, pictures, sounds, video, etc.

Example:
PowerPoint (Microsoft) Corel Presentations (Corel)

Database Management
Database management software is used in keeping and
organizing large amounts of information or records in banks, schools, and in most companies.

Example:
Access (Microsoft) Paradox (Corel)

Electronic Mail
Electronic mail program is used to send and receive
mails in electronic format.

Example:
Outlook (Microsoft) Eudora (Qualcomm)

Web Browsers
Web browser is a program that allows you to browse
web pages on the Internet.

Example:
Internet Explorer (Microsoft) Netscape Navigator (Netscape)

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