Transcript Lesson 6

Unit 1 — Computer Basics
Lesson 6 — Operating
Systems and Software
Objectives
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Distinguish between software and hardware.
Describe the difference between applications
software and systems software.
Describe the three categories of system
programs.
Describe operating systems for
microcomputers.
Describe network operating systems.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Hardware vs. Software
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Computer systems consist of both hardware and
software.
Hardware refers to anything you can physically touch.
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Software consists of the instructions issued to the
computer to perform specific tasks.
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Keyboards, mice, monitors, and motherboards are all
hardware.
The software on a computer system refers to the
programs that make the computer run.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Types of Software
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Although there are literally thousands of software
programs you can buy, there are really only two
types of software: application and systems.
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Application software consists of programs to perform
a specific task.
Systems software consists of the operating system
and all utility programs that are used to manage
computer system resources.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Application Software
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Application software is also called productivity software.
It allows an end user to perform some task.
The most commonly used categories of application
software are
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Word-processing programs
Spreadsheet software
Database software
Presentation software
Desktop publishing programs
Games
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Systems Software
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Systems software consists of programs that
coordinate and control the resources and
operations of the computer itself.
The three categories of systems software are
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Operating systems
Utility programs
Language translators
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Systems Software – Operating
Systems
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Operating systems provide an interface between the
user and the computer.
There are many brands and versions of operating
systems.
An operating system is designed to work with a
specific processor chip.
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For example, Windows operating systems are
designed to work with an Intel processor (or clone)
and will not usually work on a Macintosh computer.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Illustration of an Operating System
This figure
shows how an
operating
system acts as
an interface
between the
user, the
application
programs, and
the computer.
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Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Systems Software - Utilities
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Utility programs are designed to help perform
housekeeping chores for the computer.
They can be designed to
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Manage the computer’s resources.
Do file management.
Format disks.
Copy files from one disk to another.
Back up data to disk or tape.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Common Utility Programs
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Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Systems Software – Language
Translators
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Computers cannot read program statements in
programming language format, such as Visual Basic or
Java program statements.
Language translator programs convert English-like
software programs into machine code that can be
understood by the computer.
Each converted English-like instruction may be
translated into many machine code instructions.
Once converted to machine code, the program can be
run and executed by the computer.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Microcomputer Operating System
Interfaces
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The user interface of an operating system is what we are all
familiar with.
It is the part of the operating system that you interact with
when using your computer.
There are two commonly used types of operating system
interfaces:
– Command-line interface: With this interface, you must type
exact commands into the computer from a command prompt.
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This is not a user-friendly interface, and you must memorize
many commands and keywords.
Graphical user interface: Users manipulate on-screen icons
to perform functions, usually with a mouse or other pointing
device.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
User Interface Comparison
The figure on the left shows a command-line interface, where
commands are typed in at the prompt. The figure on the right is a
graphical user interface (GUI) where users perform actions by clicking
and manipulating icons.
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Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Microcomputer Operating Systems
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If your computer is a Macintosh, you are probably
using a Mac OS.
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If your computer is a PC or is PC-compatible, you are
most likely using one of these operating systems:
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Macintosh computers used one of the first GUI operating
systems ever developed.
DOS
A combination of DOS and Windows
A stand-alone version of Windows
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
The Mac OS
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Macintosh computers were developed by Apple
Computer.
Macintosh had one of the first GUI operating
systems where icons were used to represent
programs and files.
To activate an icon, the user clicked it with the
mouse.
This was also the first operating system to provide
an on-screen help system.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
The DOS Operating System
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IBM introduced its first PC in 1981. Its operating system
was called DOS, which stands for Disk Operating
System.
– IBM called it PC-DOS. The operating system was
licensed from its creator, Microsoft, who sold it under the
name MS-DOS.
DOS was a command-line interface operating system
where the user had to enter commands at a screen
prompt.
It was a single-tasking operating system, which meant
that only one program at a time could be executed.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
The Windows Operating System
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Windows was Microsoft’s first GUI operating system,
released in 1987.
The first versions were called operating environments
because they acted as a shell around the DOS
operating system and worked in combination with
DOS.
Applications installed on a Windows system appeared
as icons.
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As with the Mac OS, the user activated a Windows
program by clicking the icon.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Windows Versions
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The earliest versions of Windows were labeled Windows 3.0,
3.1, etc.
The first true multitasking version of Windows was Windows
95.
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This version also included support for networking computers.
Windows 98 improved on Windows 95 and offered Internet
integration and support for the USB bus.
Windows 2000 was an update to Windows 98 and Windows
NT and included tools for Web site creation.
The latest version is Windows XP, which provides increased
stability and device recognition.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Macintosh vs. Windows User
Interface
The image on the left is an example of a Macintosh interface
window. On the right is the Windows 2000 interface.
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Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
The Unix Operating System
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Unix is another early operating system that is still
widely used today.
It was developed by AT&T as part of their phoneswitching system.
It was developed to be a portable operating system.
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That means that it was meant to run on any hardware
platform.
It is a command-line interface system, although there
are now several GUI interface products available for
Unix and Linux.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Example of a Unix System
Linux and IBM’s AIX
offer a graphical user
interface shell for a
Unix operating system,
as shown here. This
provides greater ease
of use while taking full
advantage of Unix’s
speed and reliability.
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Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Network Operating Systems
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A network operating system (NOS) is designed to
allow multiple computers to be connected and talk to
each other.
Networks can consist of anywhere from two to many
thousands of computers.
While there are many network operating systems
available, the most popular are
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Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000
Novell’s Netware
IBM’s Warp Server
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary
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Hardware refers to anything you can touch.
Software is instructions that tell the computer what
to do.
Software is also called a program.
The two basic types of computer software are
applications software and systems software.
Applications software is also known as productivity
software.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary (continued)
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Systems software coordinates and controls the
resources and operations of a computer system.
Three major categories of systems software are
operating systems, utilities, and language
translators.
Operating systems provide an interface between
the user and application program and the
computer hardware.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary (continued)
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Utility programs help users complete specialized
tasks such as file management.
Language translators convert English-like software
programs into machine language.
A programmer uses a programming language to
write program statements.
All computers have operating systems.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary (continued)
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The user interface is the part of the operating
system with which we are most familiar.
The two most common user interfaces are
command-line interfaces and graphical user
interfaces.
The Mac operating system is used with Apple’s
Power Macintosh computers and Power Macintosh
clones.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary (continued)
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Icons are symbols that represent documents,
software programs, disks, and so forth.
DOS was introduced with the IBM PC in 1981 and
is a character-based operating system.
Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows in
1987; this was an operating environment.
Windows 95 was Microsoft’s first true multi-tasking
operating system.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software
Summary (continued)
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Windows CE is a scaled-down Windows operating
system used for small handheld computers.
Unix is a portable operating system.
Network operating systems allow a group of two or
more microcomputers to be connected.
There are several methods for sharing files on
different operating systems.
Lesson 6 – Operating Systems and Software