Transcript Chapter2: Software

Computers
Larry Long & Nancy Long
© 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Chapter 2:
Software
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Software
Objectives
 Software
 Operating system purposes
 Windows concepts
 Software suite applications
 There are many applications for personal
computers
 Graphics and multimedia
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Software
What is Software?
Set of programs or instructions that tells the computer
what to do.
System Software
Programs that control or maintain the operations of
the computer and its devices
Takes control of the PC on startup, and then plays a
central role in all interactions with the computer.
Application Software
Designed and created to perform specific personal,
business and scientific processing tasks.
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Software
System Software
Operating System – System software programs, that
monitor and controls all the I/O and processing operations
in a computer
 Kernel one of the operating system programs, loaded into
memory at start-up and remains there until the
computer is shut down
 loads other operating system and application
programs to RAM as they are needed
Utility Programs – computer maintenance
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Software
Operating System Functions
Facilitate communication between computer & its users.
Facilitate communication among system components.
Facilitate communication between linked computer
systems.
Maximize throughput
Optimize use of computer system resources.
Keep track of all files in a disk storage.
Provide security for the computer system.
Monitor all system capabilities and alert the user of system
failure or potential problems.
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Software
Operating System Functions
Allocating system resources
 Multitasking – more than one program running at
a time
 Foreground – program that is active
 Background – programs of lower priority
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Software
User Interface
Text-based, command driven interface Eg. MS DOS
Graphical User Interface Eg. MS Windows
 Pointing device such as a mouse
 Icon – picture that represents a file or a computer task
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Software
PC Operating Systems and Platforms
PC/Windows Platform (Wintel)
 Older versions of Windows
Windows 95/98
Windows ME
 Modern PC Operating Systems
Windows XP – plug and play
Windows 2005 Server
 Windows CE.NET
Designed for hand-held, pocket PCs, and
other small devices.
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Software
Other Computer Platforms
The Macintosh/Mac Platform
Unix – multiuser operating system
Linux – open source version of Unix
 Open source – source code is available to users
for review and modification
LindowsOS – Linux based, Windows
compatible
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Software
Utility Programs
 Disk and file maintenance
 System recovery
 Security
 Backup
 Virus protection
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Software
Windows Concepts and Terminology
 Window – rectangular area on the screen
 Desktop – where Windows icons are displayed
 Application window
 Active window
 Open application
 Workspace
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Software
Windows Concepts and Terminology
 Menus – lists of user choices
Pull-down menus
Shortcut keys
Toolbars – contain buttons for frequently
used commands
 Dialog box – allows the user to provide
information to the software
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Software
Working with Files
 File
-Recording of information in an electronic format
-String of 0s and 1s (digitized data) that are stored and
retrieved as a single unit.
-Each file has a user supplied name by which it is stored
and retrieved.
File types:
ASCII – text only
Data – contains data
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Software
Working with Files

File types:
Document – word processor file contain text and
embedded images
Spreadsheet – rows and columns of data
Web page
Source program – user-created instructions to the
computer
Executable – contains executable machine language
code
Graphics – contains digitized images
Audio – contains digitized sound
Video – contains digitized video
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Software
Working with Files
 A file’s optional 3 character extension
indicates the type of file








ASCII file: filename.txt
Microsoft Access data file: filename.mdb
Microsoft Word document file: filename.doc
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file: filename.xls
Web page file: filename.htm
Visual Basic source file: filename.vbp
Executable program file: filename.exe
Graphic
files:
filename.gif,
filename.bmp,
filename.jpg, filename.tif, or filename.pcx
 Audio file: filename.wav
 Video file: filename.mov
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Software
Working with Files
What can be done to a file?
Create, name, save
Copy, move, delete
Retrieve, update
Display, print, play
Execute
Download/upload
Import – open a file from another program
Compress – reduce the size of a file so it can be
uploaded more quickly
Zip file – the reduced file. It must be unzipped
before it can be used.
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Software
File Management
Windows Explorer – file management tool
 Folders – used to organize a storage device
such as a hard disk or diskette
 Path – indicates what folder a file is stored in
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Software
File Management Activities
Save/Save As
Open
Copy
Cut
 Delete
 Rename
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Software suite – set of applications bundled
together as a single unit.
Eg. MS Office
Word processing
Presentation Software
Spreadsheet Software
Database Software
Personal information management Software
(PIM).
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Word processing
Spell checker
Online thesaurus
Grammar and style checker
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Presentation software
Text
Photos/images
Charts and graphs
Original drawings
Clip art
Audio clips
Full-motion video
Online thesaurus
Grammar and style checker
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Spreadsheet software
Rows and columns
Cell – intersection of a row and a column
Cell address – column and row the cell appears
in
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Database software
Create and maintain a database
Extract information
Make inquiries
Sort records
Generate reports
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Software
Productivity Software: The Software Suite
Personal Information Management (PIM)
software
Messages
Appointments
Contacts
Tasks
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Software
PC Software
Shareware – author counts on the honor
system for payment; copyrighted
Freeware – may be used free of charge;
copyrighted
Public-domain software – may be used
without restriction; not copyrighted
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Software
PC Software
Home and family software
Legal advisors
Hobbies
Education and edutainment software
Reference software
Business and financial software
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Software
Graphics Software and Multimedia
Multimedia – use of text, pictures,
animation, and sound to present an idea
Graphics software – allows the user to
create pictures on a computer
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