Download Chapter 5: Business Software

Chapter 5: Business Software
Oz (5th edition)
Overview of Software
• Application software (packaged software)
– Ways to classify
– Other types
• Systems software
– Operating systems
– Utility programs
– Compilers and interpreters
• Business considerations
– Proprietary and open source
– Software licensing
– Software piracy
Application Software
• Purpose of AS is to assist user in solving problems
without resorting to programming
• Growth of AS is phenomenal; sparked by
introduction of PCs and ; subsequent low cost of
technology
• Widespread availability of computers sparked
market for people to develop applications
Types of Application Software
• General purpose versus application specific
– Word processor versus payroll
• Personal productivity versus organizational
productivity
– Word processor and spreadsheets versus email,
knowledge management tools, and CRM
• General business versus industry specific
– Accounts receivable, payroll, order entry, or
inventory versus hotel reservation,
pharmaceutical systems that monitor drug
interactions for patients, or grocery register
systems
Other Applications
• Multimedia software
• Groupware
• Virtual reality
• 3-D geographic
Systems Software
– Operating systems
– Compilers and interpreters
– Utility programs
Functions of the OS
• Control the cpu and all other devices
• Control the applications software
• Manage resources
– Memory and storage
– Devices (in Windows see the Control Panel, My
Computer, or Windows Explorer)
• Control the user interface
• Single user versus multi-user OS
• Control security
• Provide utility programs for managing the
computer’s resources (see All
Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk
Defragmenter)
• How Microsoft made things difficult
Functions of an OS
Figure 5.6: The operating system mediates between applications sand the
Computer, which controls peripheral devices.
Special Features of OS
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Most OS are designed for certain hardware
Proprietary software
Significance of UNIX and Linux
Plug-and-play (PnP) (the OS can control a new
device as soon as it is attached)
Multi-tasking is a feature that enables two or more
programs to seemingly run simultaneously)
Time-sharing (relate to multitasking)
Virtual memory
Some OS can control multi-processor machines (i.e.,
machines with more than one cpu)
Stability of an OS
Operating Systems
10
Additional Functions Found in Newer OS
• Communications software (built in fax capability)
• Additional utilities for managing resources
• Network functions
• Sometimes DBMS
Popular Operating Systems
12
Compilers and Interpreters
• Computers only understand programs written in
machine language (sequences of zeros and ones)
• Programming languages enable programmers to
write instructions in a particular language. In this
form, the instructions are called source code
• For a computer to execute the program, it must be
translated into object code (machine language)
• Compilers and interpreters are programs that
translate other programs into machine code.
Compilers and Interpreters
• Compiler: translates entire source code to object code
but does not execute the code
– Scans for syntax errors statement by statement and
generates error messages if syntax errors found
– If code is error free translates source code into object
code
• Interpreter: scans one statement at a time
– If error-free, interprets and executes the statement
– Goes through the program until an error or end of
program is encountered
Compilers and Interpreters Continued
• Examples of languages usually compiled
– Fortran
– Cobol
–C
– C++
• Examples of language usually interpreted
– Visual Basic
– Java
Utility Programs
• These programs are programs either not provided by
an OS or poorly done by an OS
• Examples
– Virus protection
– Spyware eliminator
– Firewall
– Disk management
• Newer versions of an OS often incorporate features
in independent utility programs
Proprietary Versus Open Source
Software
• Proprietary software
– Sold for profit and developer retains rights
– Buyer received object code not source code
– Private code (usually patented or copy write
protected)
• Open source software
– Free source code
– Source code is maintained and debugged by
groups of talented programmers
– Often of high quality because of talented
programmers
– How bugs and improvements are dealt with
Open Source Examples
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Linux - very versatile OS
Mozilla Firefox – Web browser
PERL – powerful programming language
Java – programming language that runs under most
operating systems; Java can be inserted in browsers
• OpenOffice – similar in functionality to Microsoft
Office
• Apache Server – software that resides on Web
servers; locates requested Web pages and delivers
the pages to the requestor’s computer (67% market
share); most likely you use this every time you use
the Web
• MySQL – relational database management system
Software Licensing
• Models
– Permissive model anyone can take code and modify the
code and sell for profit (e.g., Linux)
– General Public License allows anyone to use and modify the
code, but you cannot use it in a proprietary manner (Free
Software Foundation’s GNU operating system)
– Proprietary license model is used by for-profit software
vendors like Microsoft, SAP, Oracle
• More on the proprietary model
– User does not own the software
– Sometimes users pay a yearly fee or a one-time unlimited
fee (Microsoft Office)
– Sometimes fee is based on number of users in a networked
environment (Winthrop labs)
Software Piracy
• Forms of software piracy
– Making copies from a single paid copy
– Using the Internet to download software without
paying
– Copying software through a peer-to-peer network
– Using one licensed copy to install on multiple
computers
– Using for commercial purposes a copy that was
acquired for home or educational use
– Using a copy at home that was acquired by an
employer for use at work
Software Piracy (continued)
• Extent and implications of software piracy
– About 36% of world’s installed software is pirated
– Piracy rates in Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, and
South America are much higher than North
America
– Piracy is responsible for job losses in software
industry
• Software industries response
– Business Software Alliance (BSA)
– Software & Information Industry Association
(SIIA)
– Both organizations aggressively look for pirates
Software Piracy (continued)
• Legal implications
– Laws treat software as intellectual property
(intangible property created by individuals or
corporations that is subject to protection under
trade secret, copyright, and patent law)
• Crime is pervasive, easy to commit, but difficult to
catch pirates and punish