Download Software types - Deyes High School

Software Introduction
U s er
A pp l ic a t io n s S o f t w a r e
O p e ra t in g S ys t em
C o m pu t e r H a r dw a r e
Software Categories
• There are two main categories of computer software that you
need to know about. They are:
1. System software – Operating Systems,
Utility, Driver programs.
2. Application software – the everyday
programs that you use such as Microsoft
Office. Generic Software - DTP, databases,
spreadsheets,
presentation,
Graphic
manipulation, multimedia, word processing,
gaming, web authoring, email and web browsers
etc
Operating Systems
• The operating system is part of the system software. All
computers have an operating system, they cannot function
without one.
• The operating system is a program that allows applications
software to communicate with the hardware.
• Examples of operating systems are Windows 10, Unix, Linux and
MacOS.
Operating System (cont.)
• An operating system has many tasks. Here are just a few of them:
• Manages System Security - user names and passwords, preventing unauthorised access,
monitoring and restricting access to programs and data.
• Organising files and folders to backing storage, sorting out where to store data on disk
drives, saving, deleting, opening, closing files in the correct location
• Managing data transfer and input and output, which involves: Accepting data from input
devices and transferring it to the computer’s memory. Making sure that any output is sent
to the correct output device e.g. monitor or printer.
• It deals with any errors that occur when a program is being run.
• It manages system resources, which involves: Allocating memory space to programs and
data. Keeping track of which parts of the memory have already been allocated and the
parts that are still free.
• It deals with the loading of applications software into memory and controls the
execution, or ‘running’ of them.
• Provide an Interface or GUI (Graphical User Interface)
Systems Software - Utilities Programs
• Utility programs are part of the systems software. They are designed to do one
or two specific but vital tasks very well.
• Some utility programs might be supplied as part of the operating system, others
are purchased separately.
• Some common tasks carried out by utility programs are:
• File compression – ZIP compresses for storage or sending data
via communication links
• Anti Virus Software – prevent corruption of data, security
issues
• Firewalls – prevent unauthorised access
• Recovering data from damaged file, checking a disk for faults
and repairing them
Types of Utility Programs
Systems Software - Drivers
• A short specially written program that understands the
operation of the device it controls or operates. Driver
software is needed to allow the systems or applications
software to control the device properly.
• E.g. operating a printer or scanner
Application software
The everyday programs that you use such as Microsoft
Office.
Generic Software DTP, databases,
spreadsheets, presentation,
Graphic manipulation,
multimedia, word processing, gaming, web authoring,
email and web browsers etc
• Know features
• Any Advantages & Disadvantages
• Open-source
• Free to all
• Source code is distributed
• May be used or altered
Application Software
• There are two main types of computer software; system
software and application software.
• System software includes the operating system and utility
programs.
• Application software caries out user-related tasks and can
be classified as general-purpose, specialist or tailormade.
Common types of general purpose software
Database packages (e.g. MS Access, Lotus Approach,
Paradox) are used to store and retrieve information;
Spreadsheet packages (e.g. MS Excel, Lotus 123) are used
for tasks that involve a lot of calculations or for the
production of graphs and charts;
Word processing packages (e.g. MS Word, WordPerfect)
are used to produce text based documents such as letters,
reports and memos;
Desktop publishing (DTP) packages (e.g. MS Publisher,
PageMaker, PagePlus) are used to produce professional quality
publications such as posters, books, newsletters, newspapers
and magazines;
Graphics packages (e.g. Paint, PaintBrush, Serif Draw, Corel
Draw) are used to produce and manipulate artwork;
Computer-aided design (CAD) packages (e.g. 2D-Design,
AutoCAD, TurboCAD) are used to produce engineering designs
and architectural plans;
Communications software (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape
Communicator) is used to access the Internet and send and
receive e-mail;
Presentation graphics packages (e.g. PowerPoint, Lotus
Freelance) are used to create slide shows and presentations
like this one which can be viewed on-screen or with a data or
overhead projector;
Web page editors (e.g. MS FrontPage,
Dreamweaver) are used to create Web pages.
Macromedia