Download 1 - Burnside High School

System and Application software
Application software
“With the proper software, a computer is a valuable tool. Software allows users to create letters, memos,
reports, and other documents; design Web pages and diagrams; draw and alter images; record and
enhance audio and video clips; prepare and file taxes; play single player or multiplayer games; compose email messages and instant messages; and much more. To accomplish these and many other tasks, users
work with application software.” 1
Some popular types of application software are: word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing, photo
editing, video and audio editing, entertainment, e-mail, web browser, etc.
Task 1
1. On your home computer, make a screen dump of your desktop, with all its icons. Paste this image
into a word processing document. Label those icons that refer to application software.
2. What other application software do you have on your home computer?
3. Open a word processing document (in the software you may use for word processing), and describe
a key feature (what could you do, and why) for each of
page layout,
paragraph formatting,
formatting of text,
image insertion
System software
System software consists of the programs that control or maintain the operations of the computer and its
devices. System software serves as the interface between the user, the application software, and the
computer’s hardware. There are two types of system software: operating systems and utility programs.
An operating system is the software that controls and co-ordinates all the activities among the computer’s
storage, hardware components and peripheral devices. Functions similar to most operating systems are:
starting a computer, providing a user interface, managing programs, managing memory, scheduling jobs,
configuring devices, establishing an internet connection, monitoring performance and providing file
management utilities such as copy, rename, move etc.
Utility programs are programs that allow a user to perform maintenance type tasks on the computer
system. Some come with the operating system, such as backup, while others can be purchased as extras,
such as personal firewall.
Task 2
1. On your home computer, make a screen dump of your desktop, with all its icons. Paste this image
into a word processing document. Label those icons that refer to system software.
2. What operating system does your computer use? How do you know?
3. Does your home computer have a Systems Tools submenu? Make a screen dump of this submenu
and describe some of the utilities offered.
4. What additional utilities does your home computer system have?
5. What are some of the popular operating systems for personal computers?
6. Extension: Explain how system and application software interact to
a) Create, save and print a document
b) Compose and send an email
1
Shelley, Cashman & Vermaat (2007) Discovering Computers 2007 p 134