Download System Software, Application Software and Driver Programs

8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
 Computer Software
 A sequence of instructions which tell the
computer to perform specific tasks
 Divided into three categories
System software
Driver program
Application software
8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
Hardware
 System Software
Interface
User
Operating
system
• Manage the
system
resources
• Let application
software run
efficiently
System
software
coordination
Hardware 1
Hardware 2
Utility
program
• Perform tasks
such as system
security, data
protection and
resource
optimization
8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
 System Software
8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
 Application Software
 Performs specific tasks for the user
 Classification
Category
Example
Business application
Word processor, spreadsheet,
presentation program
Communication
application
E-mail program, web browser,
FTP program
Multimedia
application
Graphics program, audio and
video editing program
Entertainment and
education software
Games and multimedia program,
electronic dictionary
8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
 Driver Programs
 A small program that allows a peripheral
device to communicate with the computer
system
 Some come with the operating system
while others are developed by the device
manufacturers
8.1 System Software, Application
Software and Driver Programs
 Driver Programs
 A small program that allows a peripheral
device to communicate with the computer
system
 Some come with the operating system
while others are developed by the device
manufacturers
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Classification
Label
Feature
Example
Single-user
Allow only one user to use
the computer at one time
MS Windows XP
Home Edition
Single
tasking
Allow only one program to
run at a time
MS DOS 3.1
Multi-user
Allow two or more users to
run the computer at a time
Linux
Multitasking
Allow two or more programs MS Windows XP
to run at a time
Multiprocessing
Support the running of a
program on a computer
with two or more CPUs
MS Windows NT
Server 4.0
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Basic Functions
 Maximize the productivity and efficiency of
a computer system
 Perform various tasks:
Device
configuration
File
management
Operating
System
(OS)
Memory
management
Interface
platform
Network
communication
management
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Utility Programs
 A group of programs that enhance the OS
 Perform various tasks:
Data recovery
utility
Backup utility
Disk
defragmenter
Different utility
programs
perform
different tasks
Disk scanning
program
Antivirus
software
Program
uninstaller
File
compression
utility
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Utility Programs
Backup and data
recovery utility
Antivirus
software
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Utility Programs
Program uninstaller
File compression
utility
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Utility Programs
Disk scanning
program
Disk defragmenter
8.2 The Basic Features of an
Operating System
 Utility Programs
Disk scanning
program
Disk defragmenter
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Types of operating systems
 Network operating system
Run on network servers that provide
 Centralized storage facilities
 Peripheral devices sharing services
 Communications capabilities for computers
Example
 Unix
 MS Windows NT
 MS Windows Server 2003
 Linux
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Types of operating systems
 Desktop operating system
Run on standalone notebook computers
and desktops
Examples
 DOS
 MS Windows 98
 MS Windows ME
 MS Windows XP
 Mobile operating system
Run on PDA, wireless communications
devices and small computing devices
Examples
 Palm OS
 MS Windows Mobile
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Disk Operating System (DOS)
 Single-user, single-tasking desktop OS
 Command-line user interface
 Replaced by GUI OS: Microsoft Windows
DOS, with command-line user interface
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Microsoft Windows
 First generation of Windows
Not real OS
Provide GUI operating environments
running on top of DOS
Windows 1.0
Windows 2.0
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Microsoft Windows
 First generation of Windows
Windows 3.0
Windows 3.1
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Microsoft Windows
 Later versions of Windows
A family of single-user, multi-tasking OS
with GUI
Have become the most popular OS for
the personal computer
Desktop OS
 Windows 95, 98, NT Workstation, XP
Network OS
 Windows NT Server, Server 2000, Server
2003
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Microsoft Windows
 Later versions of Windows
Windows 98
Windows Server 2003
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Macintosh Operating System
(Mac OS)
 Single-user, multi-tasking desktop OS
 Specially designed for Macintosh computers
 Set the standard for a successful and easyto-use GUI
 Has sophisticated graphic capabilities
iMac, a
Macintosh
computer
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Macintosh Operating System
(Mac OS)
Mac OS X
• Latest release of
Mac OS
• Unix-based core
• Supports
multitasking and
multiprocessing
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Unix
 Multi-user, multi-tasking network OS
 Two interfaces
Command-line user
interface
Graphical user
interface
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Unix
 Advantages
Handle a high volume of transactions in
multi-user environment
Supports servers with multi-processors
 Disadvantages
Lacks interoperability across platforms
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Linux
 Features
Unix-like OS for PCs
Multi-user and multi-tasking network OS
Open-source – source code can be
viewed, modified and redistributed freely
 Getting Linux
Free download
Linux distributions from Red Hat and
Mandrake
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Linux
Linux console
(command-line
user interface)
Linux console
(graphical user
interface)
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Palm OS and MS Windows Mobile
 Single-user, multi-tasking mobile OS
 Specifically designed for PDAs and small
computing devices
 GUI
 Have built-in handwriting recognition
software for character input
 Support multimedia, networking and web
browsing
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Palm OS and MS Windows Mobile
MS Windows
Mobile
Palm OS
8.3 Common Operating Systems
 Palm OS and MS Windows Mobile
MS Windows
Mobile
Palm OS
8.4 Cross-platform Issues
 Cross-platform
 Refer to developing software for, or running
software, on more than one type of
operating platforms
8.4 Cross-platform Issues
 Machine-independent Programming
Languages
 A machine independent language can run on
different operating systems
 Example
Java
 Runs on systems with Java Virtual Machine
(JVM) software
 Each platform has it own JVM
 Write-once-run-anywhere technology
Python
Perl
8.4 Cross-platform Issues
 Markup Languages
 Uses tags to define appearance of
documents
 Allows proper display of documents in a
browser under different OS
 Example
Standard Generalized Markup Language
(SGML)
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
8.4 Cross-platform Issues
 Markup Languages
 Uses tags to define appearance of
documents
 Allows proper display of documents in a
browser under different OS
 Example
Standard Generalized Markup Language
(SGML)
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Extensible Markup Language (XML)