2. software

B.A. (Mahayana Studies)000-209 Introduction to Computer Science

November 2005 - March 2006

2. Software

What is software? What are the main types of software? Are there alternatives to expensive commercial software?Your computer's operating system (OS).

000-209 Intro to CS. 2/Software 2

Overview

1. What is Software? 2. Choosing Software 3. Types of Application Software

office, educational, network, financial, entertainment, groupware, utilities

4. What is a Software License? 5. Alternatives to Commercial Software

shareware and freeware

continued


6. The Operating System your computer's manager

7. Types of OSes desktop and server

8. Multimedia Applications


1. What is Software?

Software is the instructions and its data, stored in electronic form, that tell the computer how to do a task.

Software is a computer program.


Application software helps the user carry out his tasks e.g. word processing, games, business

System software helps the computer carry out its tasks. e.g. draw the GUI, print, manage files the operating system is the main systems software on a

computer e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X, DOS

Types of Software


A computer program is a set of instructions that tells a computer how to carry out some task.

A computer program is written in a computer programming language.

Example programming languages: Visual Basic, C, C++, Java, Pascal

What is a Computer Program?


A Pascal Program


Decide on the type of software you want.

Make sure the software is written for your computer e.g. it works on a PC or Macintosh

Make sure the software will work with your operating system. e.g it works on Microsoft XP or Mac OS X

Choose between commercial software, shareware, or freeware.

2. Choosing Software

software com

patibility


To be compatible, software must be: written for the type of computer you use written for your computer’s operating system

System requirements list operating system and hardware needs for the software to work they will be listed somewhere in the software package

(e.g. on the box)

Software Compatibility


3. Types of Application Software

There are many types: office, educational, network, financial, entertainment,

groupware, utilities, etc.

Application software costs money and usually requires the user to sign/agree to a user license.


Office Software

Office software package several applications together. They often include: Word processing, spreadsheets, databases, slides,

drawing e-mail, etc. e.g. Microsoft Office


Educational Software

There is educational and training software for people of all ages.


Connect your computer to your local network/Internet/Web: e-mail software Web browsers

Network Software


The Internet is the world’s computer network. connects millions of computers, in 100+ countries provides many services, (e-mail, file transfer), but the

most popular is the World Wide Web, or Web

Started as the ARPANET in 1969 a military network academic research network com

mercial network.

The Internet


The Web

The Web presents the user with documents, called Web pages, which can include: text, images, video, animation, sound

A Web page can contain links (URLs) to other pages.

A user can follow a link to another page ("surf") by using a Web browser.


Financial Software

Personal finance software helps with: bank accounts, investments, credit card balances

Some packages also support online banking: downloading transactions, transferring funds, paying

bills


Entertainment Software

Each year, worldwide computer and video game software sales exceed $15 billion.


Groupware Software

Groupware allows a group of users on a network to work together on a project.

Groupware may provide services for communicating (such as e-mail), group document development, scheduling, and tracking.

Documents can include text, images, or other types of data.


Groupware products include: Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, Novell GroupWise,

Netscape SuiteSpot, Team Talk, NetMeeting


Utility Software

Utilities are system software that extends the basic operating system. e.g. print more easily, change/extend the GUI,

fix damaged files, and virus protection


A software license is a legal contract that defines the ways in which you may use the software.

Opening the software CD's wrapping means that you agree to the software license sometimes called a shrink-wrap license

4. What is a Software License?


A single-user license limits the use of the software to only one user at a time. Most commercial software is distributed with a single-user license.

A multiple-user license allows more than one person to use a particular software package.

A concurrent-use license allows a certain number of copies of the software to be used at the same time.

A site license allows the software to be used on all computers at a specific location.

Types of Licenses


5. Alternatives to Commercial Software

Almost every type of commercial software has shareware/freeware alternatives: programs that do the same things, but..

cost much less, or nothing do not have complex license agreements


Shareware is software that you can try before you buy it. use the software for a certain amount of time for

free if you want to continue using it, you must pay a

registration fee

Freeware is software that costs nothing it may be freely copied and distributed

Shareware and Freeware


Where to get Shareware/Freeware?

There are many Web sites that list them. tucows, http://www.tucows.com/ CNET Download.com, http://www.download.com


Downloadable software is usually stored in a self-extracting file a single file that holds all of the modules for the

software download sites include instructions for

downloading once on your machine, you usually double-click on

the file to extract the software


Other Free Sites

The Web (Internet) is a source of free software.

Be careful. Strange software can do nasty things to your

machine. Make sure you trust the software site.


An operating system (OS) controls/manages all the activities in a computer. Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and DOS

The operating system helps the application software and the hardware talk to each other.

6. The Operating System (OS)


The OS helps theapplicationsoftware andhardware talk to each other.

OS Diagram


External services help users start programs, manage data, and maintain

security

Internal services help the computer system function efficiently

A system resource is part of a computer system. e.g. disk drive space, memory, processor time

OS Services


Desktop OSes for single-user micros e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X

Server OSes for computers that provide storage and

communication for networks and Web sites

7. Types of OSes


Microsoft Windows supports lots of application software and peripherals.

Current versions of Windows include Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98

MS Windows


DOS stands for disk operating system. a command line OS without a GUI the first Microsoft OS is now part of Windows

What is (was) DOS?


Mac OS X

An operating system with a GUI developed by Apple Computers, based on UNIX.

Mac OS X is the latest version of the Mac OS operating system for Macintosh computers.


Linux

A free Unix-type operating system, originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world.

A mixed GUI and command line interface.


UNIX

A free, multi-user, multitasking operating system that is widely used in workstations and servers.

It was developed by AT&T in 1969, and was very important in the development of the Internet.

There are now many versions of UNIX, made by different companies, universities, and individuals e.g Linux, FreeBSD, Knoppix


Three popular server OSes are Microsoft Windows NT Server Windows 2000 Server. Novell NetWare

Linux and UNIX are also used as server OSes. they are free

Servers OSes


A multimedia application combines many types of computer-based media: text, graphics, sound, animation, photos, video

This requires more complex (expensive) hardware.

8. Multimedia Applications


Multimedia Hardware


Multimedia requires sound and graphics capability.

A sound card lets the computer record and play sounds. connect speakers, headphone,

microphone

Multimedia Requirements

continued


A graphics card takes data from the OS and draws it onto the screen.

A graphics card usually requires special software, called a device driver.

A device driver helps the OS control peripherals, such as a graphics card, sound card, printers, modems, etc.

2. software

Technology

educational software

entertainment software

type of software

training software

software cds

sharewareis software

groupware software groupware

main types of software