Information Technology Software

Software Software is the general name given to all the programs (or set of instructions) that direct the operations of the computer. It gives life to the hardware components of the computer.

Types of Software Software can be classified into two main types, which are: Application Software – programs that allows the computer to perform specific tasks. System Software – programs that control the over all operations of the computer system, including the hardware components and the application software.

Application Software Application Software are programs that perform specific tasks or solve particular problems. For examples word processing used to type a letter, spreadsheet for doing budgets, database management used for creating tables, etc.

Purposes of Application Software The purposes of an application software: Use as a business and productive tool To support education, entertainment, and other personal needs To support communication technologies To assist with graphics and multimedia projects To support desktop publishing

Categories of Application Software General-purpose Software Customized Software Custom-written Software Specialized Software

General-purpose software General-purpose software is “off the shelf” or ready made software. This software is not written for any specific business or organization but can be used to suit their specific needs.

Examples of General-purpose Software Word processing Spreadsheet Database Management Presentation Communication Desktop publishing Graphics Computer Aided Design

Advantages of General-purpose Software Installation can be easily done Intensive training is not required to use it These software are readily available

Disadvantages of General-purpose Software The general-purpose software package may not specifically fit the user’s needs The user purchases software for which some features are never used and may never be used

Customized Software This refers to general-purpose software that has been modified to fit the user’s specific needs. It is a quicker way of getting a personalized version of a software.

Advantages of Customized Software The user get exactly what he or she needs in terms of features and output It fits the user’s needs exactly The user is involved in the development of the software, which allows them to have more control over the result

Disadvantages of Customized Software May have to wait a while until modification of the software is completed Users request may not be carried out accurately because of lack of understanding on the part of the persons modifying the software

Custom-written Software Custom-written software is referred to as tailor-made. This is a software that is written entirely to the specifications of the user. It is developed with the user’s needs and objectives in mind from start to finish.

Advantages of Custom-written Software Developed for the user’s personal needs User gets what he or she wants All or most of the features built in the software are used

Disadvantages of Custom-written Software Software development may take a long time to be completed The development of this software can be expensive

Specialized Software Special purpose software is designed to perform tasks specific to a particular application or field. Therefore it does not have as wide a range of features, and is not suitable for the average person. Examples of specialized software are accounting software, airline reservation software, payroll programs and rocket guiding software.

Advantages of Specialized Software All or most features built in the software are used Most efficient since it focuses on fewer tasks Useful in areas where task may be impossible to be carried out by humans

Disadvantages of Specialized Software Software development may take a long time to be completed If the person who is trained to use the software resigns, then time will be lost and new staff will have to be trained

Integrated Software Integrated Software refers to a single software that includes all or most of the major types of general-purpose software. Examples are Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, Lotus and Smart suite.

Advantages of Integrated Software It takes up less disk space than individual application It is usually easy to learn as the user interface for choosing commands is the same It is usually cheaper than purchasing the applications individually

Disadvantages of Integrated Software Not all the features of a single application are included Some integrated packages do not contain all the applications that may be required to complete a task

Home Work Write a paragraph on each of the following general-purpose software: Word Processing Spreadsheet Database Management Presentation