 2002 Prentice Hall Chapter 4 Software Basics: The Ghost in the Machine

 2002 Prentice Hall 2 Three Major Categories of Software Compilers and other translator programs, which allow programmers to create other software Software applications, which serve as productivity tools to help users solve problems System software, which coordinates hardware operations and does behind-the-scenes work the user seldom sees

 2002 Prentice Hall 3 Software Applications: Tools for Users Software applications include: Consumer Applications Integrated Software Vertical-market or Custom Software

 2002 Prentice Hall 4 Consumer Applications Consumer software differs from other types (music CDs, videos, etc.) based on:  Documentation  Upgrade options  Compatibility  Warranty  Extent of ownership/license

 2002 Prentice Hall 5 Documentation Documentation includes:  Printed tutorial and reference manuals that explain how to use the software  On-line manuals and help screens which offer immediate help to the user

 2002 Prentice Hall 6 Upgrades allow you to pay a fee to get the latest software version Newer releases often have additional features and fewer bugs Upgrades

 2002 Prentice Hall 7 Compatibility Compatibility allows software to function properly with the hardware, operating system, and peripherals Programs written for one type of computer system may not work on another

 2002 Prentice Hall 8 Disclaimers Software manufacturers limit their liability for software problems by selling software “as is” Given the difficulty of this task, most programs work amazingly well—but not perfectly

 2002 Prentice Hall 9 Licensing Licensing agreements limit your right to:  Make copies of software disks  install software on hard drives  transfer information to other users Commercial software is copyrighted so it can’t be legally duplicated for distribution to others.

 2002 Prentice Hall 10 Distribution Software is distributed through direct sales forces to corporations and other institutions. Software is sold to consumers through:  retail stores  mail-order catalogs  Web sites.

 2002 Prentice Hall 11 Integrated Applications and Suites: Software Bundles Multipurpose software includes most of these modules:  Word processing  Database  Spreadsheet  Graphics  Telecommunications

 2002 Prentice Hall 12 Integrated Software: Advantages Costs less than buying the applications individually Data is easily transferred between modules Commands used in each module are usually the same Usually there is a seamless integration of the modules

 2002 Prentice Hall 13 Vertical-Market and Custom Software Job-specific software:  Medical billings  Library cataloging  Restaurant management  Single-client software needs

 2002 Prentice Hall 14 System Software: The Hardware-Software Connection System software is a class of software that includes:  The operating system  Utility programs

 2002 Prentice Hall 15 What the Operating System Does The operating system controls:  Communication with peripherals  Coordination of concurrent processing  Memory management  Monitoring of resources and security  Management of programs and data  Coordinating network communications

 2002 Prentice Hall 16 Utility Programs  translating files so different software can read them  guarding against viruses  repairing damaged files  copying files from one storage device to another Operating System invokes utility programs so they appear to the user to be part of the OS. Device drivers are an example.

 2002 Prentice Hall 17 The User Interface: The Human-Machine Connection The user interface is what the user sees on the screen Two major user interface types:  Character-based interface  Graphical user interface (GUI)

 2002 Prentice Hall 18 A Character-Based Interface: MS-DOS This is a disk operating system in which the user interacts using characters  letters  numbers  symbols

 2002 Prentice Hall 19 A Character-Based User Interface: MS-DOS MS-DOS™ is the most widely used general- purpose operating system Features include:  Command-line interface (commands are typed)  Menu-driven interface (commands are chosen from on-screen lists)

 2002 Prentice Hall 20 Graphical User Interfaces: Macintosh This is a disk operating system in which the user interacts with the computer by using a pointing device (e.g. a mouse) As early as 1984, the Macintosh™ computer was designed with this interface in mind

 2002 Prentice Hall 21 Graphical User Interfaces: Windows Windows 95 and 98 are similar in many ways to the Mac OS Several versions of Windows exist for business and home users

 2002 Prentice Hall 22 Why WIMP Won Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointing devices They’re intuitive They’re consistent They’re forgiving They’re protective They’re flexible

 2002 Prentice Hall 23 Three Main Platforms for Desktops Computers Various versions of UNIX Windows in all its variations Mac OS

 2002 Prentice Hall 24 Hardware & Software Platforms Windows XP Windows ME Windows 2000 Windows CE Palm OS IBM’s OS/2 Mac OS/9 Mac OS/X Linux & UNIX

 2002 Prentice Hall 25