Lecture #10 COMPUTER SOFTWARE By Shahid Naseem (Lecturer)

COMPUTER SOFTWARE Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) A set of instructions given to the computer to solve a particular problem is called software. Software is also called computer program. Software tells the computer what to do and how to do. The hardware operates under the control of a given set of instructions. Software is developed in computer programming language. 2

TYPES OF SOFTWARE Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) Software is divided into two main types 1.System Software 2.Application Software Application Software: A program or set of programs that are specially designed to solve the specific problems of user are called application software. It is known as “software package”. Types of Application Software:  Commercial Software.  Scientific software  Financial Packages  Multimedia Software 3

TYPES OF SOFTWARE Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) Custom – built Software Package Software Custom –Built Software The software that is developed for a particular organization or customer is called custom-built software. It is known as “Customized Software”. Package Software The software that is developed by software development organizations for sale to the general public is called “Package Software”. 4

TYPES OF SOFTWARE Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) Packaged software is used to solve some common problem of many people or users. i.Word processing Software ii.Spreadsheet Software iii.Data Management Software iv.Communication Software v.Presentation Software vi.Graphics Software  Computer - Aided Design  Desktop Publishing  Paint Image  Video & Audio Editing  Web page Authoring 5

SYSTEM SOFTWARE Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) A program or set of programs that is specially designed to control different operations of computer system is called “System Software”. It controls the working of different parts of the computer. The system software also enables the other application programs to execute properly. E.g.  Operating Systems  Utility Programs  Device Drivers  Language Processors 6

OPERATING SYSTEM Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) An operating system is a collection of system programs that controls and coordinates the overall operations of a computer system. These programs also provide interface between the user and the computer system. A computer needs an operating system to do work. Without operating system, a computer is like a car with no fuel. Operating System also performs the following tasks:  Accepts input from input devices  Sends output to output devices  Manages the application programs in memory  Manages the files on the storage devices  Manes & Controls the I/O devices etc. 7

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) The operating systems are divided into different categories.  Personal computer operating system.  Network operating system.  Embedded operating system. Personal Computer Operating System The personal computer operating systems are also called the stand-alone operating system or single- user operating systems. These operating systems are used to operate pesonal computers.  DOS  MAC Operating System  Windows 8

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) Network Operating System A network operating system in an operating system that supports the network. A network operating system typically resides on a server and controls the devices or computers connected to the network.  Windows NT Server  Windows 2000 Server  UNIX  Solaris  Novell’s Netware 9

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) Embedded Operating System Different special electronic devices and handheld computers are also controlled by the operating systems that are stored into a ROM chip. These operating systems are called the “Embedded Operating Systems”.  Windows CE  Pocket PC 2002  Palm Operating System 10

UTILITY PROGRAMS Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) A software that helps the user to solve the specific problems related to hardware or software is called “Utility Programs”. A large number of utility programs are available for the service of hardware and software. Most operating systems include various utility programs. Many other utility programs are available on CDs or can be downloaded from the Internet. E.g File Viewer File Compression Un-Installer Disk Scanner etc 11

DEVICE DRIVERS Control Structure (Civil Engineering Department) The programs that operate and control the devices attached to the computer are called “device drivers”. The keyboard, mouse, disk drives, CD –ROM drive, Modem, Printer etc require to install software that tells the computer how to use the device. When you purchase a new hardware device, manufacturer of the device also provides you a disk containing a device driver. 12