CS105- Module2

Hardware vs. Software

Local Applications Local applications are programs or software that can be run on a single computer. The computer on which the local application is running does not have to be connected to a computer network such as internet. Examples

Examples of Local Applications Media Players (Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Winamp, …) Word Processors(MS Word, Latex, WordPad,…) Graphic, photo and animation applications (PhotoShop, Word Photo Manager, 3D Studio MAX). Calculator

Local Applications in Business Accounting (Excel, …) Science and Engineering (Mathematica, Math Lab, System R, Weka, … ) Medicine ( Computerized Axial Tomography scan )

File Type Broadly classified as either text file or binary file. Text file, the data are organized as characters. Binary file requires specific interpretation of the bits and the application which supports this file knows how to interpret it.

File Type Usually the file name has two parts: the main name and the file extension. The extension indicates the type of the file..txt.mp3.tex.wav.gif.zip.jpg.doc.html.java.c.ppt

File Operations Create a file Delete a file Open a file Close a file Read data from a file Write data to a file Delete contents of a file Rename a file Copy a file Append data to the end of a file

Directory Directory is a named collection of files. It is a way to group files so that you can organize them in a logical manner. In Windows methodology a directory is called a folder. Other than files a folder can contain other folders.

Algorithm A sequence of well-defined steps or instructions for doing a task. An algorithm should end (Stop) at some point.

Word Processors - MS Word What you see is what you get! Word is a very popular text editing software. Enter and edit the text. Insert and edit images. Arrange page: orientation, border, shade, etc. Use bullets in Word. Check the grammar and spelling of the contents. A basic tutorial for MS word 2007 is available at:

Word Processors - LaTeX It is not very easy to write mathematical equations in MS Word. A much better alternative is LaTeX. LaTeX is not a WYSIWYG. First we write a.tex file, then we compile it. Example. A basic tutorial for Latex is available at:

Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is the computer equivalent of a paper ledger sheet used by accountants couple of decades ago. Using ledger sheet a small mistake could have resulted in redoing the whole page again. But we can undo any action. Also the calculation could have been overwhelming. But using spreadsheets, computer will take care of calculations.

What is PowerPoint? A complete presentation graphics package. Gives you everything you need to produce a professional-looking presentation. Offers word processing, outlining, drawing, graphing, and presentation management tools.

Graphics Processing A very simple graphics processing application is the Paint. In a painting program, we decompose an image into a collection of small dots, known as pixels. If you zoom on a picture you will see these dots.