©G. Millbery 2003Systems and User Interface SoftwareSlide 1 Self Documenting Systems  Systems where no external documentation is necessary  Includes: Tool Tips Internal help guides Meaningful variable names Commented code On-line help Informative error messages

©G. Millbery 2003Systems and User Interface SoftwareSlide 2 Supplementary User Documentation  Documentation which comes “in the box” with the computer and/or the software  Includes: Start-up guide Warranty guide Health guide Quick start guide Troubleshooting guide Glossary Technical Reference Manual Tutorial

©G. Millbery 2003Systems and User Interface SoftwareSlide 3 Utilities and Systems Software  Utilities Assist the user in the use of the computer Individual programs which carry out minor tasks – formatting hard drive, moving files, anti-virus, compression.  Configuration files Used to tell the computer how a particular piece of hardware or software is to be run. This sets up options such as where the program is located, the window size, etc. It changes the hardware or software from being generic to being specific to the environment in which it will be working.

©G. Millbery 2003Systems and User Interface SoftwareSlide 4 Utilities and Systems Software (cont.)  Drivers Handles communication between the Operating System and the device. Each peripheral needs a device driver to work. It translates information from the computer into a format understood by the device.  Compression Software (data transmission) Data takes up a lot of storage space. It can be compressed to take up less space. When you compress data to decrease its size, it then takes longer to access. Compression is used for archive and backup files. It is also used to send files. If you compress a file before sending, it will send quicker than an uncompressed file.