1. Chapter 4 COMPUTER SOFTWARE

2. Objective Describe several important trends occurring in computer software. Explain the purpose of several popular software packages for end-user productivity and collaborative computing. Define and describe the functions of an operating system. Describe the main uses of computer programming software, tools, and languages.

3. Content Introduction Types of Computer Software

4. Introduction What Is Software? Software is the general term for various kinds of programs used to operate and manipulate computers and their peripheral devices. Types of Software: – Application software – System software:

5. Types of Computer Software

6. Software suit Feature of software suit: – Software suit come bundled together. – A software suite costs a lot less than the total cost of buying its individual packages separately. – Software suites also share common tools such as spell checkers and help wizards to increase their efficiency.

7. Web Browsers Browsers such as – Microsoft Explorer – Netscape Navigator – Mozilla Firefox, – Opera These software applications designed to support navigation through the point- and-click hyperlinked resources of the World Wide Web and the rest of the Internet, as well as corporate intranets and extranets. It has tool for searching information. Industry experts predict the Web browser will be the model for how most people use networked computers in the future(videoconference, check mail, …).

8. Electronic Mail, Instant Messaging, and Weblogs Free e-mail packages: – Microsoft HotMail – Yahoo! Mail – Netscape WebMail Most e-mail software: – Outlook Express – Windows Mail – Netscape Messenger Feature of e-mail package: – They can route messages to multiple end users based on predefined mailing lists and provide password security, automatic message forwarding, and remote user access. – They allow you to store messages in folders and make it easy to add documents and Web file attachments to e-mail messages. – e-mail clients also include calendaring and contact management functions. Instant messaging (IM): – ICQ – Yahoo messenger – MSN Messenger Weblog: It is a Web site of personal or noncommercial origin that uses a dated log format updated daily or very frequently with new information about a particular subject or range of subjects.

9. Word Processing and Desktop Publishing It is used for creation, editing, revision, and printing of documents. It can also convert documents to HTML format for publication as Web pages on corporate intranets or the World Wide Web. Word processing packages also provide other helpful features such as spelling Checker, thesaurus. Desktop publishing software has: – Microsoft Publisher – QuarkXPress Source of Desktop publishing are: – Optical Scanner – Clip Art

10. Electronic Spreadsheets Spreadsheets software has: – Microsoft Excel – OpenOffice Calc – Corel QuattroPro Feature of spreadsheet: – It is used by virtually every business for analysis, planning, and modeling. – Developing a spreadsheet involves designing its format and developing the relationships (formulas) that will be used in the worksheet. – Compose of worksheet, row, column, and cell

11. Groupware Groupware is software that helps workgroups and teams collaborate to accomplish group assignments. Feature of groupware: – It rely on the Internet and corporate intranets and extranets to make collaboration possible on a global scale by virtual teams located anywhere in the world. Groupware : – MS Outlook – MS SharePoint Services – IBM’s WebSphere

12. Software Alternatives Application Service Providers(ASP): They are companies that own, operate, and maintain application software and the computer system resources (servers, system software, networks, and IT personnel) required to offer the use of the application software for a fee as a service over the Internet. Cloud computing is a style of computing in which software and, in some cases, virtualized hardware resources are provided as a service over the Internet(Ex Google Apps).

13. System Software Feature of System Software: It consists of programs that manage and support a computer system and its information processing activities. We can group system software into two major categories: – System Management Programs: Programs that manage the hardware, software, network, and data resources of computer systems during the execution of the various information processing jobs of users. – System Development Programs: Programs that help users develop information system programs and procedures and prepare user programs for computer processing.

14. Operating Systems Operating Systems Functions: – user interface: It is the part of the operating system that allows you to communicate with it so you can load programs, access files, and accomplish other tasks(command-driven, menu- driven, and graphical user interfaces). – Resource Management: An operating system uses a variety of resource management programs to manage the hardware and networking resources of a computer system, including its CPU, memory, secondary storage devices, telecommunications processors, and input/output peripherals. – File Management: An operating system contains file management programs that control the creation, deletion, and access of files of data and programs. – Task Management: The task management programs of an operating system help accomplish the computing tasks of end users. Operating System: – MS-DOS – MS Windows – Linux – Unix – Mac OS X – Application Virtualization – Other System Management Programs(network management programs)

15. Operating System The basic functions of an operating system The system and application software interface between end users and computer hardware

16. Programming Languages Type of Programming language: – Machine languages (or first-generation languages ) are the most basic level of programming languages. – Assembler languages (or second-generation languages ) are the next level of programming languages. – High-level languages (or third-generation languages ) use instructions, which are called statements, that include brief statements or arithmetic expressions. – fourth-generation languages are nonprocedural languages that encourage users and programmers to specify the results they want, while the computer determines the sequence of instructions that will accomplish those results. – Natural languages are sometimes considered fifth-generation languages (5GLs) and are very close to English or other human languages(Ex statement What are the average exam scores in MIS 200?). – Object-oriented languages like Visual Basic, C, and Java are also considered fifth generation languages and have become major tools of software development. – Web Language and server: HTML, XML, and Java are three programming languages that are important tools for building multimedia Web pages, Web sites, and Web-based applications. – Web Services: are software components that are based on a framework of Web and object- oriented standards and technologies for using the Web that electronically link the applications of different users and different computing platforms. Feature of Programming Language: – Language Translator Programs(interpreter) – Programming Tools

17. Examples of four levels of programming languages

18. An example of a bank savings account object Visual Basic object-oriented programming

19. The basic steps in accomplishing a Web services application