1. Chapter 4
Computer Software

2. Learning Objectives
Describe several important trends occurring in computer software.
Give examples of several major types of application and system software.
Explain the purpose of several popular software packages for end-user productivity and collaborative computing.

3. Learning Objectives
Define and describe the functions of an operating system.
Describe the main uses of computer programming software, tools, and languages.
Describe the issues associated with open-source software.

4. Section 1 Application Software: End-user Applications

5. I. Introduction to Software
What is Software? – software is programs – instructions that tell the computer and associated peripherals what to do
Types of Software
System Software – programs that run the computer
Application Software – programs perform a function/job for you

6. I. Introduction to Software
Application Software for End Users
General Purpose Application Programs – perform common information processing jobs for end users
Productivity Package – increases productivity of user
Application-Specific Software – does a specific function

7. I. Introduction to Software
Custom Software – designed and created specifically to do a particular job for one company
Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS) – developed to sell many copies (usually for profit); source code may not be modified by user
Open Source Software – anyone may modify the software, the documentation and source code are available to anyone

8. I. Introduction to Software

9. II. Business Application Software
Available to support any part of business
Reengineer/Automate Business Processes
Customer Relationship management (CRM)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Supply Chain Management (SCM)

10. II. Business Application Software
Internal Organizational Activities
Human Resource management (HRM)
Accounting
Finance
Decision Support tools
Data Mining
Enterprise Information Portals
Knowledge Management Systems

11. SAP Business Suite 7: Introducing Modular Scenarios Cutting Across Organizational Functions
What is Business Suite 7?
What does Business Suite 7 provide?
How does this help the organization?
What is the Need that this product fills?

12. III. Software Suites and Integrated Packages
Software Suites – bundle together a variety of general-purpose software applications
Advantages:
Lower cost than buying each package individually
All the programs use a common graphical user interface (GUI)
The programs are designed to work together
Disadvantages:
Many features are never used
Suites take up a lot of disk space

13. III. Software Suites and Integrated Packages
Integrated Packages – combine some but not all of the functions of several programs; offer advantages in a smaller package
Less powerful than software suites – leave out some functions
Take up less disk space than software suites
Cost less than software suites

14. IV & V. Web Browsers & E-Mail
Web Browsers – the most widely used software (even more than )
Electronic Mail, Instant Messaging, and Blogs
– has changed the way people communicate
Instant Messaging (IM) – /computer-conferencing hybrid
Blog – short for Weblog or Web Log – a personal or commercial website on a particular topic or range of topics, frequently updated

15. VI. Word Processing and Desktop Publishing
Word Processing – creation, revision, editing, and printing of documents; spell checkers and grammar checkers, thesaurus
Desktop Publishing – produce printed documents that look professionally published

16. VII & VIII. Spreadsheets and Presentation Graphics
Spreadsheets – used for analysis, planning, and modeling; calculations, graphics, what-if scenarios
Presentation Graphics – convert numeric data into graphics displays for easy and intuitive comprehension

17. IX & X. Personal Information Managers (PIM) and Groupware
Personal Information Managers (PIM) – help end-users store, organize, and retrieve basic personal and business information
Groupware – helps workgroups and teams collaborate

18. XI. Software Alternatives
Application Service Providers – provide necessary applications for a fee (rather than a firm developing or purchasing the s/w)
Cloud Computing – a recent advance in computing and software delivery; software and virtualized hardware are provided as a service over the Internet; “cloud” is a metaphor for the Internet
Software Licensing – a complex topic involving copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property rights; in most cases software is not purchased but “licensed” for use under very specific circumstances

19. McAfee Inc.: Security under a Software-as-a-Service Model
What SaaS does McAfee offer?
What are the advantages of this service?
How is different from other products on the market?

20. Australian Maritime Safety Authority: Cloud Computing? Nothing New
What need did AMSA have?
How did a cloud service provide for this need?
What were the cost differentials between in-house development and the SaaS version?
What were the risks of using the SaaS version?

21. Section 2 System Software: Computer System Management

22. I. System Software Overview
System Management Programs – programs that manage the hardware, software, network, and data resources
System Development Programs – programs that help users develop IS programs and procedures; CASE tools

23. I. System Software Overview

24. II. Operating Systems – programs that run the computer operations
Operating Systems Functions –
User Interface – how the user communicates with the computer
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Command-driven
Menu Driven
Resource Management – manages the hardware and network resources
File Management – controls the creation, deletion, and access of files of the data and programs

25. II. Operating Systems – programs that run the computer operations
Operating Systems Functions –
Task Management – manages which tasks are performed and when
Multitasking (Multiprogramming or Timesharing) – programs take turns using the processor
Preemptive – each program gets a slice of time
Cooperative – programs use the processor when it is not being used by another program
Virtual Machines- applications run independently at the same time

26. II. Operating Systems – programs that run the computer operations
Unix – a multitasking, multiuser, portable (runs on different hardware platforms) operating system
Linux – low-cost, reliable, powerful, open-source UNIX-like operating system
Open-Source Software – source code is available to users, can be modified by users

27. II. Operating Systems – programs that run the computer operations
OpenOffice.org 3 – an open-source office suite, may be used entirely free without any license fees
Mac OS X – the latest OS from Apple for Macintosh computers
Application Virtualization – software technologies that allow applications to run on various platforms

28. Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children: Challenges in Making Virtualization Work
What is the biggest problem with virtualization at “Sick Kids”?
What is another problem?
What does this tell you about many vendors? Why would they do this?
What’s the problem with data migration? Why is this a continuing problem?

29. III. Other System Management Programs
Utilities – system management programs marketed separately from an operating system
Middleware – helps diverse software work together more efficiently

30. IV. Programming Languages
Machine Languages – first generation language – instructions written in binary (0’s and 1’s); runs directly on the computer
Assembler Languages – second generation language – uses symbols/mnemonics to represent operational codes; converted into binary by an Assembler
High-Level Languages – third generation language – BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN; converted into binary by Compliers and Interpreters; users tell the computer What results they want and How to get there

31. IV. Programming Languages
Fourth-Generation Languages (4GL) – non-procedural languages; users tell the computer What results they want, but the computer decides How to get there
Fifth Generation Languages (5GL) – natural languages, very close to English, conversational
Object-Oriented Languages (5GL) – combine the data elements and the programs that act on them into Objects; Reusability

32. Modern (and Automatic?) Code Generation
Why is automatic code generation important?
Why would this be important for non-programmers?

33. V. Web and Internet Languages and Services
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – a page description language (markup languages are NOT programming languages)
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) – describes the Content of Web pages by applying contextual labels to the data

34. Aptara Inc.: Revolutionizing the Publishing Industry through XML
Why are traditional publishing houses experiencing lower sales?
Why is a shift to digital publishing a challenge?
What opportunities are to be found?
Why is this good for the user/customer?
What does .xml have to do with this?

35. V. Web and Internet Languages and Services
Java and .NET
Java – a platform independent, object-oriented programming language; very powerful
Applets – small Java programs that can be executed by any computer running any OS anywhere on the network
.NET – Microsoft’s collection of programming support for Web services
Web Services – software that electronically links applications of different users and different platforms

36. V. Web and Internet Languages and Services

37. Airbus: Flying on SAP and Web Services
Why does Airbus like an open architecture?
Why did Airbus want a Web-services based travel management system?
What benefits does this system provide?

38. VI. Programming Software
Language Translator Programs – instructions must be translated into binary to be executed by the computer
Assembler – translates symbolic instructions written in assembly language
Compiler – translates high level language statements; translates the entire program (Source code) into binary (Object code) then executes the entire binary program

39. VI. Programming Software
Interpreter – translates and executes one line of the program at a time
Programming Tools – help programmers identify and minimize errors as they write the code
CASE Tools (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) – automated software support tools for developing systems