1. Intermediate 2 Computing Unit 1 – Computer Systems
Computer Software
Intermediate 2 Computing
Unit 1 – Computer Systems

2. Software
Software is the name given to the parts of the computer that you cannot touch.
For example:
Operating System – Windows
Application Software – MS-Word
Game Software – Super Mario

3. System Software Definition
The system software is a suite of programs that controls the hardware and software running on the computer.
Whether you load or save a file, access the internet, print a hard copy or just type on the keyboard, the operating system is involved working in the background.
An operating system is a group of programs that automatically load from your hard disk when you turn on your computer. These programs remain in RAM until you turn your computer off.

4. Examples of System Software
Operating systems
the program in charge of managing the computer system
Examples:
Microsoft Windows (Vista, XP, 2000, 98)
Mac OS (X, 9)
What an Operating system does:
Manages the whole computer system,
Manages use of the computers hardware resources:
Manages the files on backing storage
Utility programs
Anti-virus
De-fragmentation
Programming languages (covered in software development

5. Application Software
An application program is a piece of software that is designed for a specific task or function. Some examples:
Word processing is used to create, edit, format and save documents.
Spreadsheets are used to perform numerical calculations and accounting tasks.
Database management is used to organise a set of related information.
Desktop publishing is used to produce documents with sophisticated formatting that includes text and graphics.
Presentations software is used to produce slide shows.
programs are used to compose and send s.

6. System v’s Application Software
Application software is developed for a particular user task.
System software is developed to control the hardware and software of the computer system.

7. Standard File Formats
When a file is saved the data within the file is organised in a particular format.
Users often want a file saved by one program to be read or loaded by a different program.
This requires both programs to be able to use the same file format, then we say the format is compatible with both applications
A file format that can be used by several different applications is called a standard file format.
Standard File Formats make files compatible.

8. Standard File Formats
There are several standard file types for text documents such as produced by word processing packages.
Text: stores only the characters of the document, no formatting. It can be used by almost any application;
ASCII: basically the same as text, it can only use ASCII characters;
Rich Text Format (RTF): includes not just the text but also formatting such as font, style, size, alignment.

9. Objects and Operations

10. Viruses
A computer virus attaches itself to your files, copies itself and corrupts the files.
Signs of a virus
There are a number of tell-tale signs that can indicate that your computer has been infected with a virus. They include:
displaying unwanted messages
strange sounds or visual effects
computer keeps rebooting unexpectedly
a flood of unexpected s.
Viruses enter your system via:
attachments,
downloads from the internet,
infected floppy disks,
homemade CDs &
‘fun’ websites.