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Fundamentals of Computer Hardware & software

Fundamentals of Computer Hardware & software. Software. Software. Distinguish between the two categories of software. Define application software Give examples of types of application software Explain the terms General-purpose Integrated Specialised Customised Custom-written .

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Fundamentals of Computer Hardware & software

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  1. Fundamentals of Computer Hardware & software Software

  2. Software • Distinguish between the two categories of software. • Define application software • Give examples of types of application software • Explain the terms • General-purpose • Integrated • Specialised • Customised • Custom-written

  3. Software Categories • Application Software • These are programs developed to carry out specific tasks or solve particular problems. • System Software • Manages and supports the resources and operations of a computer system. It enables the running of application software and management of system resources.

  4. Application Software • Examples include: • Entertainment software • Home & personal software • Productivity software • Specialist software

  5. General-purpose software • Also called “off-the-shelf” Not written for any specific business or organization but can be used or adapted to suit their specific needs. • Usually well tested • Relatively cheap • Example Spreadsheet and word-processing packages.

  6. Integrated software • A set of related programs combined in a unified package that allows data to be transferred easily between the programs. • Main advantage is the ease with which data can be transferred from one component to another using a cut/copy-paste operation. • Examples Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, Sun OpenOffice, iWorks

  7. Specialised software • Software written for a specific task rather than for a broad application area. • Example payroll, expert systems, accounting programs, theatre and airline booking systems

  8. Customised software • General-purpose software which has been modified to meet the needs of an individual or organization better. • Customized through the use of special codes or macros (which are short programs written to automate several steps in software) • Usually written by experienced end users of the program.

  9. Custom-written software(tailor-made) • Written by programmers within a company or contracted out to a software house to meet the specific needs of a company. • Every company is unique and may have unique needs, so a solution tailored to achieve the company’s goals, based on their specialized requirements offers advantages when compared to general-purpose packages.

  10. System Software • There are two major categories of system software: • Operating System • Utility programs One textbook has a third… • Language translators

  11. Operating System • A set of programs managing the operations of a computer, without which the computer cannot function. • the term ‘booting’ refers to the process of loading the operating system into a computer’s main memory from disk. It remains in the main memory until the computer is turned off.

  12. Types of Operating System • Linux • Microsoft Windows • MSDOS • OSX • OS/2 • Microsoft NT Server • Unix

  13. Functions of the OS • Managing computer resources • Managing files and memory • Maintaining security • Managing tasks • Multitasking (concurrent processes – running at the same time) • Multiprogramming • Multiprocessing • Time-sharing • Batch Processing • Real-time processing • Providing a user interface

  14. User Interfaces • Command-driven • User enters a command by typing in codes or words. • Menu-driven • Allows the use of either a mouse, cursor-keys or keyboard to make a selection from a menu. • Graphical (GUI or WIMP) • Windows • Icons • Menus • Pointers • Use graphic images, menus and keystrokes to choose commands, start programs, folders, files, tasks, procedures .

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