Chapter IV Understanding

Computer Software What is computer software?

System software and application software

Software market & licenses

Programming languages

Chapter Objectives

u Understand the role of software

u Recognize and understand different categories of system software

u Recognize and understand different categories of application software

u Understand application software market

u Understand programming languages and compilers

What is Software?

u  Consists of programs designed to teach the hardware what, how, and when to perform

u  Provide programs and convert them into machine language (only language that a computer understand)

u  Can be compared to the nervous system in the human body

u  There are 2 functional or operational categories of software:

u System software

u Application software

Two Types of Software

• Operating System • Utility programs • Drivers

• Interface between hardware and users and peripherals • Teaches computer HOW to perform • Managerial and janitorial tasks

System Software

•  Provides services for people •  Programs written to perform

tasks •  Word processor, spreadsheets,

data base, presentation, etc… •  Used by the users to tell the

computer WHAT they need.

Application Software

Trends

u There is a shift from a hardware view of computing to software & services

"Ten years out, in terms of actual hardware costs you can almost think of hardware as being free -- I'm not saying it will be absolutely free -- but in terms of the power of the servers, the power of the network will not be a limiting factor," Gates said, referring to networked computers and advances in the speed of the Internet.

Software/Hardware

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u  Relationship between types of software and hardware u  System software works as Interface between the hardware and

the users and their applications.

Hardware

System Software

Application Software Users

Operating System (OS)

u  Most important part of system software

u  Master controller of everything that happen in the computer system

u  Can be compared to the central nervous system in human body

u  OS was introduced early 1960s by IBM to power its computer IBM 360 and was behind its overwhelming success

u  Without OS, computers cannot run and manage several different applications

OS Assignments

u  Allocates memory space for all components needed for the processing then manages and supervises the process.

u  Manage processor time and applications

u  Monitors input and output operations through interaction with their drivers and make sure all operations proceed in an orderly manner.

u  Monitors and enforces computer security with the help of firewall, anti-virus software

OS Assignments

u  Provides needed help when users ask for help.

u  Provides user interfaces:

u  Menus and submenus

u  Command line interface

u  GUI (Graphical User Interface)

User Interface

u  Command line interface

u  Only interface till the 80s

u  Only computer specialists can use it

u  GUI (Graphical User Interface)

u  Can be a button, graphic or text

u  Every body can use it

Provided by the OS to enable users to communicate with computers. Excluding menus and submenus two types are available:

Menus And Submenus

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u  OS and processor must be tuned to the same word size. u  The operating system comprises several components evolving

around its core component known as “kernel”. u  Computer people, talk sometimes about kernel computing

referring to the most important part of the operating system.

Operating System (OS)

OS remains in memory until computer is turned OFF

OS manages processor, memory & drivers, user interface & applications on storage

When you start the computer the OS is loaded from HD into memory

UNIX - LINUX

UNIX

u  Multi-user, multi-tasking

u  Developed 1969 in assembly language , AT&T specialists at BELL labs

u  Converted to C in 1973 so its Kernel can power OS of small mobile computers.

Linux

u  UNIX based

u  GNU kernel launched in 1983 by free software activists.

u  Thousands of programmers worldwide contributed to Linux development

MAC/OSX

u  UNIX based operating system series marketed by Apple Inc.

u  A graphical interface OS

u  First version released in 1999 server edition.

u  iOS version runs on iPhone and iPod

u  Many versions are named after cat names: Leopard and Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain lion.

u  The X relate to UNIX and to the roman 10 (OS/X = OS version 10)

u  OS/X includes its own development tools IDE (Integrated Development Environment) called XCODE provides interfaces to many compilers of several programming languages including C, C++ and JAVA.

Android OS

u  Android was developed by Android Inc. designed for smartphones and tablet computers and other touch screen mobile devices and tablets. u  Linux based operating system.

u  Google purchased the company in 2005 and it is developing Android presently.

u  Apps development teams of Google have come up with more than 700,000 apps by October 2012 (download via Google play)

u  2010 (Android powered) smart phones become the world leading mobile platform. Its share of the market is 75%! (500 million devices)

Symbian OS

u  Originally created by Symbian Ltd.

u  Most popular worldwide 37.6% of the global smartphone market until late 2010 when it was surpassed by Android.

u  Empowers most Nokia, Ericsson and European made smartphones.

u  Based on the graphical operating system EPOC (Electronic Piece Of Cheese).

u  Symbian share of the market is reduced presently to all time low of about 7%.

u  NOKIA shifted from Symbian to MS Windows phones 8 starting this year 2013 and Samsung did the same.

Operating System

u  IBM Z/OS: Introduced October 2000 u 64 bits OS for mainframe server and

powerful computers

u Support old market computers

u Accommodates all mainframe systems

u High quality service

u Support clustering.

MS Windows u  Most popular operating system ever because of its

excellent graphical user interface that bridged the gap between the user and the computer making user friendly computers that can be used by everybody and business personnel without being computer specialists.

u  Windows operating system was first introduced in 1985 to reign over a market highly enthusiastic to the friendly GUI: 90% market share presently.

u  Several versions were introduced since then including Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 and recently Windows 10 was released.

u  The most recent server version is Windows Server 12.

Windows 8

u  Widows 8 introduced the following features: u  Keep backward compatibility

u  Improving user experience on mobile computers and devices.

u  Friendly to Cloud computing and NFC (Near Field Communication) for payments and file content sharing.

u  Secured boot process and malware filtering

u  Built-in antivirus software.

u  New app friendly touchscreen input platform features many built-in apps.

u  Improved ability to synchronize settings and programs among multiple devices working together within the computer system

Some Windows 8 apps Touch screen friendly

Windows 10

u  Newest Widows OS has the following features: u  Start menu is back; it’s more personal and organized.

u  Comes with a personal assistant, Cortana, which is activated from the desktop.

u  New browser, Microsoft Edge, which allows you to take notes, doodle, and highlight directly on the webpage.

u  Comes with many built-in apps including Skype, OneDrive

u  Tablet mode makes Windows more intuitive to use with touch devices like 2-in-1s.

u  Enterprise-grade security without having to type in a password.

Windows Phone

u  Launched 10/29/2012

u  Used by many smart phones including Nokia and Samsung

u  Support removable storage media: USB, etc…

u  NFC (Near Field Communication) friendly to support payment and other applications.

u  Many other features aimed at the business market that include:

u  Bit-Locker encryption for transactions security.

u  Ability to create Marketplace to distribute apps.

u  Firmware over-the-air support possible updates.

u  All devices will receive software support for 18 months.

u  18 months update from Windows phones.

Utility Programs

u  Help the OS in specific tasks and performs the following:

u Disk care and management

u File management (Windows explorer, Mac finder) and file defragmentation

u Compilers to covert high level languages into machine language.

u Computer security: u  Antivirus software and antispyware, firewall

software

u  Back-up and Restore

Utility Programs

u  They cannot be inherent parts of the OS because

u  As you may notice there are a lot of utilities and each program consists of a big volume file.

u  If they are added to the operating system they will require a huge place in memory as long as the computer is running.

u  Most of these programs are needed briefly to perform specific tasks and go, so the same memory space can be used by different programs while they are performing

u  Memory space use is similar to the tables in restaurant the same table is used by many customers while they are eating.

Drivers

u  Device drivers are system software designed to operate hardware components and peripherals attached to the computer.

u  Each component or peripheral has its own driver (there are no universal drivers, driver is made to control a particular type of hardware)

u  Driver that operates a specific model of HP printer may not necessarily be good to operate any other HP model or any other different brand model).

u  Device driver operates as a translator interface between the operating system and the hardware device.

u  Only a specific device driver can communicate with that particular device so that all instructions directed to the device must be conveyed through the device driver.

Where are Drivers Needed?

u  All printers u  Virtual printer: is computer software whose driver is an API

(Application Programming Interface) that doesn’t connect with a physical printer but, instead save the printed copy as no-edit file like PDF files.

u  Scanners including MRI and computed tomography

u  Cameras: Their drivers are function of their use and location.

u  Storage devices, video adapters, network cards, buses, etc…

Productivity Software u  Please visit CGS 2100 website/Helpful Links page to learn

about the newest MS Office suite

u  MS Word Processing: Document production new features include:

u  Edit PDF files like any other Word document by clicking “Enable Editing”

u  E-­‐fax  and  Merriam-­‐Webster  dic3onary  apps  and  huge  number  of  featured  apps  wai3ng  for  you  to  choose  your  favorites  

u  The  “Review”  tab  use  the  Word  apps  and  when  you  select  the  text  you  get  the  result  displayed  instantly.  

u  MS EXCEL spreadsheets software that was an important factor in the digital revolution because of its automatic recalculation feature that carries the “what if” scenarios. Crucial requirements for healthy decision making

Database Software

u  MS Access Database: For creating, managing and querying databases. Most important new features include:

u  Enhanced user interface enable you to make operational and beautiful apps very fast

u  You need Office 365 to host the database in the cloud but you can chose to have SQL Server 2012 and SharePoint 2013 and host it yourself in your premises.

u  The table templates library allows you to easily track everything you care about in the database and apply relationships and data integrity rules very easy.

u  Other  important  database  soCware  include:  FoxPro:  now  published  by  MicrosoC,  IBM-­‐DB2,  MySQL  is  popular  database  for  use  in  web  apps.  Linter:  Russian  SQL  DBMS  that  is  supported  by  most  opera3ng  systems.  It  is  mostly  used  by  Russian  government  ministries  and  their  agencies.  

u  A  database  is  not  portable  across  all  or  many  DBMS’s    

Presentation Software

u  Used for creating and developing presentations and supportive visual and multi-media aides that accompany a presentation powerful features include:

u  Direct link to YouTube, Facebook and other social media engines.

u  Merge shapes: Easy to merge many shapes into one

u  Slide  Zoom  in  and  out  of  charts,  diagrams  and  graphics  is  very  important  feature  to  direct  the  aRen3on  of  audience.  

u  The  Auto-­‐Extend  feature  insures  the  slide  appears  on  the  right  screen  when  you  move  the  projec3on  to  another  screen.

Presentation Software

u  Other important presentation software include: u Apple Keynote: one of the best software that run on

MAC.

u Impress from OpenOffice.org (open source software)

u Bruno of Hewlett-Packard: First software designed to create WISIWYG presentations

u  Kingsoft (KS office) Presentations is a Freeware that was developed in China; the newest version is the KSOffice 2012

Management Software

u  Financial management software: manage business financial activities u  Investment portfolio

u  Expenses and revenue

u  Budget planning and financing avenues

u  Taxes with tax preparation software.

u  Project management needed to: u  Complete the project according to schedule

u  Plan, allocate and control project people and resources.

u  An example is MS Project and MS SharePoint server.

u  Marketing software integration with the project management software allows for a complete approach to powerful project management.

Statistical Software

u  Turn data into present and future action

u  Deep impact on social and business environment

u  IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). 1968

u  SAS (Statistical Analysis System) pronounced “sass” extensively around the globe to generate many powerful statistical applications.

u  Stata: 1985. It is complete integrated statistical software with lot of applications used around the world.

u  MATLAB: presents an interactive environment and a language rich in built-in functions that in addition to the language tools help you develop algorithms and create models.

u  Mathematics, S-PLUS, R, Minitab and JMP are also notable statistics software that contributes to the enrichment and diversification of statistical software market.

Entertainment and Games Software

u  Console Games: The software usually stored on a disk and inserted into the console the game features are displayed on the television. PlayStation 3 uses Blu-ray disc

u  PC games prospered after the 1983 video game crash. The present smart phones era propelled the game and entertainment market to unprecedented size using the cloud gaming software.

u  The global decline of the game market a is caused by the abundance of games on the web that are offered for free with other packages.

u  The market that peaked to $103 billion in 2008 is projected to decline to less than $75 billion by 2015.

Educational Software

Very important for business training and all educational establishments

u  Classroom aids (whiteboards: Compared with the blackboards) designed for school classroom teaching that is why it is called “classroom management software”.

u  Courseware: comprises teaching tools and tutorials and all needed material included in one package.

u  Student assessment software (SAM - Student Assessment Manager – is an example)

u  Diverse training software: specific educational purposes

u  Driving test software

u  Language learning software

u  Typing and spelling tutor software

u  Training simulator software.

u  Note taking software

Software Market

Horizontal market software: u  Apps operate in several commercial, industrial or

service market activities.

u  Targets common needs of businesses regardless of their activities, size, market and mission.

u  Horizontal software is also known as productivity software because of its use in all businesses

u  Example of horizontal market software include: Word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database and many other application software.

u  Payroll software

u  Inventory software

u  Tax preparation and filing software.

u  Etc…

Software Market Vertical market software:

u Software designed to operate and satisfy the needs of a given business activity.

u Customized to a specific industry needs

u Limited usefulness to a specific activity highlights the importance of application competitiveness.

u An example of vertical market software would be hotel or online reservation software and travel software and point of sale software

Programming Languages

u  Computer language is code used to write software.

u  Machine language or object code or 1st generation:

u Strings of 0s and 1s that represent instructions, data and information.

u Only language that computers can understand

u  It is almost impossible for programmers to write sophisticated codes using machine language.

Programming Languages

u  Assembly or 2nd generation language use machine language strings to build command codes used in program instructions

u  High level languages or 3rd generation and beyond are used assembly language to develop more human friendly code: Basic, FORTRAN, COBOL, C, Etc…

u  These procedural languages convert specific algorithm into code.

u  4th generation language was designed to meet the need of creating and querying databases that overwhelmed our social and business environment.

u  SQL is the standard

u  PASCAL

u  RPG of IBM etc…

u  5th generation is in the making using natural language paradigms and extensive use of decision tables.

Programming Languages

u  Considering that computer doesn’t understand any language except machine language or object code, all languages are programmer’s primary tools to author source code programs.

u  Syntax is a set of rules dictating how to write the code.

u  All source code programs must be converted into machine language or object code before being submitted to computer processing.

u  Conversion is completed by a software utility program known as compiler or interpreter

u  Compiler translates the whole program together as one translation unit.

u  Interpreter translates one instruction at a time allowing for live interactive translation over networks and internet and WEB applications

Program Translators

Compiler: converts (source code) into machine language or object code. (the whole program together)

Interpreter: converts one instruction at a time.

All source code programs must be converted into object code (machine language before being submitted to processing

Object-Oriented Programming

u  Object-oriented programming languages are based on the creation and interaction of reusable programming objects.

u  An object is a class

u  Subclasses are derived from class to represent derived sub-objects.

u  Subclasses inherit properties from higher classes or subclasses

u  Examples include:

u C++ and C#

u JAVA

Software Copyrights and Licenses

u  Copyright: defines exclusive rights legally granted to the owner.

u  Software License: Defines permissions, rights, and restrictions provided to the person who purchases a copy of the software. u Single User/Multi-

user license u Network license

Most PC software will not allow the user to install the software without first clicking “I accept the terms in the License Agreement.”

Freeware

u  Freeware is software that is made available to the public for free. Reasons include: u build customer interest and name recognition u wish to make a valuable donation to society

Open Source

u Open-source software evolves from the combined contribution of its users.

The Free Software Directory (http://directory.fsf.org) lists over 5000 software titles in 22 categories licensed under the GPL.

Creative Commons License

u  Creative Commons license is designed to allow the creators of intellectual property to specify the terms of the license in order to grant certain freedoms to users, while still providing the owner with some control of the property and the ability to profit from the distribution of the work.

(http://creativecommons.org)

Off-the-shelf Software

u Off-the-shelf Software is mass-produced software designed for use by the general public.

u Shareware u Marketed under a

"try before you buy" philosophy

Subscription Model

u With a software subscription you pay an annual fee for as long as you wish to use the software.

u This model is ideal for software such as virus protection that requires continuous updates.