IC3 BASICS, Internet and Computing Core Certification

1
IC3 BASICS, Internet and Computing Core
Certification

• Computing Fundamentals
• Lesson 4
• What Is Software?

2
Objectives

• Distinguish between software and hardware.
• Describe the difference between applications
  software and systems software.
• Describe the three categories of system programs.
• Describe operating systems for microcomputers.
• Describe network operating systems.

3
Hardware vs. Software

• Computer systems consist of both hardware and
  software.
• Hardware refers to anything you can physically
  touch.
• Keyboards, mice, monitors, and motherboards are
  all hardware.
• Software consists of the instructions issued to
  the computer to perform specific tasks.
• The software on a computer system refers to the
  programs that make the computer run.

4
Types of Software

• Although there are literally thousands of
  software programs you can buy, there are really
  only two types of software application and
  systems.
• Application software consists of programs to
  perform a specific task.
• Systems software consists of the operating system
  and all utility programs that are used to manage
  computer system resources.

5
Application Software

• Application software is also called productivity
  software.
• It allows an end user to perform some task.
• The most commonly used categories of application
  software are
• Word processing programs
• Spreadsheet software
• Database software
• Presentation software
• Desktop publishing programs
• Games

6
Systems Software

• Systems software consists of programs that
  coordinate and control the resources and
  operations of the computer itself.
• The three categories of systems software are
• Operating systems
• Utility programs
• Language translators

7
Systems Software Operating Systems

• Operating systems provide an interface between
  the user and the computer.
• There are many brands and versions of operating
  systems.
• An operating system is designed to work with a
  specific processor chip.
• For example, Windows operating systems are
  designed to work with an Intel processor (or
  clone) and will not usually work on a Macintosh
  computer.

8
Illustration of an Operating System
This figure shows a graphical example of how an
operating system acts as an interface between the
user, the application programs, and the computer.
All requests are sent to the hardware through the
operating system software.
9
Systems Software - Utilities

• Utility programs are designed to help perform
  housekeeping chores for the computer.
• They can be designed to
• Manage the computers resources.
• Do file management.
• Format disks.
• Copy files from one disk to another.
• Back up data to disk or tape.

10
Common Utility Programs
The table below shows several common types of
utility programs and what they are used for.
11
Systems Software Language Translators

• Computers cannot read program statements in
  programming language format, such as Visual Basic
  or Java program statements.
• Language translator programs convert English-like
  software programs into machine code that can be
  understood by the computer.
• Each converted English-like instruction may be
  translated into many machine code instructions.
• Once converted to machine code, the program can
  be run and executed by the computer.

12
Microcomputer Operating System Interfaces

• The user interface of an operating system is what
  we are all familiar with.
• It is the part of the operating system that you
  interact with when using your computer.
• There are two commonly used types of operating
  system interfaces
• Command-line interface With this interface, you
  must type exact commands into the computer from a
  command prompt.
• This is not a user-friendly interface, and you
  must memorize many commands and keywords.
• Graphical user interface Users manipulate
  on-screen icons to perform functions, usually
  with a mouse or other pointing device.

13
User Interface Comparison
The figure on the left shows a command-line
interface. Each command is typed in at the
prompt, and messages scroll up the screen. The
figure on the right is a graphical user interface
(GUI) where users perform actions by clicking and
manipulating icons.
Icons represent-ing programs or files
Command prompt
14
Microcomputer Operating Systems

• If your computer is a Macintosh, you are probably
  using a Mac OS.
• Macintosh computers used one of the first GUI
  operating systems ever developed.
• If your computer is a PC or is PC- compatible,
  you are most likely using one of these operating
  systems
• DOS
• A combination of DOS and Windows
• A stand-alone version of Windows

15
The Mac OS

• Macintosh computers were developed by Apple
  Computer.
• Macintosh had one of the first GUI operating
  systems where icons were used to represent
  programs and files.
• To activate an icon, the user clicked it with the
  mouse.
• This was also the first operating system to
  provide an on-screen help system.

16
The DOS Operating System

• IBM introduced its first PC in 1981. Its
  operating system was called DOS, which stands for
  Disk Operating System.
• IBM called it PC-DOS. The operating system was
  licensed from its creator, Microsoft, who sold it
  under the name MS-DOS.
• DOS was a command-line interface operating system
  where the user had to enter commands at a screen
  prompt.
• It was a single-tasking operating system, which
  meant that only one program at a time could be
  executed.

17
The Windows Operating System

• Windows was Microsofts first GUI operating
  system, released in 1987.
• The first versions were called operating
  environments because they acted as a shell around
  the DOS operating system and worked in
  combination with DOS.
• Applications installed on a Windows system
  appeared as icons.
• As with the Mac OS, the user activated a Windows
  program by clicking the icon.

18
Windows Versions

• The earliest versions of Windows were labeled
  Windows 3.0, 3.1, etc.
• The first true multitasking version of Windows
  was Windows 95.
• This version also included support for networking
  computers.
• Windows 98 improved on Windows 95 and offered
  Internet integration and support for the USB bus.
• Windows 2000 was an update to Windows 98 and
  Windows NT and included tools for Web site
  creation.
• The latest version is Windows XP, which provides
  increased stability and device recognition.

19
Macintosh vs. Windows User Interface
The image on the left is an example of a
Macintosh interface window. On the right is the
Windows 2000 interface.
20
The Unix Operating System

• Unix is another early operating system that is
  still widely used today.
• It was developed by ATT as part of their
  phone-switching system.
• It was developed to be a portable operating
  system.
• That means that it was meant to run on any
  hardware platform.
• It is a command-line interface system, although
  there are now several GUI interface products
  available for Unix and Linux.

21
Example of a Unix System
Linux and IBMs AIX offer a graphical user
interface shell for a Unix operating system, as
shown here. This provides greater ease of use
while taking full advantage of Unixs speed and
reliability.
22
Network Operating Systems

• A network operating system (NOS) is designed to
  allow multiple computers to be connected and talk
  to each other.
• Networks can consist of anywhere from two to many
  thousands of computers.
• While there are many network operating systems
  available, the most popular are
• Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000
• Novells Netware
• IBMs Warp Server

23
Summary

• Hardware refers to anything you can touch.
• Software is instructions that tell the computer
  what to do.
• Software is also called a program.
• The two basic types of computer software are
  applications software and systems software.
• Applications software is also known as
  productivity software.
• Systems software coordinates and controls the
  resources and operations of a computer system.
• Three major categories of systems software are
  operating systems, utilities, and language
  translators.

24
Summary (continued)

• Operating systems provide an interface between
  the user and application program and the computer
  hardware.
• Utility programs help users complete specialized
  tasks such as file management.
• Language translators convert English-like
  software programs into machine language.
• A programmer uses a programming language to write
  program statements.
• All computers have operating systems.
• The user interface is the part of the operating
  system with which we are most familiar.

25
Summary (continued)

• The two most common user interfaces are
  command-line interfaces and graphical user
  interfaces.
• The Mac operating system is used with Apples
  Power Macintosh computers and Power Macintosh
  clones.
• Icons are symbols that represent documents,
  software programs, disks, and so forth.
• DOS was introduced with the IBM PC in 1981 and is
  a character-based operating system.

26
Summary (continued)

• Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows
  in 1987 this was an operating environment.
• Windows 95 was Microsofts first true
  multi-tasking operating system.
• Windows CE is a scaled-down Windows operating
  system used for small handheld computers.
• Unix is a portable operating system.
• Network operating systems allow a group of two or
  more microcomputers to be connected.