Introduction to Information Technology

Chapter 4:
Computer Software
 Chapter Preview

 In this chapter, we will study:

Systems Software
Application Software
How software applications are developed
How software has evolved and where it’s
headed
Software for the enterprise
 The Software Crisis
Computer System  New software applications
cannot be developed fast
enough to:
Hardware Software  Keep up with dynamic
business environment
 Keep pace with rapid
hardware advances
 Lag in software
development limits IS
capabilities
 The Software Crisis (continued)
 In addition to new application development,
existing software must also be maintained (80% IT
personnel effort towards maintenance).
 Increasing complexity leads to the increased
potential for “bugs.”
 Testing and “debugging” software is expensive
and time-consuming.
 Software Fundamentals
 Some basic terms…
Computer programs - sequences of instructions for
the computer
Stored program concept – instructions written in
programs are stored and executed by CPU when
needed
Programming - process of writing (or coding)
programs
Programmers - individuals who perform
programming
 Software Fundamentals (continued)
Computer Software  Systems Software
 Instructions that
Systems Application manage the hardware
Software Software resources
Makes the Does  Application Software
computer something
function interesting
 Instructions that
perform specific user
tasks
 System Software
 System software is software that:
Controls and supports the computer system’s
activities
Supports application software by directing the
computer’s basic functions
Facilitates program development, testing, and
debugging
Is independent of any specific type of
application
 Systems Software (continued)
Systems Software  System Control
Programs
 Control use of all
System Systems system resources
Control Support (hardware, software,
Programs Programs
data); operating system
 System Support
Programs
 Specialized support
capabilities
 System Control Programs

 Operating System - main system control

program
supervises the overall operation of the computer
allocates CPU time and main memory to
programs running on the computer
provides an interface between the user and the
hardware
 Operating System Services
 Process management – manage program(s) running on
processor
 Multitasking or Multiprogramming - managing two or more
tasks, or programs, running on the computer system at the same
time
 Multithreading – type of multitasking; run two or more tasks
from the same application simultaneously
 Timesharing - many users share same CPU, each using a
different input/output terminal
 Multiprocessing – simultaneous processing with multiple CPUs
 Operating System Services (continued)
 Virtual memory - simulates more main memory than
actually exists in the computer system
 File management and security - managing the
arrangement of, and access to, files held in secondary
storage
 Fault tolerance - system can produce correct results and
continue to operate even in the presence of faults or errors
 User interface - allows users to have direct control of
visible objects (icons) and actions that replace complex
command syntax
 Types of Operating Systems

 Major Desktop Operating Systems

Microsoft Products: MS-DOS
Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows ME
Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows XP

Other Products: UNIX Linux

Java Operating System (JavaOS)
IBM O/S 2
Macintosh Operating System
 Types of Operating Systems (continued)

 Departmental Server Operating Systems

Support hundreds of concurrent users
UNIX, Linux, Windows 2000, Windows XP,
Novell NetWare
 Enterprise Operating Systems
Support thousands of concurrent users; millions
of transactions per day
IBM’s OS/390, IBM’s VM (Virtual Machine),
IBM’s VSE (Virtual Storage Extended), and
IBM’s OS/400
 System Support Programs
 Support the operations, management, and
users of a computer system
 Examples:
System Utilities
• Perform common tasks: sorting records, checking
disk integrity, creating directories and
subdirectories, restoring accidentally erased files,
locating stored files, managing memory usage, and
redirecting output.
 System Support Programs (continued)
 Examples (continued)
Performance monitors
• monitor job processing
• produce statistical reports on system resource usage
Security monitors
• monitor the use of a computer system to protect it
and its resources from unauthorized use, fraud, or
destruction
 Application Software
 Programs performing specific information
processing activities and user functionality
 Types of Application Software
 Proprietary application software
• Addresses a specific or unique business need for a company
 Off-the-shelf application software
• Vendor developed programs sold to many organizations
• May be standard package or may be customizable
 Application Software (continued)
Personal Application Software - off-the-shelf
application programs supporting general types of processing

 Spreadsheets  Multimedia
 Data management  Communication
 Word processing  Speech-recognition
 Desktop publishing
 Groupware
 Graphics
 Presentation; Analysis;
CAD
 Software Issues
 Software Evaluation and Selection
Selection factors
• Size and location of the user base
• System administration tools
• Initial and subsequent costs
• Current and future system capabilities
• Existing computing environment
• In-house technical skills
 Software Issues (continued)
 Software Licensing
 Copyright - exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish,
and sell the software
 Licenses - permission granted under the law to engage
in an activity otherwise unlawful
 Software Upgrades
 May or may not offer valuable enhancements
 Risk that revised software may contain bugs
 Upgrading in a large organization is a major
undertaking, so must assess the merits of the new
release
 Software Issues (continued)
 Open Systems
A model of computing products that work
together
Empower designers to choose the best computer
hardware, operating system, and application
software without compatibility concerns
 Open Source Software
Software code offered freely to developers
 How are Programs Understood by the Computer?
(The Language Translation Process)

Program written in Translator program Program written in

programming  Assembler machine language
language (source  Compiler (object code)
code)
 Interpreter

Processed
By CPU
 Programming Languages
 Machine Language (first generation of programming languages)
 The computer’s ‘native language’
 Composed of binary digits (0s, 1s)
 The only language that computers understand
 Assembly Language (second generation of programming
languages)
 One-to-one correspondence to machine language
 Somewhat more user-friendly than machine language
(mnemonic rather than binary digits)
 Assembler – program that translates an assembly
language program into machine language
 Programming Languages (continued …)
 Procedural Languages (third generation languages)
 One instruction translates into many machine language
instructions
 Programs describe the computer’s processing step-by-
step
 Closer to natural language; uses common words rather
than abbreviated mnemonics
 Examples: Cobol, C, Fortran, QuickBasic
 Compiler - translates the entire program at once
 Interpreter - translates and executes one source program
statement at a time
 Programming Languages (continued)
 Nonprocedural Language (fourth generation languages)
 Allows the user to specify the desired result without
having to specify the detailed procedures needed for
achieving the result
 Example – data base query language - SQL
 Can be used by non technical users
 Natural Language Programming Languages (fifth
generation (intelligent) languages)
 Translates natural languages into a structured, machine-
readable form
 Are extremely complex and experimental
 Current Programming Languages
 Visual Programming Languages
Used within a graphical environment
Example : Visual Basic and Visual C++
Popular to non technical users
 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
standard language used in World Wide Web
contains text, images, and other types of
information such as data files, audio, video, and
executable computer programs
 Current Programming Languages
 Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Improved on web document functionality
 Componentware
Software components that may be assembled by
developer as needed
“Plug and Play” software development
 Current Programming Languages (continued)
 Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)
 a file format for describing three-dimensional interactive
worlds and objects
 can be used with the World Wide Web
 Object-Oriented Programming Languages (OOP)
 based on objects – packaging data and the instructions
about what to do with that data together
 Examples: Java, C++
 Unified Modeling Language (UML)- modeling tool for
object-oriented systems
 Enterprise Software
 Problem faced in many organizations…
 Competitive pressures require change in organizational procedures,
however
 all the different types of software and hardware in use cause so
much complexity that change is difficult
 Solution options
 Software packages with integrated functional modules (i.e., human
resource, operations, marketing, finance, accounting, etc.)
 Use of middleware to link disparate applications
 Enterprise software that manages all organizational operations
 Chapter Summary
 Software can be broadly categorized as Systems software
and Applications software
 Systems software provides an interface between the
hardware and the application software
 Application software performs specific business functions
 Programming languages provide the means for humans to
give computers instructions
 Organizations seek enterprise wide software solutions to
provide integrated organizational systems
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