Introduction to Computing

Lecture # 3
 Outline
• Application Software
• Acquiring Application Software
• Some Application Software
– Word Processing Programs
– Spreadsheet Programs
– Presentation Programs
– Personal Information Managers

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 Application Software
• Application software tells the computer how to
accomplish(‫ )اـنـجام ددـن‬specific (‫ )مخصـوص‬tasks , such as
word processing or drawing, for the user. (Peter Norton)
• Application software is software that has been
developed (‫)پـــرورـشددـن‬to solve a particular problem, to
perform useful work on specific tasks, or to provide
entertainment(‫)س ـرـګ رـمـی‬. (Williams & Sawyer)

Games, etc. Home Encyclopedias Word Presentation

decoration, , Phone processing, graphics,
Gardening, books, etc. spreadsheets, financial, etc.
3 etc. etc.
 Acquiring Application Software
• As there are thousands of application software,
there are number of different ways for users to
obtain the software.
• A vast(‫ )وـسیعـ‬majority(‫ )کـــثریـت‬of people use software
products(‫)محصـول‬.
• Ways to acquire(‫ )بــــدستوردـن‬software products
include:
1. Commercial ‫ی‬ ( ‫)تــــجارتـ‬software
1.1 Stand-alone programs
1.2 Software suites(‫)رشته‬
1.3 Shareware programs
2. Freeware and public domain software
3. Open-source software
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 1. Commercial software
• Copyrighted
• Software that must be purchased (must be paid for)
1.1 Stand alone products
– Solve one type of problem or performs one type of task or
performs a range of related tasks
– Examples: word processing program, graphics program, e-
mail program, etc.
1.2 Software suites
– Very commonly(‫ )بــــظور عادـی‬used software programs are
often packed together and sold as software suites
– Integrated(‫ )تــــمام شــدن‬tools that work together
– Solve many problems
– Examples: Microsoft Office family of products, Corel family
of graphics software, etc.
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 1. Commercial software
1.3 Shareware
– Its developers encourage users to share it with one another
– Try out the software before you buy it
– Typically, the user is allowed a certain number of days to try it
– May deactivate if not purchased
– Examples: many popular utilities are shareware such as
GetDataBack, many examples are available on
download.com, also check out sharewareking.com

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2. Freeware and Public Domain Software
• Freeware
– Copyrighted
– No obligation to purchase (free of cost)
– Donations often accepted
– Software should not be duplicated and distributed further
– Examples: Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Spy-bot
(an excellent tool for stopping & removing spyware) at safer-
networking.org/en/index.html
• Public domain software
– Not copyrighted
– May be duplicated and distributed by anyone
– Usually developed at taxpayer expense by government
agencies
– Examples: check out security software at
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www.alw.nih.gov/security/security-prog.html
 3. Open-Source Software
• Open source
– Programs distributed with source code
– Allows users to modify the software
– Modifications and comments are welcome
– Often sold commercially, sometimes
available for free
– Examples: Linux and OpenOffice

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 3. Open-Source Software

9 Available for free and is used by about 16 million people worldwide