Chapter 3

Computer
Software

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Objectives:
 Differentiate among the forms through which
software is available
 Categories of application software
 Define system software and identify the two
types of system software
 Types of an operating system
 Utility programs

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3.1 Overview of software
 Software (program) is a series of instructions
that tells a computer what tasks to perform
and how to perform them.
 Software can be divided into 2 main
categories:
Application software
System software

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3.2 Application software
 An application, or app
sometimes called
application software,
consists of programs
designed to make
users more productive
and/or assist with
personal tasks.

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3.2 Application software
 Application
software is
available in a
variety of
forms:

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A. Retail software
 It is a mass produced, copyrighted retail
software that meets the needs of a wide
variety users, not just a single user or
company.
 Is a copyrighted and sold to a wide variety
of users.

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B. Custom software
 Design to meet the needs of a specific
business or industry
 Usually costs expensive than retail
software.

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C. Web app
 Application stored on a web server that you
access through a browser.
 Some can be accessed locally offline.
 some free, some charge one time fee, while
others charge monthly or yearly.

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D. Mobile App
 You download from a mobile device’s app
store or other location on the Internet.
 Some free, some charge you a few dollars

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E. Mobile Web App
 Is a web app that is optimized for display
in a browser on a mobile device,
regardless of screen size or orientation.

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F. Shareware
 Copyrighted software that it is distributed at
no cost for a trial period
 To use a shareware program beyond that
period, you send payment to the program
developer.
 In some cases, a scaled-down version of
the software is distributed free, and
payment entitle the user to the fully
functional product.

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G. freeware
 Copyrighted software provided at no cost by
an individual or a company that retains all
rights to the software

 Freeware indicates the software has no

charge.

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 H. Open Source software
 Software free (NO COST) available to anyone
in a form that can be easily modified
 The software has no restrictions from the
copyright holder regarding modification of the
software’s internal instructions and its
redistribution.

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I. Public Domain Software
 The software has been donated for public use
 Anyone can copy or distribute to others at no
cost charge.
 Can be copied, sold, and/or modified
 Poor quality or unreliable

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 Conclusion:
Variety forms of application Cost Copyrighted?
software
1. Package Software - Inexpensive Y
2. Custom Software - Expensive Y
3. Open Source Software - Free N
4. Shareware - Free (for a trial period) Y
- Free (for a scale down
version)
- Payment required for a fully
functional product
5. Freeware - Free Y
6. Public-domain software - Free N
7. Web-based software / - Free Y
Web application - Some charge a fee

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3.2.1 Categories of Programs and Apps

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A. Productivity Applications
 Software that assists people in becoming more
effective and efficient while performing daily
activities at work, school, and home.

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 B. Graphics and Multimedia Software
 Software that allows power users, such as
engineers, architects, desktop publisher,
graphic artists,
to work with
graphics and
multimedia
project.

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C. Personal Interest Applications
 Most of the programs in this category
are relatively inexpensive; many are free
or open source, and available for
download from web sites or a device’s
app store.
 Some applications focus on a single
service, while others provide several
services in a single applications.

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C. Personal Interest Applications

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D. Communications Applications
 Communications is the process of
sharing/exchanging info between 2 or more
computers.

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E. Security Tool
 To protect computers and mobile devices
 Security tools include personal firewalls,
antivirus programs, malware removers, and
Internet filters.

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E. Security Tool
 Personal Firewall
Detects and protects a personal computer and
its data from unauthorized intrusions

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E. Security Tool
 Antivirus Programs
Protects a computer against viruses by identifying
and removing any computer viruses found in a
memory, storage media or on incoming files.

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E. Security Tool
 Malware removers
1. Spyware remover – detects and deletes
spyware
2. Adware remover – detects and deletes
spyware, adware, and other malware

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E. Security Tool
 Internet Filters

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 F. File, Disk, and System
Management Tools
 To perform maintenance type tasks related to
managing a computer, its devices, or its programs,
you can use one or more file, disk and system
management tools.

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3.3. System software
 Programs that control or maintain the operations
of the computer and its devices and it enable the
application software to run
 Types of systems software
Operating systems
Utility programs

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3.3.1 Operating system
 Programs that coordinate all of the activities
among the computer’s hardware
components.
 Once a computer is started, the operating
system is loaded (copied) from the
computer’s hard drive into memory.
 It then will coordinates all the activities of the
computer including running applications and
transferring data among input and output
devices and memory.
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 3.3.2 Operating Systems Functions
provide a user manage
start the computer interface programs

administer
security

manage
memory

control a
network
establish an schedule jobs
provide file management and monitor Internet and configure
other utilities performance connection devices 31

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 A. Starting and Shutting Down
Computers and Mobile devices
 Starting or restarting a computer is
called booting

Cold boot Warm boot

turning on a computer that restarting a computer that
has been powered off is already powered on

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B. Providing user interface
- User interface (UI) controls how you enter data and instructions and how
information is displayed on the screen
Graphical User Interface
Most users today work with GUI.
With a GUI, you interact with
menus, icons, buttons and other
graphical objects to issue
commands
Command-line Interface
With CLI, a user types commands
represented by short keywords or
abbreviations or press special
keys on the keyboard to enter
data and instructions.
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C. Managing Programs
 The OS also control HOW MANY
PROGRAMS a user can run at any one
time.
 An operating system can be single tasking
or multitasking.
A single tasking OS allows only one program or
app to run at a time.
A multitasking OS allows two or more programs
or apps to reside in memory at the same time.

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D. Managing Memory
 The purpose of memory management is to
optimize the use of computer internal
memory, i.e. RAM.
 If you run too many
programs at the
same time, it is
possible to run out
of RAM.

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D. Managing Memory
 With VIRTUAL MEMORY, the OS allocates
a portion of the hard disk, to function as
additional RAM. Virtual memory is slower
than RAM, therefore, users may notice the
computer slowing down while it uses virtual
memory.

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E. Controlling a network
 Allows computers in a network to send and
receive data and share computing
resources

F. Administering Security
 Protection against unauthorized access
 Logins and passwords

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G. Coordinating Tasks
• The OS determines the order in which tasks are
processed.
• Example: If the processor sends 3 documents to
a printer, the printer
can print only one
document at a time
and store as many
documents as its
memory can handle

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 3.4 UTILITY PROGRAMS
 Utility programs, also known as Utility, is a
type of system software that allows a user to
perform maintenance-type of tasks, usually
related
to managing a computer,
its device, or its programs.

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A. Image Viewer
 With an image viewer, users to display,
copy, and print the contents of a
graphics file. Users can see images
without having to open them in a paint or
image editing program.

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 B. Disk Defragmenter
 Is a tool that reorganizes the files and unused space
on a computer’s hard disk so that the OS can access
data more quickly and programs run faster.
 When the contents of a file are scattered across two or
more noncontiguous sectors, the file is fragmented.
 Fragmentation slows down disk access and the
performance of the entire computer.
 Defragmenting the disk, or reorganizing it so the files
are stored in contiguous sectors, solves this problem.

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 A fragmented disk has
many files stored in
noncontiguous sectors

A defragemented disk
stored the files in
contiguous sectors

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C. Disk Cleanup
 A disk cleanup tool searches for and
removes unnecessary files.
 Unnecessary files may include downloaded
program files, temporary Internet files,
deleted files, and unused program files.
Operating systems usually include a disk
cleanup tool.

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D. File Compression
 A file compression tool shrinks the size of a
file(s). A compressed file takes up less
storage space than the original file.
 Compressing files frees up room on the
storage media

Makes the file size

smaller, so sending
the file is faster
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E. Backup and Restore
 A backup tool allows users to copy, or
back up, selected files or the contents of
an entire storage medium to another
storage location, such as another hard
drive, optical disc, USB flash drive, or
cloud storage
 Restore tool reverses the process and
returns backed up files to their original
form.

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