CHAPTER 5

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

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 INTRODUCTION

COMPUTER SYSTEM

COMPUTER HARDWARE COMPUTER SOFTWARE

SYSTEM SOFTWARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE

The computer hardware cannot think and make decisions on its own. So, it cannot
be used to analyze a given set of data and find a solution on its own. The
hardware needs a software (a set of programs) to instruct what has to be done. A
program is a set of instructions that is arranged in a sequence to guide a
computer to find a solution for the given problem. The process of writing a
program is called programming.
Computer software is written by computer programmers using a programming
language.
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Examples of computer software include:

• Computer Games

• Driver Software

• Educational software

• Media Players and Media Development Software

• Productivity Software such as word processors, database management

utilities, and presentation software, Operating Systems software , etc.

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 System Software Application Software
It is a collection of programs that enable the users to It is a collection of programs written for a specific
interact with hardware components efficiently application. Like, we have library system, inventory control
system, etc
It controls and manages the hardware It uses the services provided by the system software to
interact with hardware components
System software is machine dependant It is machine independent
The programmer must understand the architecture of the The programmer ignores the architecture of the machine
machine and hardware details to write a system software and hardware details to write an application software

Interacts with the hardware directly Interacts with the hardware indirectly through system calls
provided by system software
Writing a system software is a complicated task Writing application programs is relatively very easy
Example: compiler, operating system Example: MS-WORD, PAINT

USER N
USER 1 USER 2

Application programs

For example, games, spreadsheets, word processor, database, web browsers

System Software

For example, Operating System

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For example, printer, mouse, scanner, keyboard, CPU, disk
BASIC INPUT OUTPUT SYSTEM (BIOS)
BIOS provides basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected
to or built into the computer.
It is a de-facto standard defining a firmware interface. The BIOS is built into the
computer and is the first code run by the computer when it is switched on. The
key role of the BIOS is to load and start the operating system.
When the computer starts, the first function that BIOS performs is to initialize and
identify system devices such as the video display card, keyboard and mouse,
hard disk, CD/DVD drive and other hardware. The code in the BIOS chip runs a
series of tests called POST (Power On Self Test) to ensure that the system devices
are working correctly.
The BIOS then locates software held on a peripheral device such as a hard disk or
a CD, and loads and executes that software, giving it control of the computer. This
process is known as booting.
BIOS is stored on a ROM chip built into the system.
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Operating System: The primary goal of an operating system is to make the
computer system convenient and efficient to use.
An operating system ensures that the system resources (such as CPU, memory,
I/O devices, etc) are utilized efficiently. For example, there may be many service
requests on a web server and each user request need to be serviced. Similarly,
there may be many programs residing in the main memory. Therefore, the system
needs to determine which programs are active and which need to wait for some
I/O operation.
Utility Software: It is used to analyze, configure, optimize, and maintain the
computer system. Some of them are listed below.
Disk defragmenters; Disk checkers; Disk cleaners; Disk space analyzers;
Disk partitions; Backup utilities; Disk compression; File managers;
System profilers; Anti-virus utilities; Cryptographic utilities;
Launcher applications ; Registry cleaners ; Network utilities;
Command line interface (CLI); and Graphical user interface (GUI)
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A compiler is a special type of program that transforms source code written in a
programming language into machine language comprising of just two digits- 1s
and 0s. The resultant code in 1s and 0s is known as the object code.

Interpreter: Like the compiler, the interpreter also converts machine level
language instructions into machine level language. However, it translates the
instructions into an intermediate form, which it then executes. Usually, a
compiled program executes faster than an interpreted program.

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Linker: Also called link editor and binder, a linker is a program that combines
object modules to form an executable program. Generally, in case of a large
program, the programmers prefer to break a code into smaller modules.
Eventually, when the source code of all the modules has been converted into
object code, all the modules must be put together. This is the job of the linker.
The compiler automatically invokes the linker as the last step in compiling a
program.

Loader: A loader is a special type of program that copies programs from a

storage device to main memory, where they can be executed. Most loaders are
transparent to the users.

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Application software is a type of computer software that employs the
capabilities of a computer directly to perform a user-defined task. Examples
of software applications are word processors, spreadsheets, media players,
education software, CAD, CAM, data communication software, statistical and
operational research software, etc.

Productivity Software is any software that is used to attain something

productive, especially in the office or home, as opposed to game software or
entertainment software.
Word processing program, spreadsheet application or graphic design
software, are actually the tools people use to create and produce documents,
presentations, databases, charts, graphs, calendars, labels, to-do lists, etc.

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Graphics software or image editing software is a program that allows users to
create and edit digital images and illustrations. Examples of such software’s
include Adobe Photoshop Illustrator, Paint Shop Pro, MS Paint, etc. Some of
the graphics applications are given below:
Paint, Presentation, Animation, CAD and Desktop Publishing programs

Multimedia Software is a comprehensive term which means different types of

media like text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity.
Multimedia content can be broadly divided into two groups: linear and non-
linear. While the linear active content progresses without any navigational
control for the viewer, non-linear content, supports user’s interaction to control
progress.
Multimedia presentations can be live or recorded.

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Multimedia is widely applied in areas such as advertisements, education,
entertainment, engineering, medicine, mathematics, business, scientific
research and spatial temporal applications.

Edutainment is now emerging as a trend in school as well as higher

education. Moreover, visually impaired or people with other kinds of
disabilities can pursue their careers by using training programs specially
designed for them.

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DATABASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
DBMS is a collection of programs which helps the users to store, edit, and extract
data from a database.
Today, different types of DBMSs are available in the market such as Microsoft
Access, FileMaker, DB2, SQL Server, and Oracle etc.
DBMS is used in computerized library systems, automated teller machines, flight
reservation systems, computerized parts inventory systems, etc.

Information from a database is extracted in the form of a query, which is a stylized

question. Consider a query written below.
SELECT ALL FROM STUDENTS WHERE MARKS > 90

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The information from a database can be presented to the users in a variety of
formats. For example, many DBMSs include a report writer program that
outputs the data in the form of a report. Many DBMSs also include a graphics
component to display the information in the form of graphs and charts.

All in all, DBMS facilitates its users to control data access, enforce data
integrity, manage concurrency, and restore the database from backups.

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OBJECTIVES OF OPERATING SYSTEM
Manages the computer hardware
Provides a user interface
Process Management
Memory Management
Security Management

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

BATCH SINGLE SINGLE USER MULTI USER MULTI REAL TIME VIRTUAL
PROCESSING USER MULTI MULTI PROCESSING MACHINE
TASKING SINGLE TASKING TASKING
TASKING

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Windows Operating System

Windows operating system is given by Microsoft. When designing this operating

system, Microsoft has taken two separate approaches in which one is suited for
home users and the other is intended for the IT professionals. The home edition
supports more user’s functionalities and multimedia features but has limited
support for security and networking. The professional edition on the other hand is
well suited for server environment, has limited multimedia features but offer
enhanced networking capability and security.

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UNIX
UNIX is a stable, multi-user, multi-tasking operating system for servers,
desktops and laptop computers. It also supports GUI and is made up of three
parts.

The kernel: The kernel of UNIX is the hub of the operating system as it
allocates CPU time and memory to programs and handles the communications
when a system call is invoked.

The shell: The shell acts as an interface between the user and the kernel.

Files and processes: Everything in UNIX is either considered to be a file or a

process.

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LINUX
Linux is a very powerful, free open-source operating system based on Unix. It was
originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers from
around the globe. Users can freely download Linux from the Internet and also
make changes in it. This operating system is gradually becoming popular
throughout the world.
Advantages of Linux include:
Low cost
Stable
Better Performance
Networking
Flexible
Compatible
Fast and easy to install
Better use of hard disk
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