B.A. (Mahayana Studies)
000-209 Introduction to Computer Science
November 2005 - March 2006
2. Software
What is software? What are
the main types of software? Are
there alternatives to expensive
commercial software?
Your computer's operating
system (OS).

Overview



1. What is Software?
2. Choosing Software
3. Types of Application Software
 office,
educational, network, financial, entertainment,
groupware, utilities


4. What is a Software License?
5. Alternatives to Commercial Software
 shareware
000-209 Intro to CS. 2/Software
and freeware
continued
2

6. The Operating System
 your

computer's manager
7. Types of OSes
 desktop

and server
8. Multimedia Applications
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1. What is Software?

Software is the
instructions and its
data, stored in
electronic form, that
tell the computer how
to do a task.

Software is a
computer program.
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4
Types of Software

Application software helps the user carry out his
tasks
 e.g.

word processing, games, business
System software helps the computer carry out its
tasks.
 e.g.
draw the GUI, print, manage files
 the operating system is the main systems software on
a computer

000-209 Intro to CS. 2/Software
e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X, DOS
5
What is a Computer Program?

A computer program is a set of instructions
that tells a computer how to carry out some
task.

A computer program is written in a computer
programming language.

Example programming languages:
 Visual
000-209 Intro to CS. 2/Software
Basic, C, C++, Java, Pascal
6
A Pascal Program
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2. Choosing Software
Decide on the type of software you want.

Make sure the software is written for your computer


Make sure the software will work with your operating
system.


e.g. it works on a PC or Macintosh
e.g it works on Microsoft XP or Mac OS X
software compatibility

Choose between commercial software, shareware, or
freeware.
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Software Compatibility

To be compatible, software must be:
 written
for the type of computer you use
 written for your computer’s operating system

System requirements list operating system and
hardware needs for the software to work
 they
will be listed somewhere in the software package
(e.g. on the box)
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3. Types of Application Software

There are many types:
 office,
educational, network, financial, entertainment,
groupware, utilities, etc.

Application software costs money and usually
requires the user to sign/agree to a user license.
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10
Office Software

Office software package several applications
together. They often include:
 Word
processing, spreadsheets, databases, slides,
drawing e-mail, etc.
 e.g. Microsoft Office
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Educational Software

There is educational
and training software
for people of all ages.
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Network Software

Connect your computer to your local
network/Internet/Web:
 e-mail
software
 Web browsers
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13
The Internet

The Internet is the world’s computer network.
 connects
millions of computers, in 100+ countries
 provides many services, (e-mail, file transfer), but the
most popular is the World Wide Web, or Web

Started as the ARPANET in 1969
a
military network
academic research network
commercial network.
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The Web

The Web presents the user with documents,
called Web pages, which can include:
 text,
images, video, animation, sound

A Web page can contain links (URLs) to other
pages.

A user can follow a link to another page ("surf")
by using a Web browser.
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Financial Software

Personal finance software
helps with:
 bank

accounts, investments, credit card balances
Some packages also support online banking:
 downloading
transactions, transferring funds, paying
bills
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Entertainment Software

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Each year, worldwide
computer and video
game software sales
exceed $15 billion.
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Groupware Software

Groupware allows a group of users on a network
to work together on a project.

Groupware may provide services for
communicating (such as e-mail), group document
development, scheduling, and tracking.

Documents can include text, images, or other
types of data.
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
Groupware products include:
 Lotus
Notes, Microsoft Exchange, Novell GroupWise,
Netscape SuiteSpot, Team Talk, NetMeeting
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Utility Software

Utilities are system software that extends the
basic operating system.
 e.g.
print more easily, change/extend the GUI,
fix damaged files, and virus protection
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4. What is a Software License?

A software license is a legal contract that
defines the ways in which you may use the
software.

Opening the software CD's wrapping means
that you agree to the software license
 sometimes
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called a shrink-wrap license
21
Types of Licenses




A single-user license limits the use of the software to
only one user at a time. Most commercial software is
distributed with a single-user license.
A multiple-user license allows more than one person
to use a particular software package.
A concurrent-use license allows a certain number of
copies of the software to be used at the same time.
A site license allows the software to be used on all
computers at a specific location.
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5. Alternatives to Commercial
Software

Almost every type of commercial software has
shareware/freeware alternatives:
 programs


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that do the same things, but..
cost much less, or nothing
do not have complex license agreements
23
Shareware and Freeware

Shareware is software that you can try before
you buy it.
 use
the software for a certain amount of time for
free
 if you want to continue using it, you must pay a
registration fee

Freeware is software that costs nothing
 it
may be freely copied and distributed
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Where to get Shareware/Freeware?

There are many Web sites that list them.
 tucows,
http://www.tucows.com/
 CNET Download.com, http://www.download.com
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25

Downloadable software is usually stored in a
self-extracting file
a
single file that holds all of the modules for the
software
 download sites include instructions for downloading
 once on your machine, you usually double-click on
the file to extract the software
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Other Free Sites

The Web (Internet) is a source of free software.

Be careful.
Strange software can do nasty things to your
machine.
Make sure you trust the software site.


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6. The Operating System (OS)

An operating system (OS) controls/manages
all the activities in a computer.
 Microsoft Windows,

Mac OS, and DOS
The operating system helps the application
software and the hardware talk to each other.
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OS Diagram
The OS helps the
application
software and
hardware talk
to each other.
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OS Services

External services
 help
users start programs, manage data, and maintain
security

Internal services
 help

the computer system function efficiently
A system resource is part of a computer system.
 e.g.
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disk drive space, memory, processor time
30
7. Types of OSes

Desktop OSes
 for
single-user micros
 e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X

Server OSes
 for
computers that provide storage and
communication for networks and Web sites
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MS Windows

Microsoft Windows supports lots of
application software and peripherals.

Current versions of Windows
include Windows XP, 2000,
Me, 98
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What is (was) DOS?

DOS stands for disk operating system.
a
command line OS without a GUI
 the first Microsoft OS
 is now part of Windows
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Mac OS X

An operating system with a GUI developed by Apple
Computers, based on UNIX.

Mac OS X is the latest version of the
Mac OS operating system for
Macintosh computers.
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Linux

A free Unix-type operating system, originally
created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of
developers around the world.

A mixed GUI and
command line interface.
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UNIX

A free, multi-user, multitasking operating system
that is widely used in workstations and servers.

It was developed by AT&T in 1969, and was very
important in the development of the Internet.

There are now many versions of UNIX, made by
different companies, universities, and individuals
 e.g
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Linux, FreeBSD, Knoppix
36
Servers OSes

Three popular server OSes are
 Microsoft Windows
NT Server
 Windows 2000 Server.
 Novell NetWare

Linux and UNIX are also used as server OSes.
 they
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are free
37
8. Multimedia Applications

A multimedia application combines many types
of computer-based media:
 text,

graphics, sound, animation, photos, video
This requires more complex (expensive)
hardware.
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Multimedia Hardware
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Multimedia Requirements

Multimedia requires sound and graphics
capability.

A sound card lets the computer
record and play sounds.
 connect
speakers, headphone,
microphone
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continued 40

A graphics card takes data from
the OS and draws it onto the screen.

A graphics card usually requires special software,
called a device driver.

A device driver helps the OS control peripherals,
such as a graphics card, sound card, printers,
modems, etc.
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