• When selecting an operating system, you must consider
the current and future requirements for application
software to meet the needs of the organization. In
addition, your choice of a particular operating system
must be consistent with your choice of hardware.
• Identify and briefly describe the functions of the two basic
kinds of software
• Outline the role of the operating system and identify the
features of several popular operating systems
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• Do not develop proprietary application software unless
doing so will meet a compelling business need that can
provide a competitive advantage
• Discuss how application software can support personal,
workgroup, and enterprise business objectives
• Identify three basic approaches to developing application
software and discuss the pros and cons of each
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• Choose a programming language whose functional
characteristics are appropriate for the task at hand,
taking into consideration the skills and experience of
the programming staff
• Outline the overall evolution of programming
languages and clearly differentiate among the five
generations of programming languages
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• The software industry continues to undergo constant
change; users need to be aware of recent trends and
issues to be effective in their business and personal
life
• Identify several key issues and trends that have an
impact on organizations and individuals
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An Overview of Software
• Computer programs: sequences of instructions for
the computer
• Documentation: describes program functions to help
user operate computer system
• Systems software: set of programs that coordinates
the activities of hardware and programs
• Application software: programs that help users solve
particular problems
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Table 4.1: Classifying Software by Type
and Sphere of Influence
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Systems Software: Operating Systems
• Operating system (OS): a set of computer programs that
controls the computer hardware and acts as an interface
with application programs
• Kernel: ties all of the components of the OS together and
regulates other programs; controls the most critical
processes
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Activities performed by the operating system:
• Perform common computer hardware functions
• Provide a user interface and input/output management
• Provide a degree of hardware independence
• Manage system memory
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Activities performed by the operating system:
• Manage processing tasks
• Provide networking capability
• Control access to system resources
• Manage files
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Figure 4.2:
Operating system as interface between
application software and hardware
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Common hardware functions
• Get input from the keyboard or some other input device
• Retrieve data from disks
• Store data on disks
• Display information on a monitor or printer
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Operating Systems (continued)
• User interface and input/output management
• User interface: allows individuals to access and command
the computer system
• Command-based user interface: requires that text
commands be given to the computer to perform basic
activities
• Graphical user interface (GUI): uses icons and menus
displayed on screen to send commands to computer system
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Application program interface (API): allows
applications to make use of the operating system
• Memory management: control how memory is accessed
and maximize available memory and storage
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Figure 4.3: Application Program Interface
Links Application Software to the
Operating System
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Processing tasks
• Multitasking: capability allowing more than one program
to run at the same time
• Time-sharing: allows more than one person to use a
computer system at the same time
• Scalability: ability of the computer to handle an increasing
number of concurrent users smoothly
• Networking capability: features and capabilities of the OS
that aid users in connecting to a computer network
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Operating Systems (continued)
• Access to system resources
• Protection against unauthorized access
• Logins and passwords
• File management: ensures that files in secondary storage
are available when needed and that they are protected
from access by unauthorized users
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Table 4.3: Popular Operating Systems
Cross All Three Spheres of Influence
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Current Operating Systems
• Microsoft PC operating systems
• Apple computer operating systems
• Linux
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Workgroup Operating Systems
• Windows Server
• UNIX
• NetWare
• RedHat Linux
• Mac OS X Server
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Enterprise Operating Systems
• z/OS
• MPE/iX and HP-UX
• Linux
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Operating Systems for Small Computers
and Special-Purpose Devices
• Palm OS
• Windows Embedded
• Windows Mobile
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Utility Programs
• Utility programs are used to:
• Merge and sort sets of data
• Keep track of computer jobs being run
• Compress data files before they are stored or transmitted
over a network
• Perform other important tasks
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Utility Programs (continued)
• Hardware utilities
• Virus-detection and virus-recovery utilities
• File-compression utilities
• Spam and pop-up blocker utilities
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Utility Programs (continued)
• Network and Internet utilities
• Server and mainframe utilities
• Other utilities
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Table 4.4: Examples of Utility Programs
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Application Software
• Primary function is to apply the power of the computer to
give individuals, workgroups, and the entire enterprise the
ability to solve problems and perform specific tasks
• Application programs interact with systems software;
systems software then directs the computer hardware to
perform the necessary tasks
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Types and Functions of Application
Software
• Proprietary software: a one-of-a-kind program for a
specific application, usually developed and owned by a
single company
• Off-the-shelf software: existing software programs that
are purchased
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Table 4.5: A Comparison of Proprietary
and Off-the-Shelf Software
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Table 4.5: A Comparison of Proprietary
and Off-the-Shelf Software (continued)
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Personal Application Software
• Serve the needs of an individual user
• Include personal productivity software, which enable
users to improve their personal effectiveness
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Table 4.6: Examples of Personal
Productivity Software
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Table 4.6: Examples of Personal
Productivity Software (continued)
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Workgroup Application Software
• Workgroup application software: designed to support
teamwork, whether people are in the same location or
dispersed around the world
• Groupware: software that helps groups of people work
together more efficiently and effectively
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Table 4.8: Ernst & Young’s “Three Cs”
Rule for Groupware
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Enterprise Application Software
• Software that benefits an entire organization
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software: a set of
integrated programs that manage a company’s vital
business operations for an entire multisite, global
organization
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Table 4.9: Examples of Enterprise
Application Software
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Programming Languages
• Programming languages: sets of keywords, symbols,
and a system of rules for constructing statements
• Allow humans to communicate instructions to be
executed by a computer
• Different languages have different characteristics
• Syntax: a set of rules associated with a programming
language
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Table 4.11: The Evolution of
Programming Languages
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First Generation
• Machine language
• Required use of binary symbols (0s and 1s)
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Second Generation
• Assembly languages
• Use symbols rather than binary digits
• Assemblers: programs that translate assembly languages
into machine code
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Third Generation
• Greater use of symbolic code
• Examples: BASIC, COBOL, C, and FORTRAN
• Compiler: a software program that converts the
programmer’s source code into the machine-language
instructions consisting of binary digits
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Figure 4.18: How a Compiler Works
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Fourth Generation
• 4GLs: fourth-generation languages
• Easier to use, and more English-like, than third generation
languages
• Programs tell the CPU the desired results, not how to get
them
• Examples: SQL, SAS
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Languages Beyond the Fourth
Generation
• Artificial intelligence, visual, and object-oriented
languages
• Easier for nonprogrammers to use
• Programming languages used to create artificial
intelligence or expert systems applications are called
fifth-generation languages (5GLs)
• Visual languages use a graphical or visual interface for
program development
• Object-oriented programming languages are based on
objects (data and the actions that can be performed on it)
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Software Issues and Trends
• Software bugs: defects in a computer program that keep
it from performing in the manner intended
• Copyrights and licenses
• Open-source software: software that is freely available
to anyone in a form that can be easily modified
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Software Issues and Trends
(continued)
• Shareware and freeware: software that is very
inexpensive or free, but whose source code cannot be
modified
• Multiorganizational software development
• Software upgrades
• Global software support
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Summary
• Computer programs: sequences of instructions for the
computer
• Systems software: coordinates the activities of hardware
and programs
• Applications software: helps users solve particular
problems
• Operating system (OS): a set of computer programs that
controls the computer hardware and acts as an interface
with application programs
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Summary (continued)
• Graphical user interface (GUI): a user interface that
uses icons and menus displayed on screen to send
commands to the computer system
• Time-sharing allows more than one person to use a
computer system at the same time
• Proprietary software: a one-of-a-kind program designed
for a specific application, usually developed and owned
by a single company
• Off-the-shelf software: existing software program that is
purchased
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Summary (continued)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software:
manages a company’s vital business operations for an
entire multisite, global organization
• Programming languages allow humans to communicate
instructions to be executed by a computer
• Programming languages can be classified as first
generation, second generation, third generation, fourth
generation, and languages beyond the fourth generation
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