ICT2 - Information: Management and Manipulation
Topic 6 - Categories of Software
Topic 8 - Capabilities of Software
1. Systems Software
This includes:
Operating Systems (already discussed)
Utilities (small programs that perform specific system functions e.g. searching for files, sorting data, backup, virus scanning). These can be bundled with the OS or they can be obtained separately.
Programming Language Compilers - used to translate instructions into a programming language
Communications Software - controls the flow of data to and from remote locations
Drivers - software that communicates between the operating system and hardware devices (see below)
More Information on Drivers:
Drivers are software utilities that provide an interface between the operating system and the printer. Whenever you buy a piece of hardware, for an example a scanner or printer, you will be supplied with a disk or CD-ROM containing driver files for a variety of operating systems. When you connect the hardware device to your computer, the device will not be recognised until the correct driver files have been installed. Examples of drivers are:
Printer Driver: The driver would translate highlighting and formatting information into a form that the printer can understand. It will store page setup configurations. It translates information about fonts. It generates error messages e.g. out of paper, low on ink.
Scanner Driver: Because a scanner is an input device, the instructions are being sent from the scanner to the application being used on the computer. Information is sent about DPI, area to scan, type of scan (e.g. colour, greyscale, monochrome), provides a facility to do a Preview scan, etc.
Updated drivers can usually be downloaded from the Internet. You might need to install the latest drivers if you want to fix bugs or take advantage of new features, if you have lost your original driver disk or if you have installed a new operating system.
2. Applications Software
Applications are written to perform a specific task.
Bespoke software is "tailor made" to meet the
requirements of a specific organisation.
Off the Shelf software can be purchased by anyone.
General Purpose software does a particular job e.g. WP,
DTP, Spreadsheets, CAD etc.
Integrated Packages/Software Suites e.g. Lotus SmartSuite, MS Office are
packages of common productivity tools that are bundled together at a lower price
than if they were purchased separately. The applications are
"integrated" i.e. they have a common interface and they can
export/import data between applications.
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Generic software can be used to perform any number of tasks, not necessarily the task for which the application was originally designed. For example, people use Excel to perform calculations, to model data, to generate graphs, to put text into tables, to sort numbers, to produce complex databases with forms and macro buttons etc.
Generic software can be contrasted with specific software. Specific software only has one application e.g. a stock control system can only be used for its intended purpose and, therefore, it is task-specific.
Word Processing
Common word processors: MS Word, Lotus Word Pro.
Common features of word processors:
Grammar/spell check
automatic creation of table of contents and index
Ability to import files such as sound, video, graphics
Mail Merge
Templates
Tables
WYSIWYG
Change font, font size, font emphasis (bold, italic, underline)
Page Orientation
Change Justification (alignment) (left, right, centre, full-justification)
Bulleted and numbered lists
Autotext and AutoCorrect
Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet has rows, columns and cells. Each cell has a "cell reference". Spreadsheets can create computer models that answer "what if . . ?" questions.
Well known spreadsheet packages are Microsoft Excel and Lotus 123. Lotus 123 is famous as being the first "killer application" for the PC.
Common features of Spreadsheets:
Format cells, rows and columns (to change the alignment of text, change data type, change appearance of text, change number of decimal places)
Copy cell contents to other locations
Insert, move or delete rows and columns
Use functions like SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX to create formulae
Create a database
Write macros to automate common procedures
Create templates with preset formats and formulae
Generate charts and graphs
Have several sheets in a workbook
"Advanced Features" of spreadsheets include:
IF THEN ELSE - e.g. if a student's grade in a mock exam is a D, flash up an alert.
NESTED IF - an if within an if e.g. if a student's grade is a D or an E, flash up an alert.
LOOKUP - somewhere in the spreadsheet, there will be a lookup table. Somewhere else on the sheet, there will be a user interface where data from the lookup table is called up. An example would be a lookup table with columns headed "Product Number", "Product Description", "Price", etc. Elsewhere on the spreadsheet, there would be an invoice form where the user can enter a product code. When the product code is entered, the product description and price are looked up. Advantages are to reduce time spent on data entry and reduce the risk of mistakes.
GOAL SEEK - Find out what you need to achieve a certain objective. For example, how many ice creams does an ice cream salesman need to sell in order to turn a profit.
SCENARIOS - Answers "what if" questions. For example, a hotel manager might want to enquire what his profit would be in certain scenarios e.g. if the hotel is 70% full, if the hotel is 60% full, if the hotel is 50% full, and so on.
Databases e.g. MS Access, Lotus Approach (see Topic 1)
e.g. MS Outlook, Eudora (online/offline mailers)
Yahoo Mail, Hotmail (online mailers - web based)
User can send text messages anywhere in the world very quickly
Can attach files
Can CC or BCC messages
Can keep an address book
Can create a mail filter
Can create mailboxes
Can subscribe to mailing lists
Can create a "signature file"
See ICT1 for advantages/disadvantages of Email compared to snail mail and fax communication
Presentation Graphics
e.g. PowerPoint, Harvard Graphics
Can run a multimedia presentation. Presentation can run constantly (e.g. in a store display) or it can be used for business/educational presentations by attaching a projector to a PC.
Video and sound can be included but this is easily overdone.
Effects can be applied to text.
It is a good idea not to put too much text on one page and it is usually a good idea to have a consistent style throughout a presentation. This can be achieved by using page templates.
D.T.P. (Desktop Publishing)
DTP applications e.g. Publisher, PageMaker, Quark Express are used to create page layouts. High quality publications are produced on the desktop. Text is imported from WP applications and images can be created in an image editing application before being exported to the DTP package. DTP packages allow the user to drag items (e.g. text or picture boxes, tables, graphs, charts) around the page to create the desired layout.
Web Browsers
e.g. MSIE (Internet Explorer), Netscape, Opera
Display web pages
Allow user to bookmark favourite pages
Pages can be saved to view offline
Displays interactive elements like Java
Allows user to install "plugins" like Shockwave, Flash and Real Audio Players
User can download files
User can fill in online forms that are then sent by Email
All the common web browsers are now free. MSIE is integrates with the Windows operating system. Some have questioned the reasons behind Microsoft's decision to launch a "free" web browser.
The WWW is a worldwide network of computers. Because many different types of computer are connected to this networks, common "protocols" exist to enable the different machines to communicate with each other.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a protocol that controls the connection of hosts on the Internet and also across local networks. It is a transport protocol which allows data to be moved between different computers.
HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) transmits web pages and pictures
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows the uploading and downloading of files from "FTP Sites"
Application Generators
Applications like Access and Excel allow the user to create their own applications for others to use (e.g. a stock reordering a system or an accounts system) with a minimum of programming knowledge.
Report Generators
An application like Access allows the user to print out "reports". A query or a table can be printed out and the user can determine the appearance of the printed document e.g. fonts, colours, backgrounds, text size. The user can choose "grouping levels" in the report to determine how the records are grouped together.
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Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
OLE allows information to be shared between applications. For example, a spreadsheet created in Excel can be imported into Word. If the spreadsheet then needs to be amended, it can be edited in Excel and the changes will appear in Word.
A Linked object is where the original information remains stored in the source file.
An embedded object is part of the destination file and this object is not automatically updated when the source file changes. However, this embedded file can still be edited in its source application. This tutorial shows you how to export an Excel chart to Publisher as an embedded object
Portability of Data
People, who have different types of computers with different operating systems and applications, often need to transfer files and programs between their computers.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows files to be transferred over the Internet between different types of computer.
However, portability may not be possible because:
Upgradability
Software upgrades can provide new and useful features but they can also cause problems, such as
Documents may not be compatible between versions e.g. a Word 6 file can be read in Word 97 but a Word 97 file cannot be read in Word 6.
Data formatting may be lost if a Word 97 document is saved to Word 6 format because Word 97 contains new features that Word 6 does not have.
Upgraded software frequently requires more memory, more disk space and a faster processor, so hardware may need to be upgraded.
Selecting Software
Questions to ask:
Before selecting a package, it might be useful to read magazine reviews where packages are compared alongside each other.
Reliability
With batch systems, where data is entered together in a batch and then processed, testing is relatively easy but it is very difficult with GUI interfaces because there is no single, well-defined flow of events at the user interface.
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