Task 4

Introduction.
In this era of rapidly changing technology computer software play vital
roles in many aspects of our lives. From powering our smartphones to
running complex systems that drive industries henceforth the need to
understand more about software various types of software and their
uses. All this is discussed below.
Computer software
Computer hardware is useless without software.
Software is a set of programs that instructs the computer about tasks
to be performed.
A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular
problem.
Different sets of software can be loaded onto the hardware to perform
different tasks. E.g. A user can use the same computer to write a report
or for running a payroll program.
It can be classified into two major categories;
 System software
 Application software
System software
System software provides the basic functions that are performed by the
computer.
They are required for the working of the computer itself hence the
computer cannot function without it.
The user of the computer dos not need to be aware about the
functioning of the system software while using the computer. Example;
when one buys a computer the system software will include different
device drivers and when one requests for use of any of those devices
the corresponding device driver interacts with the hardware device to
perform the specific request.
The purposes of system software are;
 Provides basic functionality to the computer
 Controls computer hardware
 Acts as an interface between user (live ware), application
software and computer hardware.
It helps the hardware and user applications to communicate with each
other because hardware understands machine language (i.e. 1 or 0)
whereas user applications are work in human-readable languages like
English so system software converts the human-readable language into
machine language and vice versa.
On the basis of their functionality, system software may be broadly
divided into two categories

 System software for the management and functionality of

computer
 System software for the development of application and other
software.
System software for the management and functionalities of the
computer.
It relates to the functioning of different components of the computer
like the processor, input devices, output devices etc.
It is required for managing the operations performed by the
components of the computer and the devices attached to the
computer.
It provides support for various services, as requested by the application
software.
They include
 Operating system
 Device drivers
 System utilities
 Language translators

 Operating system(OS)
This is a program that controls the execution of application programs
and act as the interface between the user of the computer and the
hardware.
It is an important part of a computer.
It intermediates between the user of a computer and the computer
hardware. So it is a link between the live ware and hard ware.
OS controls and coordinates the use of hardware among the different
application software and the users.
It provides an interface that is convenient for the user to use, and
facilitates efficient operations of the computer system resources.
It also provides services to other computer software.
Objectives of an operating system.
i. Convenient to use: one of the objectives is to make the computer
system more convenient to use in an efficient manner.
ii. User friendly: to make the computer system more interactive
with a more convenient interface for users.
iii. Easy access: to provide easy access to users for using resources by
acting as an intermediary between the hardware and its users.
iv. Management of resources: for managing the resources of a
computer in a better and faster way.
v. Controls and monitoring: by keeping track of who is using which
resource, granting resource requests, and mediating conflicting
requests from different programs and users.
vi. fair sharing of resources: providing efficient and fair sharing of
resources between the users and programs.

Functions of OS
An operating system is large and complex software consisting of several
components.
Each component has its own set of defined inputs and outputs.
Different parts of an operating system perform specific tasks to provide
the overall functionality of an OS.
The key functions of an OS are;
 It provides an environment where both users and application
software can do work.
 It manages different resources of the computer like the CPU time,
memory space, file storage, I/O devices etc. During the use of
computer by other programs or users, operating system manages
 various resources and allocates them whenever required,
efficiently.
 It controls the execution of different programs to prevent
occurrence of an error like hanging of the computer.
 It provides a convenient interface to the user in the form of
commands and graphical interface, which facilitates the use of
computer.
In a nutshell we can divide the use of computers in different formats
like (works of the OS)

 Process management-this involves the control access to shared

resources like the memory, the control execution of applications,
how to create execute and delete a process, schedule a process,
cancel or resume a process, synchronize communication and
deadlock handling for processes.
 Memory management -the activities of the memory management
are exclusively handled by the OS which is to allocate the
memory, free the memory, reallocate memory to a program and
keep track of the memory usage.
 File management- creation and deletion of files directories,
provide the access to files, allocate space for files, keep a back-up
for the files and secure the files.
 Device management- handles the tasks which is open close right
device drivers communicate and control and monitor the device
driver that is there.
 Protection and security-the operating system protects the
resources of the system like using the user’s authentication using
a password, file attributes like read write encryption, backup for
data used by the operating system to provide the basic operation
  User interface/command prompt (graphical user interface)-the
OS provides an interface between the computer user and the
computer hardware. The user interface is a set of commands or a
graphical user interface via which the user interacts with the
application and the hardware.

Types of operating systems.

They are classified into different types depending on their capability of
processing;
 Single user and single tasking
 Single user and multitasking
 Multiuser
 Multiprocessing
 Real time
 Embedded

 Single user and single task OS

It is used for a single user for a standalone single computer for
performing a single task.
Operating system for personal computers(PC) are single user OS.
For example, if the user is editing a document, then a document cannot
be printed on the printer simultaneously.
Single user OS are simple operating system designed to manage one
task at a time.MS-DOS is an example of single user OS>
  Single user and multitasking OS
It allows execution of more than one task or process concurrently. The
processor time is divided among different tasks.
This OS types are also known as time sharing OS.
The processor switches rapidly between processes.
For example, is a user can listen to music on the computer while writing
an article, the user can switch between applications and also transfer
data between them like windows 7 and 10.
 Multiuser operating system.
It is used in computer networks that allow same data and applications
to be accessed by multiple users at the same time.
The users can also communicate with each other.
Example is Linux which is an open source OS a Unix.
 Multiprocessing operating system
They are used in operating systems to boost the performance of
multiple CPUs within a single computer system.
Multiple CPUs are linked together so that a job can be divided and
executed more quickly.
 Real time operating system
They are designed to respond to an event within a predetermined time.
These operating systems are used to control processes. Processing is
done within a time constraint
OS monitors the events that affect the execution of process and
respond accordingly.
They are used to respond to queries in areas like the medical imaging
systems, industrial control systems.
An example is Lynx OS.
 Embedded operating system
It is embedded in a device in the ROM.
They are specific to a device and are less resource intensive.
They are used in appliances like microwaves, washing machines, old
traffic control systems etc.

 Device drivers.
A device driver acts as a translator between the hardware and the
software that uses the devices.
In other words; it intermediates between the device and the software,
in order to use the device.
These devices connected to the computer include the keyboard,
mouse, hard disk printer speakers, joysticks, webcams, digital cameras
and monitor.
For proper working of a device the corresponding device driver must be
installed on the computer.
For example, when you give a command to read data from a hard disk
the command is sent to the hard disk drive and is translated to a form
that the hard disk can understand.
The device driver software is typically supplied by respective device
drivers.

 System utilities
System utility software is required for the maintenance of computer.
System utilities are used for supporting and enhancing the programs
and the data in computer.
Some system utilities may come embedded with OS and others may be
added later on.
They include anti-viruses, data compression software’s, disk
compression, disk partitioners, disk cleaners, system profiling, backup
programs, network managers.

 Language translators
They help in converting programming languages into machine
language.
They convert programming statements into the 0s and 1s that the
computer is able to process.

System software for development of application and other software.

Programming languages
A programming language consists of a set of vocabulary and
grammatical rules, to express the computations and tasks that the
computer has to perform.
Programming languages are used to write a program, which controls
the behavior of computer, codify the algorithms precisely, or enables
the human computer interface.
Each language has unique key words and a special syntax for organizing
program instructions.
The programming language should be understood by both the
programmer and the computer.
A computer understands languages of 0s and 1s while a programmer is
more of English.
They are divided into three categories;
 Machine language
This is what the computer can understand but it is difficult for the
programmer to understand.
A program written in machine language is a collection of binary digits or
bits that the computer reads and interprets.
It is a system of instruction and data executed directly by the computer
CPU.
It is also referred to as the machine code or object code written using
0s and 1s.
 Assembly language
It falls between machine language and high level language.
They allow the programmer to substitute names for numbers.
A program written in assembly language uses symbolic representation
of machine codes needed to program a particular processor (CPU) or
processor family.
This representation is defined by the CPU manufacturer or the
processor family.
The representation is based on the abbreviation that help the
programmer remember individual instruction, registers etc.
 High-level language
It is easier to understand and use for the programmer but difficult for
the computer.
A program in a high-level language is written in English-like language.
Such languages hide the details of CPU operations and are easily
portable across computers.
A high-level language makes the process of developing programs
simpler and more understandable with respect to assembly machine
level language.

Features of system software.

i. It is closer to the computer system.
ii. It is written in a low level language in general.
iii. It is difficult to design and understand.
iv. It is fast in speed (working speed).
v. It is less interactive for the users in application software.
Application software
These are software’s that a user uses for accomplishing a specific tasks
for end-users.
Application software may consist of a single program such as Microsoft
Notepad (for writing and editing simple texts)
It may also consist of a collection of programs often called a software
package, which work together to accomplish a task, such as database
management software.
Application software may also include a larger collection of related but
independent programs and packages (a software suite) which have a
common user interface or shared data format such as Microsoft office
suite.
There are basic tools used in performing tasks in the computer.
There are different types of application software and those are;
 General purpose software
 Customized software
 Utility software

 General purpose software

This type of application software is used for a variety of tasks and it is
not limited to performing a specific task only.
They include;
 Word processors
This is a software used to compose, format, edit, and print, electronic
document.
Example is Microsoft word and word perfect
 Spreadsheets
This is a computer software that allows that allows the user to enter
columns and rows of numbers in an accounting book like formats.
Example is Microsoft excel and lotus 1 2 3
 Database managers
This is a collection of computer programs that allow storage,
modification and extraction of information from a database in an
efficient manner.
Example is Microsoft Access
 Image editors
They are designed specifically for capturing, creating, editing and
manipulating images.
Example is adobe Photoshop
 Presentation applications
Combines both visual and verbal elements allowing the user to create
presentation of projects.
Example Microsoft power point
 Accounting software
For assisting in accounting information, salary, tax return.
Examples are Tally software, Peachtree accounting.
  Customized software
This type of application software is used or designed to perform specific
tasks or functions or designed for specific organizations.
For example, railway reservation system, airline reservation system,
invoice management system, etc.
 Utility software
This type of application software is used to support the computer
infrastructure.
It is designed to analyze, configure, optimize and maintains the system,
and take care of its requirements as well.
For example, antivirus, disk fragmenter, memory tester, disk repair,
disk cleaners, registry cleaners, disk space analyzer, etc.

Features of application software

i. It performs more specialized task like word processing,
spreadsheets, etc.
ii. Mostly, the size of the software is big, so it requires more storage
space.
iii. It is more interactive for the users, so it is easy to use and design.
iv. The application software is easy to design and understand.
v. Application software is written in a high-level language in general.
Difference between system software and application software.

System software Application software

Designed to manage the Designed to fulfill the

resources of the computer requirements of the user for
system, like memory and process performing specific tasks.
management, etc.
Written in a low-level language. Written in a high-level language.
Less interactive for the users. More interactive for users.
It is independent of the It needs system software to run.
application software to run.
Plays a vital role for the effective Is not so important for the
functioning of the system functioning of the system, as it is
task specific.