Principles of Information

Systems, Tenth Edition

Chapter 4
Software: Systems and Application
Software
 Principles and Learning Objectives

• Systems and application software are critical in

helping individuals and organizations achieve their
goals
– 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

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 2

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• Organizations use off-the-shelf application software
for common business needs and proprietary
application software to meet unique business
needs and 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

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 3

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• Organizations should choose programming
languages with functional characteristics that are
appropriate for the task at hand and well suited to
the skills and experience of the programming staff
– Outline the overall evolution and importance of
programming languages and clearly differentiate
among the generations of programming languages

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 4

 Principles and Learning Objectives
(continued)
• 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 software issues and trends that
have an impact on organizations and individuals

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 5

 Why Learn About Software?

• Software is indispensable for any computer system

and the people using it
• Applications software:
– Key to helping you achieve your career goals and
enrich your life
– Stock trading, scientific, accounting, tax, etc.

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 6

 An Overview of Software

• Computer programs:
– Sequences of instructions for the computer
• Documentation:
– Describes program functions to help the user
operate the computer system
• Types of software:
– Systems software
– Application software

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 7

 Systems Software

• Set of programs that coordinates the activities and

functions of hardware and other programs
• Computer system platform:
– Combination of a hardware configuration and
systems software

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 8

 Application Software

• Helps users solve particular problems

• In most cases, resides on the computer’s hard disk
• Can be stored on CDs, DVDs, and even USB flash
drives

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 9

 Supporting Individual, Group, and
Organizational Goals
• Sphere of influence:
– Scope of problems and opportunities addressed by a
particular organization
• Personal sphere of influence:
– Serve the needs of an individual user
• Personal productivity software:
– Help users improve their personal effectiveness
• Workgroup:
– When two or more people work together to achieve
a common goal
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 10
 Supporting Individual, Group, and
Organizational Goals (continued)
• Workgroup sphere of influence:
– Serves the needs of a workgroup
• Enterprise sphere of influence:
– Supports the firm in its interaction with its
environment

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 11

 Supporting Individual, Group, and
Organizational Goals (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 12

 Systems Software

• Controls the operations of computer hardware

• Supports the application programs’ problem-solving
capabilities
• Types of systems software:
– Operating systems
– Utility programs
– Middleware

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 13

 Operating Systems

• Set of programs that controls computer hardware

and acts as an interface with application programs
• Kernel:
– Ties all components of the OS together and
regulates other programs

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 14

 Operating Systems (continued)

• Combinations of OSs, computers, and users:

– Single computer with a single user
– Single computer with multiple simultaneous users
– Multiple computers with multiple users
– Special-purpose computers

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 15

 Operating Systems (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 16

 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

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 17

 Operating Systems (continued)

• Activities performed by the operating system

(continued):
– Manage processing tasks
– Provide networking capability
– Control access to system resources
– Manage files

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 18

 Operating Systems (continued)

• Common hardware functions:

– Get input from keyboard or another input device
– Retrieve data from disks
– Store data on disks
– Display information on a monitor or printer

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 19

 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 the computer system

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 20

 Operating Systems (continued)

• Hardware independence:
– Application program interface (API):
• Allows applications to make use of the operating
system
• Memory management:
– Allows computer to execute program instructions
effectively and to speed processing

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 21

 Operating Systems (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 22

 Operating Systems (continued)
• Processing tasks:
– Multitasking:
• More than one program can 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

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 23

 Operating Systems (continued)

• Networking capability:
– Allows computers in a network to send and receive
data and share computing resources
• Access to system resources and security:
– Protection against unauthorized access
– OS establishes a logon procedure
• File management:
– Ensures that files in secondary storage are available
when needed and that they are protected from
access by unauthorized users

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 24

 Current Operating Systems

• Microsoft PC operating systems:

– Windows XP
– Windows Vista
– Windows 7
• Apple Computer Operating Systems:
– Wintel
– Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6)
• Linux:
– Red Hat Linux
– Caldera OpenLinux
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 25
 Current Operating Systems
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 26

 Current Operating Systems
(continued)
• Google Chrome OS:
– Linux-based operating system designed for
netbooks and nettops
– Designed to run on inexpensive low-power
computers
– Chromium OS:
• Open-source version of Chrome OS

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 27

 Workgroup Operating Systems

• Windows Server:
– Can be used to prevent unauthorized disclosure of
information
• UNIX:
– Can be used on many computer system types and
platforms
• Red Hat Linux:
– Can manage a cluster of up to eight servers
• Mac OS X Server:
– Includes support for 64-bit processing
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 28
 Enterprise Operating Systems

• z/OS:
– IBM’s first 64-bit enterprise OS
• HP-UX and Linux:
– HP-UX:
• Robust UNIX-based OS from Hewlett-Packard
• Supports Internet, database, and business
applications on server and mainframe enterprise
systems

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 29

 Operating Systems for Small
Computers, Embedded Computers,
and Special-Purpose Devices
• Cell phone embedded systems and operating
systems:
– Embedded systems provide communication and
limited personal information management services
• Windows embedded:
– Included with or embedded into small computer
devices
• Proprietary Linux-based systems:
– Linux is a major competitor to Symbian

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 30

 Utility Programs

• Help to perform maintenance or correct problems

with a computer system
• Common types of utilities:
– Hardware utilities
– Security utilities
– File-compression utilities
– Spam-filtering utilities
– Network and Internet utilities
– Server and mainframe utilities

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 31

 Utility Programs (continued)

• Other utilities:
– Key logging software allows a manager to see every
keystroke a worker makes on a computer system
– Monitoring software can catalog the Internet sites
that employees visit
– Keyboard shortcut utilities allow users to map
common tasks to defined keyboard combinations

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 32

 Utility Programs (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 33

 Middleware

• Software that allows different systems to

communicate and exchange data
• Can also be used as an interface between the
Internet and older legacy systems
• Service-oriented architecture (SOA):
– Uses modular application services to allow users to
interact with systems, and systems to interact with
each other

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 34

 Application Software

• Application programs:
– Interact with systems software
– Help you perform common tasks, such as:
• Creating and formatting text documents
• Performing calculations
• Managing information

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 35

 Overview of Application Software

• Proprietary software:
– One-of-a-kind program for a specific application,
usually developed and owned by a single company
• Off-the-shelf software:
– Existing software program that is purchased
• Application service provider (ASP):
– Company that can provide software, support, and
computer hardware on which to run the software
from the user’s facilities over a network

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 36

 Overview of Application Software
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 37

 Overview of Application Software
(continued)
• Software as a service (SaaS):
– Allows businesses to subscribe to Web-delivered
business application software by paying a monthly
service charge or a per-use fee
– Can reduce expenses by sharing its running
applications among many businesses
• Cloud computing:
– Use of computing resources on the Internet (the
cloud) rather than on local computers

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 38

 Overview of Application Software
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 39

 Personal Application Software

• Word processing
• Spreadsheet analysis
• Database applications
• Presentation graphics program
• Personal information managers
• Software suites and integrated software packages
• Other personal application software

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 40

 Personal Application Software
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 41

 Mobile Application Software

• Operating systems designed for smartphones

include:
– OS X iPhone, Android, and WebOS
• Tens of thousands of applications have been:
– Developed by third parties for the iPhone
• Palm WebOS:
– Has only recently released its software development
kit

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 42

 Workgroup Application Software

• Support teamwork, whether people are in the same

location or dispersed around the world
• Groupware:
– Software that helps groups of people work together
more effectively

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 43

 Workgroup Application Software
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 44

 Enterprise Application Software

• Software that benefits an entire organization

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software:
– Set of integrated programs that manage a
company’s vital business operations for an entire
multisite, global organization

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 45

 Application Software for Information,
Decision Support, and Specialized
Purposes
• Available in every industry:
– Specialized application software for information,
decision support, and other purposes

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 46

 Programming Languages

• Sets of keywords, symbols, and a system of rules

for constructing statements:
– By which humans can communicate instructions to
be executed by a computer
• Program code:
– Set of instructions that signal the CPU to perform
circuit-switching operations
• Syntax
– Set of rules associated with a programming
language
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 47
 The Evolution of Programming
Languages

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 48

 Visual, Object-Oriented, and Artificial
Intelligence Languages
• Visual programming:
– Uses a graphical or “visual” interface combined with
text-based commands
• Object-oriented programming languages:
– Programming languages that are based on objects
• Fifth-generation languages (5GLs):
– Used to create artificial intelligence or expert
systems applications
• Compiler:
– Converts the programmer’s source code into
machine-language instructions
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 49
 Visual, Object-Oriented, and Artificial
Intelligence Languages (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 50

 Software Issues and Trends

• Software bug:
– Defect in a program that keeps it from performing as
it should
• Some tips for reducing impact of software bugs:
– Register all software
– Check read-me files for work-arounds
– Access support area of the manufacturer’s Web site
for patches
– Install latest software updates

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 51

 Copyrights and Licenses

• Most software products are protected by law using

copyright or licensing provisions:
– In some cases, you are given unlimited use of
software on one or two computers
– In other cases, you pay for your usage; if you use
the software more, you pay more
• Some software now requires that you register or
activate it before it can be fully used

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 52

 Copyrights and Licenses (continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 53

 Freeware and Open-Source Software
• Freeware:
– Software that is made available to the public for free
• Open-source software:
– Distributed, typically for free, with the source code
• GPL grants you the right to:
– Run the program for any purpose
– Study how the program works and adapt it to your
needs
– Redistribute copies so you can help others
– Improve the program and release improvements to
the public
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 54
 Freeware and Open-Source Software
(continued)

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 55

 Software Upgrades

• Software companies revise their programs and sell

new versions periodically
• Most software upgrades:
– Offer new features and capabilities
• Some users do not always get the most current
software upgrades or versions:
– Unless it includes significant improvements or
capabilities

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 56

 Global Software Support

• Supporting local operations:

– One of the biggest challenges IS teams face when
putting together standardized, company-wide
systems
• Trend:
– Outsourcing global support to one or more third-
party distributors

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 57

 Summary

• Main categories of software:

– Systems software and application software
• Operating system (OS):
– Set of computer programs that controls the computer
hardware to support users’ computing needs
• Three approaches to developing application
software:
– Build proprietary application software
– Buy existing programs off the shelf
– Use a combination of customized and off-the-shelf
application software
Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 58
 Summary (continued)

• Application service provider (ASP):

– Can provide software, support, and computer
hardware on which to run the software from the
user’s facilities over a network
• Important software issues and trends:
– Software bugs, software licensing and copyrighting
– Open-source software and freeware
– Multiorganizational software development
– Software upgrades
– Global software support

Principles of Information Systems, Tenth Edition 59