Software

Welcome! 

Long time no see! As the deadlines for early applications is coming, we become more and more busy and there are more and more homework and projects. We have learnt something close to our daily lives these weeks — softwares: application software and system software. 

Application Software 

Application software offers users a way to accomplish non-computer tasks, but to help users to accomplish specific tasks such as writing a letter and processing order. There are three types of application software: generic software, special purpose software, and bespoke software. Generic software can be used for many daily-life tasks: word processors, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Special software is designed for only one specific task: web browsers, calculators, and calendar program. Bespoke software is tailor made software which is specifically designed for a particular user and purpose: software for military and software for hospitals. 

Word Processor is a generic software that is used for creating documents, whose function includes editing, composition, formatting, and printing of documents. The real life situation is writing IAs for economics. I can edit, format, and even make tables when writing IAs with word processor. 

Spreadsheet is a generic software to organize and analyze data. Spreadsheet can deal with arithmetic data by entering, processing, and presenting. In a spreadsheet, data is represented through rows and columns which can be manipulated and done with calculations. When people record expenditure of every month or every year, they can use spreadsheet to record data, to calculate total expenditure of each month or year, and even to calculate the difference between budget and actual expenditure. 

Database management system (DBMS) is a software application which manages data, saves data, and offers an interface between users and a database, which is an organized data with rows and columns. Unlike spreadsheet, various users can use DBMS. For example, DBMS of Oracle assist users to manage data. 

Email is a software allowing a digital messaged sent from one author to one or more recipients, which is used to access and manage a user’s emails. For example, whenever I contact with my CCC counselor, I need to send messages and documents to her in emails. ICloud is an instance of email that help people communicate with each other efficiently.  

Web browser is a software employed to access, retrieve, and process content on World Wide Web, which utilizes URI to connect appropriate web servers and request desired information. Then web servers send the information back to the user through web browser and web browser displays the information to the user. In real life situation, students will use Baidu or Google to search essays and passages for studying or curiosity. 

Computer-aided design (CAD) helps engineers to create, modify, analyze, and optimize a design which increases the creativity of the designer and the quality of the final design. Besides, engineers can also use CAD to create prototype to inspect all angles of a design. In real life situation, architecture designers can use AutoCAD to create the prototype of a new building with full of imagination and precise calculations. 

Graphic processing software permits users to manipulate visual images on a computer, by moving, erasing, cropping and so on. For instance, Photoshop and Adobe is the most common graphic processing softwares in nowadays life. Models and actors can use it to edit their pictures to make it more beautiful. 

Mail Merge

It is a special function that I have learnt these weeks. Mail merge consists in combining mail and letters and pre-addressed envelopes or mailing labels for mass mailings from a form letter. Mail merge is usually employed when a letter or email contains fixed contexts and variables. It is really powerful when writing a letter to many people at the same time. Batch processing is performing of an industrial process on material in batches of a limited quantity or number. According to the function of mail merge, it is obvious to know that mail merge is a means of batch processing. For example, it can be used when universities send application results to applicants. On the class, Jamie and I have done a mail merge practice, since I do not have Microsoft on my computer.

Operating system 

Operating system (OS) is a series of software that controls the hardware resources of the computer and provides services for computer programs, which like an intermediary between software application and computer software. It allocates where an application is stored on the hard disk, calculates the RAM storage is needed for an application to run, and copy the application to RAM. However, memory leak happens when an application is used on memory places but operating system does not deallocate the last application used on the same memory place. The common function of operating systems are provides a user interface, memory management, resource monitoring and multi-tasking, peripheral management, disk access and data management, security management, and networking management. 

Features of Application Software

To increase the usability, GUI components are offered in application softwares: tool bars, menus, dialogue boxes, and GUI component. These GUI components make the learning process smoother. Toolbars are the place for menus, icons, buttons or other input, output elements. Menus are the commands that users can choose to perform various tasks. Dialogue boxes are used for communicating with users, providing instructions for users to follow, or providing options for users to select. Pointers are for users to find which place the user points at. Icons are the common images which users can easily understand even without teaching and these icons and these icons mark the function: cross means to close the documents or websites. A window is a basic unit that an application sets up in the GUI to deal with data. Application and data are integrated in the window. There are four types of user interfaces: Graphical Users Interfaces (GUI) have menus and icons; users need to type codes in Command Lind Interfaces (CLI); Natural Language Interface (NLI) have users speak to the interface; and Menu Based Interface (MBI) gives users options to choose. GUI is easier for users to use compared with CLI because users do not need to remember commands, icons can be used to direct users, and commands are grouped in menus and toolbars. However, there are heavier work for programmers and it requires a graphical monitor and a pointing device to use. Besides, it needs more storage compared with CLI. CLI programmers have less work. CLI needs less memory to employ and it does not need a graphical monitor. Compared with GUI, it is more suitable for experiences users to use because it is time-consuming to move the pointer and click icons rather than typing the codes. But the biggest problem for normal people is that there are specific commands need to remember when using CLI.

 

Memory Management: Operating system can manage how memory is used by applications to make sure that memory interference of one application with other applications. If an application interferes with another application, the latter one may stop functioning or its data may be overwritten which will cause data loss.Each location of memory can be read, modified and written by operating system. Memory management keeps tracks of primary memory, like what part of it are in use by whom, what part are not in use. In multiprogramming, the OS decides which process will get memory when and how much. It allocates the memory when a process requests it to do so. It deallocates the memory when a process no longer needs it or has been terminated.

Security management: The operating system uses password protection to protect user data and similar other techniques. It also prevents unauthorized access to programs and user data.

Peripheral management: All hardware components of computer system that reside outside the CPU are peripheral devices, like mouse, keyboard, monitors, printers and so on. The operating system aims to communicate directly with the peripheral devices and hardware by providing an interface between hardware devices and applications. 

Resource Monitoring and Multi-Tasking: An application takes resources when running on a computer system. The operating system is responsible for allocating the resources so that applications can run efficiently. Various application may run on a computer system at the same time. However, most computer systems have only one CPU which can only perform a single task. Multi-Tasking is that applications share the CPU time to accomplish their goals. 

Networking Management: It manages connections and interactions with networks of other computer systems to share resources. Operating system provides an intermediary between applications and networks which allows applications to connect with networks directly. 

Disk access and data management: Disk access can access to data stored in memory or disk. It needs to track these files and prevent overwriting another applications’ files. It is also responsible for transferring data from the disk files to primary memory and vice versa. 

In conclusion, we have learnt a lot of stuff related with operating system and application software. These knowledge are closer to our lives compared with CPU. I am really looking forward to the next week classes and network topic!

Hope you have a marvelous weekends!