Application Software - Introduction to Computing - Lecture Slides, Slides of Introduction to Computing

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CS101 Introduction to Computing

Lecture 13

Application Software

The focus of the last lecture was on

Operating Systems

Two Major Types of Software

• System Software
• Application Software

Hardware

Operating System

Utility LanguageTranslator

Device Driver

Scientific Apps.

Business Apps.

Productivity Apps.

Entertainment Apps.

System software Application software

Classification According to the Mode

• Interactive-mode
  • The user runs the program on the computer and keeps on interacting with the computer while the program runs
  • Example: Word processor
• Batch-mode
  • The user starts the program and the computer processes the provided data and produces results without any further intervention of from the user
  • Example: Payroll

Classification According to Application Area

• Scientific/engineering/graphics
• Business
• Productivity
• Entertainment
• Educational

Scientific SW

• Simulation of natural systems
  • Deforestation and effect on green-house gases
• Simulation of artificial systems
  • NeuralWare (Simulator for artificial neural networks)
  • Thermo-nuclear explosions
• Mathematical computation packages
  • Mathematica (can do hundreds, if not thousands of functions, e.g. solving a differential eq, symbolically)
  • MathCAD

Engineering SW

• Computer-aided design (CAD)
  • AutoCAD
  • SPICE
  • Virtual wind tunnels
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
• Telecommunication system SW
  • Centrex
• Industrial control SW

Graphics & Animation SW (2)

2. Bit-mapped or raster graphics

• Treats everything that is drawn as a bit-map
• If an object is drawn on top of another, it is difficult to move just 1 of them while leaving the other untouched
• Changing the resolution often requires considerable touch-up work
• Relatively large file size
• Example: MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop Docsity.com

Business Applications

• Most of the SW being developed today belongs to this category
• SW that is required to run most any sort of biz:
  • Payroll
  • General ledger
  • Order entry
  • Accounts receivable & accounts payable
  • Inventory control
• Let’s now discuss a few business SW categories which are not that common, but are becoming more and more popular with time Docsity.com

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) SW

• Very large scale, complex & expensive SW
• Ties together all key activities & major systems of an organization into a single SW system
• Key benefit: Optimization of the business processes of an organization as a single system instead of many loosely-related stand-alone systems
• Example: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Baan

DSS (Decision Support Systems) SW

• Sometimes also called “expert systems”
• Many times are based on a branch of computer science called “artificial intelligence”
• This category of SW is designed to help business managers in making effective decisions in complex situations based on the analysis of the relevant data

Word Processors

• Probably the most popular productivity app
• Initially designed as a replacement for the typewriter
• Automation
  • Automatic end-of-line soft carriage return
  • Style sheets
  • Table of contents & index
  • Spelling & grammar checking
• Two approaches: WYSIWYG (e.g. Word, WordPerfect, Star) or traditional markup (LaTeX)?
• Desktop publishing Docsity.com

Web Page Development SW

• Web pages can be developed using a simple plain- text editor like the “notepad”, but more efficient, easy-to-use HTML editors can make the process quicker
• Some of them are WYSIWYG (i.e. you don’t really need to know any HTML to use them), others are not, while some provide both types of interfaces (DreamWeaver)
• Most popular word processors now come with a built-in Web page development facility