LEARNINGS OF THE WEEK
By: Frea Diane T. Bautista

This week, I have learned alot of things about the Computer specially about the software and all its related topics. As you scan my post for this week, you'll see and learn all the topics we've discussed last week.

SOFTWARE

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system. The term includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users, system software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software, and middle ware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.
"Software" is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records.




KINDS OF SOFTWARE
Practical computer systems divide software systems into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.


1.) APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Or just called application. Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (non-computer related) tasks. Typical applications include industrial automation, business software, educational software, medical software, databases, and computer games. Businesses are probably the biggest users of application software, but almost every field of human activity now uses some form of application software.



EXAMPLES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE


a.) Word Processor
A word processor (more formally known as document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of printable material. Word processors are descended from early text formatting tools (sometimes called text justification tools, from their only real capability). Word processing was one of the earliest applications for the personal computer in office productivity. Microsoft Word is the most widely used computer word processing system; Microsoft estimates over five hundred million people use the Office suite, which includes Word. There are also many other commercial word processing applications, such as WordPerfect, which dominated the market from the mid-1980s to early-1990s, particularly for machines running Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system. Open-source applications such as OpenOffice.org Writer and KWord are rapidly gaining in popularity.[citation needed] Online word processors such as Google Docs are a relatively new category.


b.) Spreadsheet Software
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing either alphanumeric text or numeric values. A spreadsheet cell may alternatively contain a formula that defines how the contents of that cell is to be calculated from the contents of any other cell (or combination of cells) each time any cell is updated. Spreadsheets are frequently used for financial information because of their ability to re-calculate the entire sheet automatically after a change to a single cell is made. The examples of spreadsheet software are Microsoft Excel XP, Lotus 123 and Quicken.


c.) Presentation Software
Presentation software (sometimes called "presentation graphics") is a category of application program used to create sequences of words and pictures that tell a story or help support a speech or public presentation of information. Presentation software can be divided into business presentation software and more general multimedia authoring tools, with some products having charactertistics of both. Business presentation software emphasizes ease- and quickness-of-learning and use. Multimedia authoring software enables you to create a more sophisticated presentation that includes audio and video sequences. Business presentation software usually enables you to include images and sometimes audio and video developed with other tools.
Some very popular presentation software, such as Microsoft's Powerpoint and Lotus's Freelance Graphics, are sold stand-alone or can come as part of office-oriented suites or packages of software. Other popular products include Adobe Persuasion, Astound, Asymetrix Compel, Corel Presentations, and Harvard Graphics. Among the most popular multimedia authoring tools are Macromedia Director and Asymetrix's Multimedia Toolbook. These authoring tools also include presentation capability as well. Most if not all of these products come in both PC and Mac versions.


d.) Database Software
A Database is a structured collection of data which is managed to meet the needs of a community of users. The structure is achieved by organizing the data according to a database model. The model in most common use today is the relational model. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships (see below for explanation of the various database models).
Some examples of database software are the Microsoft Access and Lotus Approach.


e.) Web Browser
A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos, music and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network. Text and images on a Web page can contain hyperlinks to other Web pages at the same or different website. Web browsers allow a user to quickly and easily access information provided on many Web pages at many websites by traversing these links. Web browsers format HTML information for display, so the appearance of a Web page may differ between browsers.
Some of the Web browsers currently available for personal computers include Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Konqueror, Opera, Flock, Internet Explorer, Epiphany, K-Meleon and AOL Explorer. Web browsers are the most commonly used type of HTTP user agent. Although browsers are typically used to access the World Wide Web, they can also be used to access information provided by Web servers in private networks or content in file systems.


f.) Personal Information Manager (PIM)
Personal information management (PIM) refers to both the practice and the study of the activities people perform in order to acquire, organize, maintain, retrieve and use information items such as documents (paper-based and digital), web pages and email messages for everyday use to complete tasks (work-related and not) and fulfill a person’s various roles (as parent, employee, friend, member of community, etc.). One ideal of PIM is that we always have the right information in the right place, in the right form, and of sufficient completeness and quality to meet our current need. Technologies and tools such as personal information managers help us spend less time with time-consuming and error-prone activities of PIM (such as looking for information). We then have more time to make creative, intelligent use of the information at hand in order to get things done or, simply, to enjoy the information itself.
An example of PIM is Lotus Organizer.


g.) Integrated Software Packages
It is a software that combines several applications in one program, typically providing at least word processing, spreadsheet and database management. Presentation graphics, page layout, paint, calendar, address book, e-mail and other applications may also be included. All programs in an integrated package are accessed via a common launching pad. Microsoft Works and AppleWorks are two primary examples of integrated software packages. Contrast with application suite.
Some example of Integrated Software Packages are Microsoft Works and Lotus Works.


h.) Application Suites
A group of programs that are sold as a package to solve common problems. Although there are suites for graphics, mathematics and other applications, the most popular are "office suites." Also known as "productivity suites," they are a set of basic business programs designed with a uniform user interface and common functions such as spell checking. The primary programs are word processing, spreadsheet, presentation graphics, database and e-mail, although each suite has its own mix, and a variety of other programs and utilities may also be included. Some of the programs may be for sale as individual products. The common example of applicatio suites are Microsoft Office and Lotus Smartsuite.




2. ) OPERATING SYSTEM
The computer's master control program. When the computer is turned on, a small "boot program" loads the operating system. Although additional modules may be loaded as needed, the main part, known as the "kernel" resides in memory at all times.The operating system (OS) sets the standards for all application programs that run in the computer. Applications "talk to" the operating system for all user interface and file management operations. Also called an "executive" or "supervisor," an operating system performs the following functions.


THE OPERATING SYSTEM'S COMPONENTS


a.) The User Interface
The way a person interacts with a computer or electronic device. It comprises the screen menus and icons, keyboard shortcuts, command language and online help, as well as physical buttons, dials and levers. All input devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, touch screen, remote control, joy stick, game controller or data glove, are also included. In the future, natural language recognition and voice recognition will become standard components of the user interface.


b.) The Kernel (OS Executive)
The nucleus of an operating system. It is the closest part to the machine level and may activate the hardware directly or interface to another software layer that drives the hardware. The kernel orchestrates the entire operation of the computer by slicing time for each system function and each application as well as managing all the computer's resources. It typically resides in memory at all times.


c.) The File Management System
Software that manages data files. Often called "file managers," and erroneously called "database management systems" or "database managers," file management systems provide the ability to create, enter, change, query and produce reports on one file at a time. They have no relational database capability and typically do not include a programming language as do most database management systems.


MAJOR OPERATING SYSTEMS


a.) CP/ M: An Early Operating System
In 1973, a amn named Gary Kildall wrote the first PC operating system called Control Program for Microcomputer that can ran on the Intel 8008 chip and later translated to the 8080 chip.


b.) MS - DOS and PC - DOS
(MicroSoft-Disk Operating System) A single user operating system for PCs from Microsoft. It is functionally identical to IBM's PC-DOS version, except that starting with DOS 6, MS-DOS and PC-DOS each provided different sets of utility programs. Both MS-DOS and PC-DOS are called DOS.
There are many versions of MS - DOS, first the MS - DOS 1.x, then followed by the MS - DOS 2.x, MS - DOS 3.x, MS - DOS 4.x, MS - DOS 5.x and the last is MS - DOS 6.x.
The DOS operating system originally developed by Microsoft and supplied by IBM on its PCs before Windows 95 became the norm. Up until DOS 6, PC-DOS was almost identical to Microsoft's MS-DOS for non-IBM PCs, and both versions are called "DOS."


c.) Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows presently supports NTFS and FAT file systems, along with network file systems shared from other computers, and the ISO 9660 and UDF filesystems used for CDs, DVDs, and other optical discs such as BluRay. Under Windows each file system is usually limited in application to certain media, for example CDs must use ISO 9660 or UDF, and as of Windows Vista, NTFS is the only file system which the operating system can be installed on. The NTFS file system is the most efficient and reliable of the Windows file systems, comparing closely in performance to Linux's XFS. Details of its design are not known. Windows Embedded CE 6.0 introduced ExFAT, a file system more suitable for flash drives.
The Window evolve many times. It was first the Windows 1.x. Then followed by the Windows 2.x, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, the Windows Me or Windows Millennium Edition, and the latest was the Windows XP.


d.) OS 2
A family of multitasking operating systems for x86 machines from IBM. OS/2 Warp is the client version, and Warp Server is the server version. With add-ons, DOS and Windows applications can also be run under OS/2. The server version includes advanced features such as the journaling file system (JFS) used in IBM's AIX operating system. Like Windows, OS/2 provides a graphical user interface and a command line interface.It was one of the most powerful operating system available when it was initially released, but lack of support has forced this operating system to disappear from mainstream market.
The first versions of OS/2 were single-user operating systems written for 286s and jointly developed by IBM and Microsoft. Starting with Version 2.0, versions were written for 32-bit 386s and up and were solely the product of IBM.


e.) MAC OS
(MACintosh Operating System) In late 1994, Apple officially renamed its System 7 operating system Mac OS and introduced the Mac OS logo. However, the term has been used for years to refer to all versions of Mac operating systems.


f.) Unix
A multiuser, multitasking operating system that is widely used as the master control program in workstations and servers. The Open Group holds the trademark for the UNIX name (spelled in upper case) on behalf of the industry and provides compliance certification to the UNIX standard.
A myriad of commercial applications run on Unix servers, and most Web sites run under Unix. Over the years, there have been many different Unix versions, and, except for the PC world, where Windows dominates, almost every hardware vendor offers Unix either as its primary or secondary operating system. Sun was singularly instrumental in commercializing Unix with its Solaris OS (formerly SunOS), and HP, IBM, SCO and Digital (before it was acquired by Compaq) have also been major Unix promoters.


g.) Linux
A very popular open source operating system that runs on a variety of hardware platforms including x86, Itanium, PowerPC, ARM and IBM's entire product line. Based on many design principles used in the Unix operating system, and thereby often called a "Unix clone" or "Unix variant," Linux is widely deployed as a server OS and as an embedded OS. For example, Linux runs in most of the servers on the Internet and in countless appliances and consumer electronics devices. In the desktop market, Linux has nowhere near the same penetration; however, it gains ground slowly and steadily.Linux is a multitasking, multiuser operating system that is known for its stability. Although modified by numerous people, its robustness stems from its Unix-like architecture that keeps peripheral software components isolated from the core software (the kernel).




3.) PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
Every software program is written in a programming language, and there is at least one programming language for every major CPU series. There is typically an assembly language and a number of high-level languages for each family. Assembly languages are machine specific, and the machine language they generate runs on only one CPU family. Unless the machine languages are very similar, it is difficult to translate an assembly language program from one CPU series into another.The high-level programming language was created to eliminate this machine dependency. Programming languages, such as COBOL, FORTRAN and BASIC were designed to run on many different computers. However, due to dialects of each language, compatibility has always been an issue.By the time a new feature becomes a standard, a dozen new features have been already implemented. For example, in the early 1980s, dBASE became a de facto standard business programming language. Soon after, dBASE spawned Clipper, QuickSilver, Force III, dbXL, Foxbase and FoxPro, all competitive products and all incomplete versions of dBASE. None of them provided every dBASE command, and they all provided features not found in dBASE.

Some examples of program languages are the machune language, the assembly language and the high-level langauges.

SOFTWARE CATEGORY

a.) Open system
A system that allows third parties to make products that plug into or interoperate with it. For example, the PC is an open system. Although the fundamental standards are controlled by Microsoft Intel and AMD, thousands of hardware devices and software applications are created and sold by other vendors for the PC.For years, the term "open systems" (plural) referred to the Unix world because Unix ran in more types of computer hardware than any other operating system (combined with Linux, it still does). Contrast with closed system.

b.) Proprietary
Private. Proprietary hardware and software are owned and controlled by a single organization or individual. Contrast with open.