Software: Systems and

Application Software

Chapter 4

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 An Overview of Software

• Computer program - sequences of

instructions for the computer
• Documentation - describes program
functions
• Systems software - coordinates the activities
of hardware & programs
• Applications software - helps users solve
particular problems

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
The Importance of Software in
Business

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Supporting Individual, Group, and
Organizational Goals

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Operating Systems

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Principles of Information Systems,
Sixth Edition
Principles of Information Systems,
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Principles of Information Systems,
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Principles of Information Systems,
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Principles of Information Systems,
Sixth Edition
Principles of Information Systems,
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Principles of Information Systems,
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Principles of Information Systems,
Sixth Edition
Principles of Information Systems,
Sixth Edition
 Operating Systems

• Perform common hardware functions

• Provide a user interface
• Provide hardware independence
• Manage system memory
• Manage processing
• Control access to system resources
• Manage files

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Common Hardware Functions

• Accept keyboard input

• Store data on disks
• Send data to output devices

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 User Interface

• Command-based interfaces
• Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Hardware Independence

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Memory Management

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Processing Tasks

• Multitasking - more than one program can run

at a time using a single processor
• Time-sharing - multiple users can
simultaneously use the resources of a single
processor
• Scalability - easy adaptation to more users or
tasks

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Access to System Resources

• Protection against unauthorized access

• Logins and passwords

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Utility Programs

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Types and Functions of
Applications Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Sources of Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Comparison of Proprietary and
Off-the-Shelf Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Personal Application
Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Personal and Application Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Personal and Application Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Workgroup Application Software

• Groupware
• Collaborative computing software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Group Scheduling

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Examples of Enterprise
Application Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Enterprise Application Software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Selected Enterprise Resource
Vendors

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Programming Languages

• Commands and statements combined according

to a particular syntax
• Different languages have different
characteristics

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 First-Generation Languages

• Machine language
• ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange)

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Second-Generation Languages

• Assembly languages
• Assemblers
• Symbolic language

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
Third-Generation Languages

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Fourth-Generation Languages

• 4GLs
• Programs tell the CPU the desired results, not
how to get them
• Examples: SQL, SAS

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Fifth-Generation Languages

• 5GLs
• Uses a visual or graphical development interface
to create source language
• Examples: Visual Basic, PC COBOL, and Visual
C++

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Software Issues & Trends

• Software bugs
• Open source software
• Software licensing
• Software upgrades
• Global software support
• Antitrust issues for software

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition
 Summary

• Software - consists of programs that control the

workings of the computer hardware
• Operating system - set of computer programs that
controls the computer hardware
• Application - software that applies the power of the
computer to solve problems and perform specific
tasks
• Programming languages - provide instructions to a
computer to perform some processing activity

Principles of Information Systems,

Sixth Edition