Chapter 2 (Software)

There are 2 types of software:

● System software (maintain or operate the computer system)
● Application software (carry out specific tasks not related to the operating system)

Utility software is a type of system software which carries out configuration and maintenance tasks.
Examples:
● Backup
● Defragmentation
● Compression
● Disk formatting

OS (operating system) allows users to control and manage the computer’s hardware. Its roles are:
● Memory management
○ Allocating RAM to apps
○ Creation of virtual memory
● Resource management
○ Making system resources (e.g. graphics card) available to apps (a device built into or
added into a computer to allow it to display visual graphics)
● Security
○ Authentication (the process of confirming that a user is permitted to access certain
files, hardware and software)
○ Providing firewalls (systems, either hardware of software, that protect a computer
network from being used or looked at by people who do not have permission)
● Print spooling
○ Keeping pages in a queue, ready for printing

Examples of apps:
● Word processing
● DTP (desktop publishing)
● Spreadsheet
 ● DBMS (database management system)
● Web authoring
● Image editing (graphics editors and image editors)
● Sound editing
● Presentation
● Control
● Project management
● Communication (web browsers, email, social media, SMS, MMS, instant messaging)

Office productivity software include word processing, DTP, spreadsheet and DBMS

Free software is software that can be modified or distributed by a user.

Note: Free does not mean that the user does not have to pay. It means that the software is free from
restrictions and the user has freedom.

Open-source software is software for which the source code is made available to users.

Proprietary software is software that is marketed and distributed by its owner under its brand name.

Freeware is proprietary software provided free of charge to users.

An update is a change or addition to a computer file so that it has the most recent information.
Updates are released to:
● Fix bugs
● Increase compatibility with newer OS
● Introduce new features
● Improve efficiency
● Improve usability
(Bugs are errors in the program’s source code; compatibility is the ability of one device, system or
application to work with other devices, systems or application; usability is the ease with which a
device or application can be used)
Files should be backed up before updates in case the update introduces problem.