SECTION 7: TYPES OF SOFTWARE IN COMPUTER OPERATION

System Software
System software is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computer's hardware and
application programs. If we think of the computer system as a layered model, the system
software is the interface between the hardware and user applications.

Operating System (OS)

An Operating system (OS), in its most general sense, is software that allows a user to run other
applications on a computing device. While it is possible for a software application to interface directly
with hardware, the vast majority of applications are written for an OS, which allows them to take
advantage of common libraries and not worry about specific hardware details. The operating system
manages a computer's hardware resources, including:

 Input devices such as a keyboard and mouse

 Output devices such as display monitors, printers and scanners
 Network devices such as modems, routers and network connections
 Storage devices such as internal and external drives

The OS also provides services to facilitate the efficient execution and management of, and memory
allocations for, any additional installed software application programs. Some operating systems were
developed in the 1950s, when computers could only execute one program at a time. Later in the
decade, computers included many software programs, sometimes called libraries, which were linked
together to create the beginning of today's operating systems. The OS consists of many components
and features. Which features are defined as part of the OS vary with each OS. However, the three
most easily defined components are:

 Kernel: This provides basic-level control over all of the computer hardware devices. Main roles
include reading data from memory and writing data to memory, processing execution orders,
determining how data is received and sent by devices such as the monitor, keyboard and mouse,
and determining how to interpret data received from networks.
 User Interface: This component allows interaction with the user, which may occur through
graphical icons and a desktop or through a command line.
 Application Programming Interfaces: This component allows application developers to write
modular code.

Examples for OSs include Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS), Microsoft Windows Android,
iOS, Mac OS X, Google Chrome OS, Ubuntu, Linux and Unix. iOS is the operating system used for
mobile devices manufactured by Apple Inc. The iPhone is a smartphone made by Apple that
combines a computer, iPod, digital camera and cellular phone into one device with a touchscreen
interface.

MS-DOS Microsoft Android iOS Mac OS Mac OS X Google Ubuntu Linux Unix

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 Windows Apple Inc. Chrome
Utility Software
Utility software is system software designed to help to analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a
computer. It is used to support the computer’s infrastructure. Utility software helps to manage,
maintain and control computer resources. Examples of utility programs are antivirus software, backup
software and disk tools / utilities.
Antivirus software, as the name suggests, helps to protect a computer system from viruses and
other harmful programs. Examples of antivirus programs are AVAST, AVG, Norton Utilities, McAfee,
Windows Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials, PANDA Security, Trend Micro and AVIRA.

Microsoft
Norton Windows PANDA Trend
AVAST AVG McAfee Security AVIRA
Utilities Defender Security Micro
Essentials

Backup software are computer programs used to perform backup; they create supplementary
exact copies of files, databases or entire computers. These programs may later use the
supplementary copies to restore the original contents in the event of data loss. The most common
backup software are Vembu BDR Suite, Microsoft System Center, VMWare vCenter Server,
Acronis Backup Recovery, BackupPC, Veritas NetBackup, Avamar and NetWorker.

Microsoft VMWare Acronis

Vembu Veritas
System vCenter Backup BackupPC Avamar NetWorker
BDR Suite NetBackup
Center Server Recovery

A Disk Tool or Disk Utility is a utility program that allows a user to perform various functions on
a computer disk. Such functions include disk partitioning and logical volume management, as well as
multiple smaller tasks such as changing drive letters and other mount points, renaming volumes, disk
checking, and disk formatting, which are otherwise handled separately by multiple other built-
in commands. Each operating system (OS) has its own basic disk utility, and there are also separate
programs which can recognize and adjust the different file systems of multiple operating systems.
Types of disk utilities include disk checkers, disk cleaners and disk space analyzers
A Disk checker is a utility program which can scan a hard disk to find files or areas that are
corrupted in some way, or were not correctly saved, and eliminate them for a more efficiently
operating hard drive. Operating systems often include one such tool, for example: CHKDSK.
Disk Cleaner is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free
up disk space on a computer's hard drive. The utility first searches and analyzes the hard drive for
files that are no longer of any use, and then removes the unnecessary files. ... Downloaded program
files. CC Cleaner, Shredit and Disk wipe are examples of disk cleaners.
A Disk space analyzer is a piece of software that checks drives for space and usage and explores
files and folders visually, simplifying file cleanup and optimization. Because Solid State Drives (SSDs)
have a much smaller capacity than hard disks, the disk space optimization that disk analyzers provide
is in high demand. Examples of disk space analyzers are WinDirStat, DiskSavvy and TreeSize.
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Application Software
An Application software is any program, or group of programs, that is designed for the end
user. Application software, also called end-user programs, include such things as word processors,
spreadsheets, database, publisher, presentation and web browsers.

Word Processors
A Word Processor is a type of software application used for composing, editing, formatting and
printing documents. Word processors have a variety of uses and applications within the business
environment, at home and in educational contexts.
The main functionalities of Word processors are Insert, Copy, Cut and Paste, Delete, Find and
Replace, Print, Word Wrap, Spelling and Grammar, Thesaurus and Headers and Footers. Advanced
word processors, referred to as full-featured word processors, support additional features such as
File Management, Graphics, Font Specification, Footnotes, Cross Reference, Macros and Layout.

Examples of word processors are Microsoft Word, Corel Word Perfect, Apple Works and Open Office.

Microsoft Word Corel Word Perfect Apple Works Open Office

Database Software
A Database program is the heart of a business information system and provides file creation, data
entry, update, query and reporting functions. The traditional term for database software is
"Database Management System" (DBMS).

Database software is used for creating, editing and maintaining database files and records. This
type of software allows users to store data in the form of structured fields, tables, forms, rows and
columns, which can then be retrieved directly and / or through programmatic access. Although
database software is similar to database management software (DBMS), most database software
lacks native language support, such as Structured Query Language (SQL), MySQL or any other
database querying language.

For example, Microsoft Access software allows users to create, manage and query a database
using its GUI controls and features, without having to write programming queries. Other examples of
database software are Oracle and Visual FoxPro.

Microsoft Access Oracle Visual FoxPro

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Spreadsheet Software
Spreadsheet software is a software application capable of organizing, storing and analyzing data in
tabular form. The application can provide digital simulation of paper accounting worksheets. They can
also have multiple interacting sheets with data represented in text, numeric or in graphic form. With
these capabilities, spreadsheet software has replaced many paper-based systems, especially in the
business world.

Originally developed as an aid for accounting and bookkeeping tasks, spreadsheets are now widely
used in other contexts where tabular lists can be used, modified and collaborated. Spreadsheet
software is also known as a spreadsheet program or spreadsheet application. Examples of
spreadsheet software are Microsoft Excel and Corel Quattro Pro.

Microsoft Excel Corel Quattro Pro

Presentation Software
Presentation software, also known as a presentation program, is a category of application software
that is specifically designed to allow users to create a presentation of ideas by stringing together text,
images and audio / video. The presentation tells a story or supports speech or the presentation of
information. is generally used for creating slideshows that display information. The software has three
main components:

 Text editor for inputting and formatting text

 Facility for inserting graphics and other multimedia files
 Slideshow system for displaying the content

Presentation software can be divided into business presentation software and general multimedia
authoring software, but most presentation software applications already provide tools that allow users
to create both professional-looking business presentations and general multimedia presentations.

Before the advent of presentation software, presenters commonly used an easel to hold posters that
contained illustrations to support the report or a slide projector to display graphics printed on a
transparent plastic film. These methods were inflexible; for example, changing small things in the
printed materials used could result in mismatched graphics or illustrations, sometimes requiring
redoing the entire thing. With presentation software, not only authoring but also correcting illustrations
can be done easily.

Microsoft's PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote are two of the best-known commercial presentation
software applications in the market.

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 Microsoft PowerPoint Apple Keynote

Publisher Software
Publisher software or Desktop Publisher software, is a tool for graphic designers and non-designers
to create visual communications such as brochures, business cards, invitations, greeting cards, web
pages, flyers, posters, and more for professional or desktop printing as well as for online or on-screen
electronic publishing.

Programs such as Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress, Serif PagePlus, and Scribus
are examples of desktop publishing software. Some of these are used by professional graphic
designers and commercial printing technicians. Others are used by office workers, teachers,
students, small business owners and non-designers. The term publisher software among
professional designers refers primarily to high-end professional page layout software applications
including Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress.

Adobe InDesign QuarkXPress

Web Browsers Software

A Web browser is a software program that allows a user to locate, access, and display web pages.
Browsers are used primarily for displaying and accessing websites on the Internet, as well as other
content created using languages such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible
Markup Language (XML). Below are examples of web browsers

Microsoft Mirosoft
Google Mozilla Apple Netscape The Tencent
Internet Edge Opera
Chrome Firefoz Safari Navigator World Traveller
Explorer

General-Purpose Software
A General-Purpose software, sometimes known as ‘off-the-shelf software’ is the sort of software
that you use at home, school and work. Examples include word processors, spreadsheets,
databases, desktop publishing packages, graphics packages etc. This type of software tries to be a
‘jack-of-all-trades’. It provides many features that the majority of users will want e.g. formatting text,
creating charts and organizing tables. It does try to be ‘all things to all people’ and so there will be a
vast number of features that you may never use e.g. statistical functions and mail merge. This makes
the storage size of these applications fairly large.

There are several good reasons for using general-purpose software:

 It is relatively cheap
 It is easily available from most computer shops
 It will have been thoroughly tested, so there would not be any serious problems or bugs

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 There will be lots of user support i.e. books, user guides, online help and discussion forums on the
Internet

Examples of use of general-purpose software:

 Word processing application - writing reports, memos, letters to customers
 Spreadsheet application - keeping simple company accounts, calculating employee commission
payments, simple stock control system, modelling
 Database application - keeping customer records, sales records, appointments system
 Desktop publishing application - creating leaflets, posters, business cards
 Presentation software - creating presentations to show to customers or staff
 Graphics application - manipulating images that can be used at home, school or a business
 Web design application - creating personal or business websites

The advantages of general-purpose software are that it allow users to perform a range of different
tasks in one application, saves disk space, money and time.

The disadvantages of general-purpose software are that they are very basic, takes up a lot of disk
space, can be of a low quality and many of the packages in the program may never be used.

Special-Purpose Software
Special-purpose software is a type of software created to execute one specific task. For example,
a camera application on your phone will only allow you to take and share pictures. Other examples
of special purpose software are web browsers, calculators, media players, calendar programs,
Point of Sale software commonly found in cash registers, software built into hardware such as
watches, clocks, radio's, televisions, VCR’s, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, etc. Special
purpose software is called that because it targets or addresses a very narrow range of solutions to a
problem.

The advantages of special-purpose software would be that it solves a particular problem well,
because it was designed just for that purpose. It would not have any other features or overhead other
than solving that one particular problem. It uses minimal disk space.

The disadvantages of special-purpose software are support may not be available, takes up a lot of
space for a single use, code could be untrustworthy, won't run on all hardware, updates may not be
available, won't interact with other software and may be classed as a false positive by antivirus
software.

Open Source Software

Open source software (OSS) is a type of computer software in which source code is released under
a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to study, change, and distribute
the software to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be developed in a
collaborative public manner. Nearly all open source software is free software, but there are
exceptions. First, some open source licenses are too restrictive, so they do not qualify as free
licenses. For example, “Open Watcom” is non-free because its license does not allow making a

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modified version and using it privately. Examples of open source software are Ubuntu, Rapid Typing,
Linux kernel, MySQL, Samba, and Sendmail.

Advantages of open source software:

 they are mostly free to use, distribute and modify
 they have lower costs - in most cases this is only a fraction of the cost of their proprietary
counterparts
 they can open most documents and files by proprietary software
 they are easy to learn
 they are easier to customize the source code to suite your particular needs

Disadvantages of open source software:

Open source software may benefit many businesses, however it can also pose several significant
challenges – from unexpected costs and steep learning curve to complex compatibility issues.

The main disadvantages of open source software relate to:

 Difficulty of use - Some open source applications may be tricky to set up and use. Others may
lack user-friendly interfaces or features that your staff may be familiar with. This can affect
productivity and put off your staff from adopting or using the programs with ease.
 Compatibility issues - Many types of proprietary hardware need specialised drivers to run open
source programs, which are often only available from the equipment manufacturer. This can
potentially add to the cost of your project. Even if an open source driver exists, it may not work
with your software as well as the proprietary driver.
 Liabilities and warranties - With proprietary software, the developer usually provides
indemnification and warranty as part of a standard licence agreement. This is because they have
full control and copyright over the product and its underlying code. Conventional open source
software licences typically contain only limited warranty and no liability or infringement indemnity
protection.
 Hidden costs - Software that is free up-front but later costs money to run can be a major burden,
especially if you haven't considered these hidden costs from the outset.

Off the Shelf Software

Short for Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS), an adjective that describes software or hardware
products that are ready-made and available for sale to the general public. For example, Microsoft
Office is a COTS product that is a packaged software solution for businesses. Other examples of
open source software are Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, accounting software such as Sage, Tally,
Xero and KashFlow, and games like Angry Birds, FIFA and Call of Duty. Off the shelf software
available in abundance and are relatively cheap.

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The advantages of general-purpose software are that it allow users to perform a range of different
tasks in one application, saves disk space, money and time.

The disadvantages of general-purpose software are that they are very basic, takes up a lot of disk
space, can be of a low quality and many of the packages in the program may never be used.

Custom-written Software
Custom-written software is software which is written by a programmer according to the
requirements of a company or business and ready to use. In Nevis, the billing software used at
NEVLEC, FLOW and Digicel Play are all custom-written software. Other examples are games,
spreadsheet and software for a vehicle’s onboard computer.

Advantages of Custom software will generally produce the most efficient system as it is can
provide support for the specific needs of the business, which might not be available in an off-the-shelf
solution and will provide greater efficiency or better customer service.

Disadvantages of Custom-written software are that it takes time and energy - people are seldom
aware of the needs of their business, high upfront cost - It may seem that buying 100 licenses for a
year is cheaper than developing your own solution, Less possibilities.

Customized Software
Customized software (sometimes also called bespoke or tailor-made) is the type of software which
is designed to be used by a single entity (can be a specific user or an organization) rather than the
masses. Such a solution is very meticulously developed to perform tasks specific to the exact needs
of these people, to provide all the features which cannot be found in one off-the-shelf tool. It is like
with buying clothing. While the same item will perfectly suit 8 out of 10 persons, you will be among
these two who have their sleeves too long, size too large, etc. We by nature want everything we
purchase to be matching our vision 100%, don't we? Customized software is the remedy for that as it
adjusts to your requirements, not the other way round.

Customized Software Advantages:

Wherever you look, any solution will have its good and not so good sides. The same is here: having
huge profit as a result, during the development process it will accompany with some issues. However,
customized software advantages and disadvantages are easily recognizable, and significant ones are
given below.

 Your personal solution - You will be guaranteed that the software makes a significant adjust for
all of your business’ needs.
 Updates and support - You are in charge of all the required updates and improvements
upcoming. Working with in-house developers team is efficient in the case of close personalized
support, as the team is aware of your individual requirements.
 Security assurance - Your application may have extra security measures to ensure its safety.

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 Gradual production - Customized production can be produced step by step. This also will let you
gradually advance in the production and adjust your custom software during the development
process according to the experience and user feedback received from the previous development
stages.

Customized Software Disadvantages:

 Time and energy - People are seldom aware of the needs of their business. Sometimes it will
need some time and effort to make internal research on it, to see that features.
 High upfront cost - It may seem that buying 100 licenses for a year is cheaper than developing
your own solution. And it truly is. The upfront cost is relatively high, but what if you will have to
extend the number of users, plus the support price, plus the price for, let us say, three years and
you’ll see that tailor-made program is much more attractive in the long-term perspective.
 Less possibilities - That is already stated that off-the-shelf programs are designed for covering
the needs of the masses. In the terms of developing business, it is a great opportunity. As for the
small teams,