Ch04

Introduction to Information Technology 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 4: Computer Software

Prepared by: Roberta M. Roth, Ph.D. University of Northern Iowa Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Chapter Preview In this chapter, we will study: Systems Software Application Software How software applications are developed How software has evolved and where it’s headed Software for the enterprise Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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The Software Crisis Computer System

Hardware

Software

 New software

applications cannot be developed fast enough to:  Keep up with dynamic business environment  Keep pace with rapid hardware advances

 Lag in software

development limits IS capabilities Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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The Software Crisis (continued)  In addition to new application

development, existing software must also be maintained (80% IT personnel effort towards maintenance).

 Increasing complexity leads to the

increased potential for “bugs.”  Testing and “debugging” software is expensive and time-consuming.

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Software Fundamentals Some basic terms… Computer programs - sequences of instructions for the computer

Stored program concept – instructions written in programs are stored and executed by CPU when needed

Programming - process of writing (or coding) programs

Programmers - individuals who perform programming Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Software Fundamentals (continued) Computer Software

Systems Software

Application Software

Makes the computer function

Does somethin g interestin g

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

 Systems Software  Instructions that manage the hardware resources  Application

Software  Instructions that perform specific user tasks 4-6

System Software System software is software that: Controls and supports the computer system’s activities Supports application software by directing the computer’s basic functions Facilitates program development, testing, and debugging Is independent of any specific type of application Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Systems Software (continued) Systems Software

 System Control

Programs

System Control Programs

Systems Support Programs

 Control use of all system resources (hardware, software, data); operating system

 System Support

Programs

 Specialized support capabilities Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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System Control Programs Operating System - main system

control program supervises the overall operation of the computer allocates CPU time and main memory to programs running on the computer provides an interface between the user and the hardware Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Operating System Services  Process management – manage program(s) running on processor  Multitasking or Multiprogramming - managing two or more tasks, or programs, running on the computer system at the same time

 Multithreading – type of multitasking; run two or more tasks from the same application simultaneously

 Timesharing - many users share same CPU, each using a different input/output terminal

 Multiprocessing – simultaneous processing with multiple CPUs

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Operating System Services (continued)  Virtual memory - simulates more main memory than actually exists in the computer system

 File management and security - managing the arrangement of, and access to, files held in secondary storage  Fault tolerance - system can produce correct results and continue to operate even in the presence of faults or errors  User interface - allows users to have direct control of visible objects (icons) and actions that replace complex command syntax Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Types of Operating Systems Major Desktop Operating Systems Microsoft Products: MS-DOS Windows 95 Windows Windows 98 ME Windows NTWindows 2000Windows XP Other Products:

UNIX

Linux

Java Operating System (JavaOS) IBM O/S 2 Macintosh Operating System

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Types of Operating Systems (continued)

Departmental Server Operating

Systems

Support hundreds of concurrent users UNIX, Linux, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Novell NetWare

Enterprise Operating Systems Support thousands of concurrent users; millions of transactions per day IBM’s OS/390, IBM’s VM (Virtual Machine), IBM’s VSE (Virtual Storage Extended), and IBM’s OS/400 Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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System Support Programs Support the operations,

management, and users of a computer system Examples: System Utilities • Perform common tasks: sorting records,

checking disk integrity, creating directories and subdirectories, restoring accidentally erased files, locating stored files, managing memory usage, and redirecting output. Introduction to Information Technology, 2 Edition nd

Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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System Support Programs (continued)  Examples (continued)

Performance monitors • monitor job processing • produce statistical reports on system

resource usage

Security monitors • monitor the use of a computer system to

protect it and its resources from unauthorized use, fraud, or destruction Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Application Software  Programs performing specific

information processing activities and user functionality  Types of Application Software  Proprietary application software • Addresses a specific or unique business need for a

company

 Off-the-shelf application software • Vendor developed programs sold to many

organizations • May be standard package or may be customizable Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Application Software

(continued)

Personal Application Software - off-theshelf application programs supporting general types of processing  Spreadsheets  Multimedia  Data  Communication

management  Word processing  Desktop publishing  Graphics  Presentation; Introduction to Information Technology, 2 Edition Analysis; CAD Turban, Rainer & Potter

 Speech-

recognition  Groupware

nd

© 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Software Issues Software Evaluation and Selection Selection factors • Size and location of the user base • System administration tools • Initial and subsequent costs • Current and future system capabilities • Existing computing environment • In-house technical skills

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Software Issues

(continued)

 Software Licensing  Copyright - exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell the software  Licenses - permission granted under the law to engage in an activity otherwise unlawful  Software Upgrades  May or may not offer valuable enhancements  Risk that revised software may contain bugs  Upgrading in a large organization is a major undertaking, so must assess the merits of the new release Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Software Issues

(continued)

Open Systems A model of computing products that work together Empower designers to choose the best computer hardware, operating system, and application software without compatibility concerns Open Source Software Software code offered freely to developers Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Programming Languages Various programming languages

enable people to tell computers what to do Foundation for developing applications

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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How are Programs Understood by the Computer? (The Language Translation Process)

Program written in programming language (source code)

Translator program Assembl er Compiler Interpret er

Program written in machine language (object code) Processed By CPU

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Programming Languages  Machine Language

(first generation of

programming languages)

 The computer’s ‘native language’  Composed of binary digits (0s, 1s)  The only language that computers understand

 Assembly Language

(second generation of

programming languages)

 One-to-one correspondence to machine language  Somewhat more user-friendly than machine language (mnemonic rather than binary digits) Introduction to Information Technology, 2 Edition 4-23 Rainer Turban, & Potter Assembler – program that translates an © 2003 John Wiley & Sons nd

Programming Languages (continued …)  Procedural Languages (third generation languages)

 One instruction translates into many machine language instructions  Programs describe the computer’s processing step-by-step  Closer to natural language; uses common words rather than abbreviated mnemonics  Examples: Cobol, C, Fortran, QuickBasic  Compiler - translates the entire program at once  Interpreter - translates and executes one source program statement at a time

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Programming Languages (continued)  Nonprocedural Language (fourth generation languages)

 Allows the user to specify the desired result without having to specify the detailed procedures needed for achieving the result  Example – data base query language - SQL  Can be used by non technical users

 Natural Language Programming

Languages (fifth generation (intelligent) languages)

 Translates natural languages into a structured, machine-readable form  Are extremely complex and experimental Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Current Programming Languages Visual Programming Languages Used within a graphical environment Example : Visual Basic and Visual C++ Popular to non technical users Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) standard language used in World Wide Web contains text, images, and other types of information such as data files, audio, video, and executable computer Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Current Programming Languages Extensible Markup Language (XML) Improved on web document functionality Componentware Software components that may be assembled by developer as needed “Plug and Play” software development

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Current Programming Languages (continued)

 Virtual Reality Modeling Language

(VRML)

 a file format for describing three-dimensional interactive worlds and objects  can be used with the World Wide Web

 Object-Oriented Programming

Languages (OOP)

 based on objects – packaging data and the instructions about what to do with that data together  Examples: Java, C++  Unified Modeling Language (UML)- modeling Introduction to Information Technology, 2 Edition tool for object-oriented systems 4-28 Turban, Rainer & Potter nd

© 2003 John Wiley & Sons

Enterprise Software  Problem faced in many organizations…  Competitive pressures require change in organizational procedures, however  all the different types of software and hardware in use cause so much complexity that change is difficult

 Solution options  Software packages with integrated functional modules (i.e., human resource, operations, marketing, finance, accounting, etc.)  Use of middleware to link disparate applications  Enterprise software that manages all organizational operations

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Chapter Summary  Software can be broadly categorized as 

  

Systems software and Applications software Systems software provides an interface between the hardware and the application software Application software performs specific business functions Programming languages provide the means for humans to give computers instructions Organizations seek enterprise wide software solutions to provide integrated organizational systems

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United Stated Copyright Act without the express written permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information herein.

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter © 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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