Software Applications

Topics

Processing with Programs Licensing and Copyrights System Software: The Hardware -

Software Connection User interface

A Fast, Stupid Machine

Computers: Perform arithmetic and comparison

capabilities Follow precise instructions to

perform an operation Execute instructions quickly and

accurately

Processing with Programs

Software programs are:

Instructions that tell the computer what to do

Stored in memory

Designed to solve problems

The Language of Computers

Machine Language : numeric codes to represent data

1’s and 0’s High-level language : fall between machine

language and natural human language C++, Java, Visual Basic

Compilers translate high-level language into machine language

Natural Languages include the languages spoken by humans

English, French

Licensing

Commercial software is copyrighted so it can’t be legally duplicated for distribution to others. It grants certain exclusive rights such as the

right to copy, to see and distribute, and the right to modify the software.

Buying a copy of the software does not give you these rights!

Licensing agreements limit your right to: make copies of software disks install software on hard drives transfer information to other users

“Ware” s

Shareware “Try before you buy” idea. Software that works on honour system Limited features Vs a regular edition ($$)

Freeware Freely available to download and use Beware of malicious intents. Netscape browser

System Software:

The Hardware-Software Connection

System software is a class of software that includes: Utility programs The Operating system

Utility Programs

translating files so different software can read them

guarding against viruses

repairing damaged files copying files from one

storage device to another

What the Operating System Does?

The operating system controls: Communication with peripherals Coordination of concurrent processing Memory management Monitoring of resources and security Management of programs and data Coordinating network communications

Where the Operating System Lives?

Some computers store their operating system entirely in ROM (Read Only Memory)

Other computers include only part of it in ROM The remaining system is

loaded into memory (booting)

Most of the time it works behind the scenes

Multiple User Operating Systems: UNIX and Linux

UNIX was developed at Bell Labs UNIX remains a dominant Internet operating

system for Internet servers. Linux was created by Linus Torvalds and

continues to be a work-in-progress Linux is free for anyone to use or improve Open source software

Software that is freely distributed, along with its source code

General Public License (copyleft?)

These systems allow a timesharing computer to communicate with several other computers

Compatibility

Compatibility allows software to function properly with the hardware, operating system, and peripherals

Programs written for one type of computer system may not work on another!

The User Interface: The Human-Machine Connection

The user interface is what the user sees on the screen Two major user interface types:

Character-based interface

MS-DOS, Unix

Graphical user interface (GUI)

Mac, Windows

Why WIMP Won

Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointing devices

• They’re intuitive

• They’re consistent

• They’re forgiving

• They’re protective

• They’re flexible

Word Processors and Word Processors and Spread SheetsSpread Sheets

Topics

The Word Processing Process Formatting the text Spelling and Grammatical Checkers The Spreadsheet Features of Spreadsheet

Word Processing Process

Entering text and Editing text Formatting & proof-reading the document Saving the document on disk Printing the document

As you enter text using a word processor, your text is displayed on the screen and stored in the computer’s RAM (Random Access Memory).

Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory.

Formatting Text

Formatting refers to how the words look on a page. WYSIWIG (“What you see is what you get”)

What you see on the screen is a close approximation of what you will see on paper

Types of formatting: Character, Line & Paragraph, Entire Document

Characters are measured by point size with onepoint equal to 1/72 inch.

A20 pts A

40 pts80 pts

120 pts

A A

About Fonts

A font is a size and style of typeface.

Serif fonts have serifs or fine lines at the ends.

Sans-serif fonts have plainer, cleaner lines.

Arial

Paragraph Formatting

Formatting for paragraphs involve margin settings, line spacing, indents, tabs and justification.

Document Formatting

You can impact the appearance of an entire document through the following:

Style sheets Headers and footers Multiple columns Table of Contents and Indexes Conversion to HTML for web

publishing

Spelling Checkers, Grammar & Style Checkers

Spelling checkers compare words in your document with words in a disk-based dictionary.

Words may be flagged; you make the decision to ignore or change the spelling.

A grammar and style checker flags possible errors and makes suggestions for correcting.

It spots the following: Spelling Errors of context Common grammatical errors

Form Letter Generators

The Mail Merge feature in word processors generate personalized form letters and mailing labels.

Create a database with names Create a form letter Merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter

Intelligent Word Processors The bottleneck continues to be in the

input side of desktop publishing systems.

In the future: Speech-recognition software systems

that can reliably recognize human speech.

Intelligent word processors that anticipate a writer’s needs, acting as an electronic editor or co-author.

Spreadsheets…

The Spreadsheet

Cell A1

Cell C12

The spreadsheet consists of: Cells (the intersection of a row and column) Addresses (column letter and row number, e.g., A1, C12)

Spreadsheets can contain:

The Spreadsheet

Values such as numbers and dates

Labels that explain what a value means, such as column and report headings

The Spreadsheet

Formulas allow you to create instructions using mathematical expressions and commands

+ (plus)- (minus) *(multiplication)/ (division) SumAverage

Spreadsheets offer many automatic features such as replication of data

Type the first value in the series such as Qtr 1 or January or 500

Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4

and let the software replicate it to other cells.

Spreadsheet Features

Spreadsheet Features

Formulas can be relative, so they refer to different cells when they are copied

Or absolute so the formula references never change when they are copied

When the formula in column B is copied to column C, it changes relative to the new column.

Spreadsheet Features

Functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, SQRT) are used to automate complex calculations

Automatic recalculation Any time a change is entered into the spreadsheet, all data

related to the change automatically updates

Macros let you store keystrokes and commands so they can be played back automatically

Templates offer ready-to-use worksheets with labels and formulas already entered

Spreadsheets allow you to change numbers and instantly see the effects of those changes. “What if I enter this value?”

Database capabilities Search for information Sort the data by a specific criteria Merge the data with a word processor Generate reports

What If?

Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings

Bar charts (use if data falls into a few categories)

Pie charts (show relative proportions to the whole)

Line charts (show relationships or trends over time)

15%

20%

65%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr

NorthWestEast

45.9 46.9 45

30.638.6 34.6

20.427.4

90

0

20

40

60

80

100

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr

EastWest

North

Graphics, Multimediaand Databases.

Topics

Computer Graphics terminology Pixels Vs. Objects Software and Animation What is a Database Anatomy of a Database Database Trends

Graphics Talk Pixels are tiny dots of white, black, or color that make

up images on the screen.

Palette of tools that mimic real-world painting tools and other tools unique to computers.

Bitmapped graphics (or raster graphics) are pictures that show how the pixels are mapped on the screen.

Color depth is the number of bits devoted to each pixel.

24 bits or 8 bits.

Resolution is the density of the pixels. Dpi: dots per inch.

Drawing: Object-Oriented Graphics

Drawing software stores a picture as a collection of lines and shapes (called object-oriented or vector graphics).

Memory demands on storage not as high as bit-mapped images.

Many drawing tools - line, shape and text tools are similar to painting tools in bitmapped programs.

Pixels vs. Objects Bit-mapped painting

(using pixels) gives you these advantages: More control over

textures, shading and fine detail

Appropriate for screen displays, simulating natural paint media and embellishing photographs

Pixels vs. Objects Object-oriented

drawing gives you these advantages:

Better for creating printed graphs, charts, and illustrations

Lines are cleaner and shapes are smoother

Digital Image Processing: Photographic Editing by Computer

Software that allows the user to manipulate photographs and other high-resolution images with tools such as Adobe Photoshop.

Far more powerful than traditional photo-retouching techniques. Can distort and combine photos as demonstrated

in the tabloids Create fabricated images that show no evidence

of tampering

Building a Photo Collage

Take an imageCombine it with other objects Make a statement

http://www.alias.com/eng/etc/fakeorfoto/quiz.html

Animation: Graphics in Time

Each frame of computer-based animation is a computer-drawn picture and the computer displays those frames in rapid succession. Tweening-instead of drawing each frame by

hand, an animator can create key frames and objects and use software to help fill in the gaps

“Anything you can imagine can be done. If you can draw it, if you can describe it, we can do it. It’s just a matter of cost.”

James Cameron, Filmmaker, ”King of the World”

Desktop Video: Computers, Film, TV

Video editing software such as Adobe Premiere makes it easy to eliminate

extraneous footage, combine clips from multiple takes, splice together scenes

Morphs are video clips in which one image metamorphoses into another.

Data compression software and hardware are used to squeeze data out of movies so they can be stored in smaller spaces.

Calculate the space required, for a video clip at 30 frames per second

MP3 MPEG audio layer 3 (Moving Picture Experts Group)

Hypertext and Hypermedia

Hypertext refers to information linked in non-sequential ways. HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Hypermedia combines text, numbers, graphics, animation, sound effects, music and other media in hyperlinked documents. Useful for on-line help files Jump between documents all over the Internet

Database Applications...

A Database is… a collection of information stored in an

organized form on a computer

Database software is… application software (like word processing

and spreadsheet software)

designed to maintain databases (collections of information)

The Electronic File Cabinet: Database Basics

What Good Is a Database? An electronic database allows you to:

store large quantities of information retrieve information quickly organize and reorganize information print and distribute information in a

variety of ways

Database Anatomy

A database is a collection of one or more files

A file is a collection of related information (records)

A record is the information relating to one person, product, or event

A field is a discrete chunk of information in a record

Database Anatomy

Database Anatomy

The view is a display of the information in fields based on a particular layout of field data.

Form ViewList View

These operations are used to manipulate the information in the database:

Import: receives data in the form of text files

Browse: navigates through information

Query: finds records that match a specific criteria

Sort: rearranges records (alpha or numerically)

Report: printout of an ordered list of records

Database Operations

Beyond the Basics:Database Management Systems

Database Management Systems (DBMS)

is a program or system of programs that can manipulate data in a large collection of files

redundant information is stored as a key field different users see different points of view may be interactive

SQL Structured Query Language Select * From Population Where Sex = M and Age > 18 and Age < 35

What Makes a Database Relational?

A database is relational when files are related to each other, such as this Student ID field in the Student file.

Database Trends Real-Time Computing

Allows instant access to information Downsizing and Decentralizing

Using a client/server approach

Data Mining Allows technology to find valuable information

Databases and the Web Information is available via a company’s

Intranet and the Internet

Next Module

Networking and Telecommunications Internet and the Web