Summary 2.6

Capabilities and characteristic of hardware and software - processing

• Processing
   Three major functions of software:
      - it allows the effective application of hardware to problem solving
      - it allows efficient management of computer resources
      - it is the interface between the user or organisation and its stored information
  Two types of software:
      - system software 
      - application software
      Systems Software 
  System software consists of the programs that control the operations of the computer hardware.
      Three main components of system software :
  - Instruction contained in ROM
  - Device drivers
  - An operating system
  

• Operating system
      Controls how a computer computer system functions. It is responsible for allocating system resources, and monitoring system activities and carrying out utilities.
  

• Application software :
      - Word Processors
      - Spreadsheets
      - Database management software  
      - Desktop publishing 
      - Graphics software : Painting, Drawing, and Photo editing
      - CAD/CAM
      - Presentation graphics 
      - Personal information managers
      - Groupware
      - Project management 
      - Multimedia authoring tools
      - Communications
      - Web Browsers
      - Web development software
      - Programming languages/environments