Chapter SW 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF SOFTWARE USE If you go out in the computer marketplace today, you will find thousands of different software packages. They do different things such as word processing, graphics, control computers, e-mail, calendars, compress disks or files, or control a computer. Even though the software does different tasks, software packages exhibit similarities in the way that they work.
Systems & Applications Software • Systems Software • Enable applications to run – Operating System – Language Translators – Utility Programs • Applications Software In the introduction we learned that software falls into two categories: Systems software consists of programs that enable applications software to run. Systems software consists of three different types - Operating systems manage the system and the running of other programs. Language translators translate a programming language into machine language. Utility programs are tools to provide some functions that the operating system doesn’t provide. An example might be the Windows disk defragmentation program or Windows Explorer.
Software Suites • Software Suites – MS/Office, Corel WordPerfect Office • Integrated Software Programs – MS/Works, Claris Works, Corel PerfectWork One type of application program is the office oriented program. Many times office oriented programs of different types are bundled together in a suite. The most popular suite is MS/Office with 80% or more of the suite market. Suites are the primary way that office programs are sold to business. Related to these are programs which compress a suite into a smaller less comprehensive package with less functions.
How an office suite is organized In a suite, there are multiple components or applications that are bundled together. The components share a library of routines and data so they don’t require as much space as when each component is installed separately.
Microsoft Office 2000 If you buy the MS/Office Standard package, you get Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. If you buy the Small Business package instead, you don’t get PowerPoint but you get Publisher and Small Business Tools. If you buy Professional you get all of those plus Access and if you buy Premium, you also get FrontPage and PhotoDraw.
Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 Corel has a different set of packages but some of the same types of office software.
Who Owns Software? • Publisher Owns • User Licenses • Classes: – Proprietary – Shareware – Freeware
Chapter SW1 Page 1 There are misconceptions about who actually owns software. The publisher owns it. They decide who can use, copy, or distribute the program. As a user, you license the software. This gives you the right to use it within the specifications of the license agreement. If you use software without the right to use it, you are stealing from the publisher. Most software is proprietary. You are expected to buy a licensed copy or just a license to use it. Many times organizations acquire a site license which allows them to run up to some maximum number of copies at a site or multiple sites. Some software is distributed as shareware. In this case, the publisher doesn’t require any payment unless you want formal documentation or support. Others ask that you register and pay after you have used the product for a certain length of time. You can copy shareware and give it to your friends. In fact, that is one way that shareware is distributed. Your friend may end up using the software and buying it. Similar to shareware is freeware except that it is totally free. It is in the public domain. Some examples are Mosiac and Pegasus Mail. Since it is free, you don’t get any support and some freeware has errors or bugs.
The User Interface The manner in which a program package makes its resources available to users it its user interface.
The User Interface • Command Syntax – rules of a language – for use at the system prompt • Shortcut Keystrokes – Invoke command with minimal keystrokes – Saves time Until recently, we interfaced with computers through lines of a command language. These commands had a syntax. A syntax refers to the rules that govern the structure and content of a language. That is why this interface is called command syntax. MS/DOS is an example of a command syntax user interface. Show MS/DOS prompt, dir, copy. Many programs implemented shortcut keystrokes to save time. For example, in MS/DOS if you hit F3, the last command is repeated. In DOS Wordperfect, F5 is save. Once you learn the command language and the shortcuts, performing commands or operations is quick. But, it requires training and continual use. If you go on vacation for two weeks, you may find that you have forgotten half of the shortcuts.
The User Interface • GUI – Graphical User Interface – Gooey – MS/Windows, Apple/MacOS Because of the availability of powerful CPUs and high-resolution graphics screens, the GUI or graphical user interface has become popular. GUI is often shortened to gooey. We are now going to look at the elements of the MS/Windows GUI.
GUI Elements: Menu • Menu Bar • Pull Down or Drop Down Menus • Icon Menus • Hyperlinks • Palettes • Tab menus • Dialog boxes
Chapter SW1 Page 2 A menu is a set of options from which you can choose a desired action. There are many types of menus.
Menu elements 1/2 At the top of many windows below the title bar is a menu bar showing the major command sets. You can select a menu command with the mouse or by a shortcut-keystroke (ALT-?). Once you make a selection a pull-down or drop-down menu appears. Pull down menus typically conform to some conventions. For example: The active command on the menu bar is highlighted. The default command on the drop-down menu is highlighted. The default command can be selected by hitting the Enter key. Commands are selected by using the mouse or by the shortcut key if there is one. Ghosted commands means that the choice is not currently available. A checkmark on the left means that an option is on or active. By selecting the menu item, you toggle the option on & off. Separators are used to group related commands.
Menu elements (2/2) An arrow to the right of an option means that the choice leads to another pull-down menu. Ellipses (…) means that you will get another set of choices - generally a dialog box. Shortcut keystrokes that you can use for commands without the menu are sometimes shown after an item and the icon for a command is sometimes shown before.
GUI Elements: Menu (Cont.) • Menu Bar • Pull Down or Drop Down Menus • Icon Menus • Hyperlinks • Palettes • Tab menus • Dialog boxes • Command Button Often menus appear as icons. An icon is a small graphic image. The desktop is an icon menu. A toolbar is an icon menu composed of toolbar icon buttons. Generally if you rest the pointer over an icon button, it will display the name.
GUI: Windows • Tiling vs. Cascading • Resizing • Moving • Minimizing and Maximizing • Scroll bars A window is a box that is overlaid over other screen information. The name of the window is in the title bar at the top. Windows can be arranged on the screen side by side or cascading them on top of one another. Tiling allows you to see some information in several windows. Cascading allows you to see as much as possible in the foreground window. You can resize a window by selecting a border, keeping the mouse depressed, and moving the mouse.
Chapter SW1 Page 3 You can move a window by selecting the title bar at the top of the window, keeping the button depressed, and dragging and dropping the window to the desired location. Windows can be minimized to an icon by selecting the minimize button. They can be restored by clicking on the icon. They can be maximized by selecting the maximize button and then restored by pressing the restore button. These are close to the close button which closes the window. On the left of the title bar is a drop down menu which also has some of these commands. Scroll bars, normally on the bottom and/or left, allow you to move the information that appears in a window.
GUI: Dialog Boxes & Help • Dialog Boxes – Radio-Button Boxes – Check Boxes – Text Boxes – List Boxes – Combo Box – Spin Box – Message Boxes • Online Help – & Wizards Dialog boxes are special windows that prompt for further information. This information is provided by a variety of controls.
Drag and Drop • Used for – Copy – Move – Make associations Another feature of the GUI is the drag and drop. It can be used to copy and move items or in some programs to make associations.
End of Chapter SW 1
Key Terms
Applications software. Programs that help with the type of work people buy computer systems to do; often called applications programs or, simply, applications. Dialog box. A box that requires a user to supply information about the task being performed. Freeware. Software offered for use without charge. Graphical user interface (GUI). A term that refers to the graphics screens that interface with the user and make it easier for them to interact with software. Icon. A graphical image on a display screen that invokes some action when selected. Menu. A set of options from which the user chooses to take a desired action. Menu bar. A horizontal list of choices that appears on a highlighted line, usually below the title window. Often called the main menu. Palette. A menu that enables user to choose such attributes as colors and textures.
Chapter SW1 Page 4 Prompt. Displayed text or symbols indicating the computer system’s readiness to receive user input. Proprietary software. A software product to which someone owns the rights and usually expects payment for the right to use the product. Pull-down menu. A menu of subcommands that drops down vertically from a horizontal menu bar or appears alongside another pull-down menu. Also called a drop-down menu. Scroll bar. A horizontal or vertical bar along the edge of a window (usually the bottom or right) that allows the user to view information that is currently outside the window. Shareware. Software that people can copy and use in exchange for a nominal fee, usually charged if the user wants support and documentation or after the user uses the software for a trial period. Shortcut keystrokes. Keystrokes that make it possible for commands to be entered with minimal keystroking. Site license. An agreement that allows access by several people in an organization to proprietary software. Software suite. A collection of software products bundled together into a single package and sold at a price that is less than the sum of the prices of the individual components. Syntax. The grammatical rules that govern a language. Systems software. Background programs, such as the operating system, that enable applications programs to work with a computer system’s hardware. Toolbar. An icon menu, composed of small graphics called buttons that stretches either horizontally or vertically across the screen. User interface. The manner in which a computer product makes it resources available to uers. Window. A box of related information that appears overlaid on a display screen. Wizard. A program feature that assists users in completing tasks.
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