Chapter 3 : Basic Application Software
Application software is a complete, self-contained program that performs a specific function directly for the user. There are 2 types of application software :
i) Basic application software
ii) Specialized application software
In this chapter we will only focus on basic application software
Common Features
- Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- The use of pictures rather than just words to represent the input and output of a program. A program with a GUI runs under some windowing system (e.g. The X Window System, MacOS, Microsoft Windows, Acorn RISC OS, NEXTSTEP). The program displays certainicons, buttons, dialogue boxes, etc. in its windows on the screen and the user controls it mainly by moving a pointer on the screen (typically controlled by a mouse) and selecting certain objects by pressing buttons on the mouse while the pointer is pointing at them. This contrasts with acommand line interface where communication is by exchange of strings of text.
- Icons
- A small picture intended to represent something (a file, directory, or action) in a graphical user interface. When an icon is clicked on, some action is performed such as opening a directory or aborting a file transfer.
- Menus
- A list from which the user may select an operation to be performed. This is often done with a mouse or other pointing device under a graphical user interface but may also be controlled from the keyboard.
- Menus are very convenient for beginners because they show what commands are available and make experimentating with a new program easy, often reducing the need for user documentation. Experienced users however, often prefer keyboard commands, especially for frequently user operations, because they are faster to use.
- Toolbars
- Toolbar is a horizontal row or vertical column of selectable image "buttons" that give the user a constantly visible reminder of and an easy way to select certain desktop or other application functions, such as saving or printing a document or moving pages forwards or backwards within a Web browser.
Basic application software include :
1.Word processors
· A program used to create and print (chiefly textual) documents that might otherwise be prepared on a typewriter. The key advantage of word processor is its ability to make changes easily, such as correcting spelling, changing margins, or adding, deleting, and relocating entire blocks of text. Once created, the document can be printed quickly and accurately and saved for later modification
· Example: Microsoft word
2. Spreadsheets
· Also called as "worksheet". A type of application program which manipulates numerical and string data in rows and columns of cells. The value in a cell can be calculated from a formula which can involve other cells. A value is recalculated automatically whenever a value on which it depends changes. Different cells may be displayed with different formats.
· Some spreadsheet support three-dimensional matrices and cyclic references which lead to iterative calculation.
· An essential feature of a spreadsheet is the copy function (often using drag-and-drop). A rectangular area may be copied to another which is a multiple of its size. References between cells may be either absolute or relative in either their horizontal or vertical index. All copies of an absolute reference will refer to the same row, column or cell whereas a relative reference refers to a cell with a given offset from the current cell.
3. Database management systems (DBMS)
· Suite of programs which typically manage large structured sets of persistent data, offering ad hoc query facilities to many users. They are widely used in business applications.
· A database management system (DBMS) can be an extremely complex set of software programs that controls the organisation, storage and retrieval of data (fields, records and files) in a database. It also controls the security and integrity of the database.Data security prevents unauthorised users from viewing or updating the database. Using passwords, users are allowed access to the entire database or subsets of the database, called subschemas (pronounced "sub-skeema").
· The DBMS accepts requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organisation's information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system.
4. Presentation graphics
· Presentation graphics software provides predefined backgrounds and sample page layouts to assist in the creation of complete computer-driven slide shows, which, in combination with a data projector, have all but made the 35mm slide presentation obsolete. Navigation from page to page (slide to slide) can be done manually or automatically every so many seconds.
· This software also provides a variety of special effects that can be used to fade and wipe one frame into another such as commonly found in the video world. Sound and video can also be merged into the presentation.
· Example Microsoft PowerPoint and Lotus Freelance Graphics.
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