Lesson 6 Operating Systems and Software Computer systems consist of both hardware and software.

Hardware refers to anything you can physically touch. Keyboards, mice, monitors, and motherboards are all hardware Software consists of the instructions issued to the computer to perform specific tasks. The software on a computer system refers to the programs that make the computer run. Two types of software are applications software and systems software. Applications software consists of programs to perform a specific task. Systems software consists of the operating system and all utility programs that are used to manage computer system resources. Applications software is also called productivity software. It allows an end user to perform some task. The most commonly used categories of applications software are 1. Word-processing programs 2. Spreadsheet software 3. Database software 4. Presentation software 5. Desktop publishing programs 6. Games Systems software consists of programs that coordinate and control the resources and operations of the computer itself. The three categories of systems software are 1. Operating systems 2. Utility programs 3. Language translators Operating systems provide an interface between the user and the computer. Many brands and versions of operating systems exist. Operating systems are designed to work with a specific processor chip. For example, Windows operating systems are designed to work with an Intel processor (or clone) and usually will not work on a Macintosh computer. System Software-Utilities Utility programs are designed to help perform housekeeping chores for the computer. They can be designed to Manage the computers resources Do file management Format disks

Copy files from one disk to another Back up data to disk or tape

System Software-Language Translator Computers cannot read program statements in programming language format, such as Visual Basic or Java program statements. Language translator programs convert English-like software programs into machine code that can be understood by the computer. Each converted English-like instruction may be translated into many machine code instructions. Once converted to machine code, the program can be run and executed by the computer. Macrocomputer Operating System Interfaces The operating system user interface It is the part of the operating system with which you interact when using your computer. The two most commonly used types of operating system interfaces are commandline interfaces and graphical user interfaces. Command-line interface: With this interface, you must type exact commands into the computer from a command prompt. This is not a user-friendly interface, and you must memorize commands and keywords. Graphical user interface: Users manipulate on-screen icons to perform functions, usually with a mouse or other pointing device. If your computer is a Macintosh, you most likely are using a Mac OS.

Macintosh computers used one of the first GUI operating systems ever developed. The Mac OS Macintosh computers were developed by Apple Computer. Macintosh had one of the first GUI operating systems in which icons were used to represent programs and files. To activate an icon, the user clicked it with the mouse. This was also the first operating system to provide an on-screen help system. DOS Operating System IBM introduced its first PC in 1981. Its operating system was called DOS, which stands for Disk Operating System. IBM called it PC-DOS. The operating system was licensed from its creator, Microsoft, who sold it under the name MS-DOS. Windows Operating System Windows was Microsofts first GUI operating system, released in 1987. The first versions were called operating environments because they acted as a shell around the DOS operating system and worked in combination with DOS. Embedded Operating System Used on handheld and wireless devices Three most popular systems are Windows CE Windows Mobile Palm OS The Unix Operating System UNIX is another early operating system that is still widely used today. It was developed by AT&T as part of their phone-switching system. It was developed to be a portable operating system. That means it was meant to run on any hardware platform. Loading the Operating System Booting is the process of starting your computer. The BIOS is activated. BIOS searches for the boot record. The boot record is loaded into RAM. The software drivers are loaded. The operating system (GUI) is loaded.

Summary Hardware refers to the tangible, physical computer equipment that can be seen and touched. Software is instructions that tell the computer what to do; software also is called a program. The two basic types of computer software are applications software and systems software. Applications software also is known as productivity software. Systems software coordinates and controls the resources and operations of a computer system. Three major categories of systems software are operating systems, utilities, and language translators. Operating systems provide an interface between the user and application program and the computer hardware. Utility programs help users complete specialized tasks, such as file management. Language translators convert English-like software programs into machine language. A programmer uses a programming language to write program statements. All computers have operating systems. The user interface is the part of the operating system with which we are most familiar The two most common user interfaces are command-line interfaces and graphical user interfaces. The Mac operating system is used with Apples Macintosh computers and Macintosh clones. Icons are symbols that represent documents, software programs, disks, and so forth. DOS was introduced with the IBM PC in 1981 and is a character-based operating system. Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows in 1987; this was an operating environment. Windows 95 was Microsofts first true multitasking operating system. Windows CE is a scaled-down Windows operating system used for small handheld computers. UNIX is a portable operating system. Network operating systems allow a group of two or more microcomputers to be connected. There are several methods for sharing files on different operating systems.