CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL SRINIVASPURI NEW DELHI

INFORMATICS PRACTICES
CLASS XI
SOFTWARE CONCEPTS

SOFTWARE

SYSTEM SOFTWARE PROG TOOLS APPLICATION SOFTWARE

SOFTWARE

OPERATING SYSTEM GENERALISED SW CUSTOMISED SW

DEVICE DRIVERS
UTILITY SW

CODE EDITOR DEBUGGER

BIOS

LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR
ANTIVIRUS SW LINKER EDITOR

BACKUP SW

COMPRESSION SW ASSEMBLER

DEFRAGMENTATION SW COMPILER

INTERPRETER

FLOW DIAGRAM SHOWING TYPES OF SOFTWARE

Software refers to set of instructions which on execution deliver the desired

outcome. Each software is written for some computational purpose. Some
examples of software include operating systems like Ubuntu or Windows 7/10,
word processing tools like LibreOffice Writer or Microsoft Word, video player like
VLC Player, photo editors like Paint and LibreOffice Draw
Software is of 3 types i) System software ii) Programming tools and iii) Application
software

i) System software
The software that provides the basic functionality to operate a computer by
interacting directly with its constituent hardware is termed as system software. It
controls all internal activities of a computer and all attached components of a
computer system. It provides services directly to the end user, or to some other
software.
System software consists of :

a)BIOS b) Operating system c) Device driver d) Utility software

a) BIOS --The BIOS is boot firmware , a small program that controls various
electronic devices attached to the main computer . It is the first set of
instructions run by a computer when powered on. It initializes the system devices
such as RAM, hard disk, CD/ DVD drive and other hardware . It performs
booting.

b) Operating system is a set of system programs that controls and coordinates

operations of a computer system.
The operating system manages other application programs and provides access and
security to the users of the system. Some of the popular operating systems are
Windows, Linux, Macintosh, Ubuntu, Fedora, Android, iOS, etc.

It is said to be the resource manager of the computer because

● it manages the various types of memories of the computer

● it acts as the interface manager

 ● the program manager

● the task manager

● the file manager

● the network manager

● the security manager of the computer.

Types of OS are :

Single user – Allows one user to operate the computer and run different
programs on the Computer.Eg. DOS
Multi user- Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time on
a single computer system Eg Unix ,Linux, Windows
Real Time - Responds to input instantly. Such OS are used in Robotics
various military and govt. uses.
c) Device driver

Everyday new devices and components are being added to a computer system.
Operating system alone cannot manage all of the existing and new peripherals,
where each device has diverse characteristics. The responsibility for overall control,
operation, and management of a particular device at the hardware level is delegated
to its device driver.
The device driver acts as an interface between the device and the operating system.

All I/O devices have their own driver software. These driver software help the
OS and the other application software to communicate with those devices for
optimal use.

d)Utility software
Utility software are the housekeeping software of the computer which are required
to keep our computer efficient and trouble free.
These software are used for maintenance and configuration of the computer
system . Some system utilities are shipped with the operating system, for example
disk defragmentation tool, formatting utility, system restore utility, etc. Some other
utilities are those which are not shipped with the operating system but are required
to improve the performance of the system, for example, anti-virus software, disk
cleaner tool, disk compression software

i). Compression utility- used to compresss files while not in use into a format
that enables the files to be stored in compressed mode so that they occupy less
space and file transmission on network becomes easier . The files have to be
unzipped so that they can be read. eg WinRar,Winzip

ii)Anti Virus Software -It is a utility which detects and removes computer
viruses.If the software is not able to remove the virus it is neutralized.It keeps a
check on computer system eg. McAfee, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast

iii) Disk Degragmenter- The memory is used in small chunks randomly.

Sometimes when a memory chunk of suitable size is not available, the OS breaks or
fragments the files resulting in slower access to files. A disk defragmenter scans the
hard disk for fragmented files and brings all fragments together.

iv)Backup utility- This utility creates a copy of the complete or partial data
stored in disk or CD . in case the hard disk crashes or some other system failure
occurs , the files can be restored using backup software.

Programming tools or Developer tools-

These are a set of software developing tools that a programmer needs to develop
an application A programming tool or software development tool is a computer
program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise
support other programs and applications

Source code editors, Compilers, interpreters assemblers, debuggers and GUI

development tools are all forms of programming tools.

Assembler- It translates the whole program into assembly language.

Differences between Compiler and Interpreter

Compiler Interpreter

1 It translates the whole It translates line by line and

program together. simultaneously executes the program

2 It lists the errors at the end It lists each error while translating and
does not proceed till the error is
corrected

3 It is much faster It is much slower.

4 Requires less memory Requires more memory stores both

because it stores only the source code and object code
object code

Linker is a program in a system which helps to link object modules of a program into a single
object file. It performs the process of linking.

debuggera computer program that assists in the detection and correction of errors in other
computer programs.
Application software is a set of programs to carry out a specific task like word
processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, library management software.

Application software are of two types:

Generic purpose and specific purpose software.

Generic Purpose- Application software-

These are developed for generic applications, to cater to a bigger audience in
general are called general purpose software. Such ready-made application software
can be used by end users as per their requirements. For example, spreadsheet tool
LibreOffice Calc can be used by any computer user to do calculation or to create
an account sheet. Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Mozilla web browser, iTunes, etc. fall in
the category of general purpose software.

Specific purpose application software- or Customised Software

These are custom or tailor-made application software, that are
developed to meet the requirements of a specific organisation or an
individual. They are better suited to the needs of an individual or an
organisation, considering that they are designed as per special
requirements. Some examples of user-defined software include websites,
school management software, accounting software, etc.

To use Proprietary software a license fee needs to be paid .To use

freeware license fee needs to be paid after sometime.

Freeware is available free of cost and allows copying and further

redistribution but not modification as its source code is not available.
Shareware is made available with the right to redistribute copies but it
is stipulated that if one intends to use it often after a certain period of
time then a license fee should be paid