CSC111

Introduction to Computer Science

Introduction to Software and Programming
Languages
 System Software
 Operating Systems
 Types of Operating Systems
 Language Translators
 Utility Software
 Application Software
 Desktop Publishing Packages
 Word Processing Packages
 Games Packages
 Spread sheet Packages
 Communication Packages
 Graphic Packages
 User Programs
 Database Packages
 Integrated Packages
 Computer Languages
 Machine Languages
 Low-Level Languages
 High-Level Languages
 Computer Software
 Computer software is the set of programs that makes the hardware

perform a set of tasks in particular order.

 Hardware and software are complimentary to each other. Both have to

work together to produce meaningful results.

 Computer software is classified into two broad categories;

 System Software and
 Application Software.
A Layered View of the Computer
Hardware/Software interface

Application Programs
Word-Processors, Spreadsheets,
Database Software, IDEs,
etc…
System Software
Compilers, Interpreters,Preprocessors, etc.
Operating System, Device Drivers
Machine with all its hardware
 Systems Software
 Set of programs that coordinates activities and functions of the hardware
and various other programs.

 The software that controls everything that happens in a computer.

 Background software, manages the computer’s internal resources

 Programs written for computer systems

• Compilers, operating systems, …

 System software consists of a group of programs that control the operations of

a computer equipment including functions
 managing memory,
 managing peripherals,
 loading, storing,
 an interface between the application programs and the computer.
 MS DOS (Microsoft’s Disk Operating System), UNIX are examples of system
software

 System Software manages the fundamental operations of your

computer
 Operating system
• System resource
• Multitasking
 Utilities
 Programming Languages
Operating Systems or OS
 The operating system (OS) controls all other software and allows the
hardware devices to work properly.

 Without an operating system, a user cannot run an application program on

their computer, unless the application program is self booting.

 Some popular operating systems are:

 Microsoft Windows - for PCs
 Mac OS - for Apple computers
 Linux - for very large network computers
 Handheld operating systems - for PDAs, MP3 players, and cell phones
 Is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers,
manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for
execution of various application software.

 The OS is the most important type of system software in a computer

system.
 Provides several essential services:
 Loading & running application programs
 Allocating memory & processor time
 Providing input & output facilities
 Managing files of information
Role of the Operating System

Operating
Application and
software Systems
Software

Users
Hardware
Operating System Functions
An operating system is primarily a resource manager

Design is tied to the hardware and software resources the operating

system must manage
 Perform common computer hardware functions
Ex: Get input from keyboard
 Provide a user interface
Command-based user interface (ms-dos)
Graphical-user interface (windows)
 Provide a degree of hardware independence
Application program interface
 Manage system memory
Convert logical view to physical view
Operating System Functions
 Manage processing tasks

 Allocate computer resources

 Multitasking (run more than once application at a time)

 Time-sharing (allow multiple access to a system)

 Provide networking capability

 Enable connection to the Internet

 Control access to system resources

 Authentication

 Manage files

 Access to files
 Perform common computer hardware functions:
Processors, secondary storage (such as hard disks), other I/O devices, processes,
threads, databases
 Provide a user interface
 Provide a degree of hardware independence
 Manage system memory
 Manage processing tasks
 Provide networking capability
 Control access to system resources
 Manage files
Types of Operating Systems
Today’s computers are:

1. Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use

the same computer at the same time and different times.

2. Multiprocessing - An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing

more than one computer processor.

3. Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple

software processes to run at the same time.

4. Multithreading - Operating systems that allow different parts of a software

program to run concurrently.
Programs
Programs are written in programming languages
 PL = programming language
 Pieces of the same program can be written in different PLs
 Languages closer to the machine can be more efficient
 As long as they agree on how to communicate

A PL is
 A special purpose and limited language
 A set of rules and symbols used to construct a computer program
 A language used to interact with the computer
Language Translators
A programming language (PL) is a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules
for instructing a computer or computing device to perform specific tasks.

PL refers to high-level languages, such as BASIC, C, C++, COBOL, Java,

FORTRAN, Ada, and Pascal.

Each PL has a unique set of keywords (words that it understands) and a

special syntax for organizing program instructions.

A programmers uses PL to develop software programs, scripts, or other sets

of instructions for computers to execute.

PL share similarities, each has its own syntax.

Language Translators
A programmer learns the languages rules, syntax, and structure, they write

the source code in a text editor or IDE.

The programmer often compiles the code into machine language that can be
understood by the computer.
Scripting languages, which do not require a compiler, use an interpreter to
execute the script.
Assemblers
An assembler is a program that converts assembly language into machine code.

It takes the basic commands and operations from assembly code and converts them

into binary code that can be recognized by a specific type of processor.

Assemblers are similar to compilers in that they produce executable code.

However, assemblers are more simplistic since they only convert low-level code

(assembly language) to machine code.

Compilation into Assembly Language

Source Assembly
Program Compiler Language

Machine
Assembly
Assembler Languag
Language
e
Compilers
A compiler is a software program that transforms high-level source code that
is written by a developer in a high-level programming language into a low level
object code (binary code) in machine language, which can be understood by the
processor.
The process of converting high-level programming into machine language is
known as compilation.
The processor executes object code, which indicates when binary high and
low signals are required in the arithmetic logic unit of the processor.
The stages in compilation include:
Lexical Analysis
Syntax Analysis
Semantic Analysis
Intermediate code generation
Code optimization
Code generation
Compiler
 A program that converts another program from some source language

(or high-level programming language / HLL) to machine language

(object code).

 Some compilers output assembly language which is then converted to

machine language by a separate assembler.

 Is distinguished from an assembler by the fact that each input

statement, in general, correspond to more than one machine

instruction.
Compilation
Source Target
Compiler
Program Progra
m

Input Target Program Outpu

t

 Compiler translates source into target (a machine language program)

 Compiler goes away at execution time

 Compiler is itself a machine language program, presumably created by

compiling some other high-level program

 Machine language, when written in a format understood by the OS is

object code
Interpreters
An interpreter is a computer program that is used to directly execute

program instructions written using one of the many high-level programming

languages.

The interpreter transforms the high-level program into an intermediate

language that it then executes, or it could parse the high-level source code and

then performs the commands directly, which is done line by line or statement

by statement.

Programming languages are implemented in two ways:

interpretation and compilation.

Interpreters
An interpreter transforms or interprets a high-level programming code into

code that can be understood by the machine (machine code) or into an

intermediate language that can be easily executed as well.

The interpreter reads each statement of code and then converts or executes

it directly.

In contrast, an assembler or a compiler converts a high-level source code into

native (compiled) code that can be executed directly by the operating system.
Interpretation

Source
Program

Interpreter Outpu
t
Input

 The interpreter stays around during execution

 It reads and executes statements one at a time
Compilation vs. Interpretation
Compilation:
 Syntax errors caught before running the program
 Better performance
 Decisions made once, at compile time
Interpretation:
 Better diagnostics (error messages)
 More flexibility
 Supports late binding (delaying decisions about program
implementation until runtime)
 Can better cope with PLs where type and size of variables depend
on input
 Supports creation/modification of program code on the fly
(e.g. Lisp, Prolog)
Mixture of C & I

Source Intermediat
Translator e
Program
Program
Intermediate
Program
VM Outpu
t
Input

• Many programming languages implement this

• Interpreter implements a Virtual Machine (VM).

 JAVA
For portability:

Java Compiler

bytecode

ML Interpreter

For flexibility: Just In Time (JIT) compiler translates

bytecode into ML just before execution
Utility Software
 It helps you maintain your computer and keep it in good running condition

 Utility software is software designed to help to analyse, configure, optimize

or maintain a computer.

 It is used to support the computer infrastructure - in contrast to application

software, which is aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ordinary
users.

 Utilities often form part of application systems.

For example a batch job may run user-written code to update a database and
may then include a step that runs a utility to back up the database, or a job
may run a utility to compress a disk before copying files.
 File Conversion
File conversion is the process of converting a file into another type.
For example:
 transferring a file used in Microsoft Word to Corel Word Perfect.
 It overs data transfer from any medium to another medium, making an exact
copy or simultaneously editing and Validating data.
 a copy from a hard disk to a diskette.

 File Copy
File copying is the creation of a new file which has the same content as an existing
file.
For example:
 File copying is the creation of a new copy file which has the same content as an
existing file.

 Housekeeping Operations
These include programs to clear areas of storage, writing file labels, updating
common data e.g. data.
Application Software
 Programs that help users solve particular computing problems

 Programs written for computer users and it enables you to perform specific
computer tasks, such as document production, spreadsheet calculations, and
database management
• Word-processors, spreadsheets, & other application packages
 Software that can perform a specific task for the user, such as
 Word processors– example: Microsoft word
 Spreadsheets-- example: Microsoft Excel
 Database managers-- example: Microsoft Access
 Graphics-- example: Photoshop

Application Software – Basic Tools: Examples

word processing, accounting, budgeting or payroll, fall under the category of application
software. Word processors, spreadsheets, database management systems are all
examples of general purpose application software
 Word processing software:
 The main purpose of this software is to produce documents.
 MS-Word, Word Pad, Notepad and some other text editors are some of the
examples of word processing software
 Spread sheet software:
 The spread sheet software is used to maintain budget, financial
statements, grade sheets, and sales records.
 The purpose of this software is organizing numbers.
 It also allows the users to perform simple or complex calculations on the
numbers entered in rows and columns.
 MS-Excel is one of the example of spreadsheet software.
 Presentation software:
 This software is used to display the information in the form of slide show.
 The three main functions of presentation software is editing that allows
insertion and formatting of text, including graphics in the text and
executing the slide shows.
 The best example for this type of application software is Microsoft
PowerPoint.
 Multimedia software:
 Media players and real players are the examples of multimedia software.
 This software will allow the user to create audio and videos.
 The different forms of multimedia software are audio converters, players,
burners, video encoders and decoders.