NI Software

• Software


  The general term applied to the instructions that direct the computer's hardware to perform work
• Software is distinguished from hardware by its conceptual rather than physical nature
• Purposes of software


  • Translate instructions created in human language into machine language
  • Make the computer an economical work tool
• At the machine level, computers can understand only binary numbers, not English or any other human language
• Writing software instructions (programming) is extremely difficult, and time-consuming
• Programs


  Software supplied as organized instruction sets that translate operations the user needs into language and instructions the computer can understand
• By itself, computer hardware is merely a collection of printed circuits, plastic, metal, and wires. Without software, hardware performs no functions
• Categories of software


  • System software
  • Utility programs
  • Applications software
• System software


  • Boots up the computer system
  • Controls input, output, and storage
  • Controls the operations of the application software
• Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)


  The first level of system control, a combination of hardware and software that is the first part of the computer to function when the system is turned on
• Firmware


  Programs on chips that straddle the line between hardware and software
• Operating System (OS)


  • The overall controller of the computer's work
  • Manages all the computer's activities after the BIOS has finished its startup routine
  • Can be upgraded or entirely changed through software
• In the early computers, there were no OSs, so every programmer had to include explicit instructions in every program to tell the CPU exactly where-in RAM to locate the lines of program code and data to be used during processing
• OSs allowed not only more complex programs and systems, but without them, there could be no home computers, except for skilled programmers
• Microsoft Windows


  A popular operating system type preloaded on most new PC hardware
• Windows 11


  A major version of the Microsoft Windows operating system released in 2021, with a similar user interface to Windows 10 but some minor changes
• macOS


  The operating system that powers every Mac, designed specifically for the hardware it runs on
• Linux


  A family of open source operating systems, where the kernel, utilities and libraries are entirely free and open source
• Chrome OS


  The operating system that powers Chromebooks, a budget-friendly alternative to Windows laptops or MacBooks
• Types of utility software

  • Security programs
  • Disk management utilities
  • Backup utilities
  • Screen savers
  • Archival software
  • Programming environment support programs
• Security software


  • Includes antivirus, firewall, and encryption programs
  • Firewalls monitor port usage and prevent unused ports from being used by hackers
• Encryption software


  Encodes data so it cannot be read until decoded, such as the HTTPS protocol
• BitLocker


  Microsoft's proprietary encryption program for Windows that can encrypt entire drives and help protect against firmware-level malware
• Disk management utilities


  • Analyze disk space usage, defragment drives, delete duplicate files, compress data, partition disks, and diagnose problems
• Backup utilities


  • Help users back up their data, usually to an external hard drive or online backup location
• Screen savers


  • Blank the monitor screen or fill it with moving images when the user is away, to prevent damage to old screens
  • Provide some privacy but not security
• Archival software


  Compresses files into a compressed form for long-term storage, using techniques like packing, zipping, compressing, and archiving
• Compression can sharply reduce the size of a large file such that it can be made small enough to email to another person or location
• They don't provide security because a passing person could also tap a key to get back to the regular screen
• Screen savers


  Sometimes require users to log back into their computer to turn off the screen saver, and those do have a security function
• Archival software


  Compresses information in files to be archived, and then stores them in a compressed form in some long term storage device
• Archival utilities for Windows

  • WinZip
  • WinRar
• Unpacking (or decompressing)


  Software must be used to unpack the data so that it can be read
• Terms used to describe data compression

  • Packing
  • Zipping
  • Compressing
  • Archiving
  • Unpacking
  • Unzipping
  • Dearchiving
  • Extraction
• Programming environment support programs

  Used by program developers to support their programming work or to run their programs
• Computers cannot read or understand English or any other human language
• Compilers and interpreters


  Programs that translate the language in which developers write programs (the source code) into a machine language the computer can understand
• Decompiler


  Program used by a programmer to translate a machine language program into a higher level language a human can understand
• Programming is difficult; not only does the programmer have to detail complex logic, but the commands that comprise the program must be written in a specific syntax
• Syntax


  A set of very specific rules about words, punctuation, word usage, and word order in a particular computer language