Applications software

• • Application software is a program or group of programs designed for end users.

    • May be grouped along with system software or published alone.

    • May be referred to simply as an application.

Word processor

• • • Is a type of software application used for composing, editing, formatting and printing documents.

    • Have a variety of uses and applications within the business environment, at home and in educational contexts.

    • Are used to create, edit and print documents, as well as save them electronically.

    • E.g. Microsoft Word, Pages, Google Docs, Open Office Writer, etc.

    • Is not always the best package to use to produce a document.

      • • If more control over the layout of a page is required or the document is to include a lot of graphics, then a desktop publishing package such as Microsoft Publisher would be more suitable.

        • Desktop publishers are used to produce newspapers, magazines, posters, newsletters and leaflets.

Spreadsheets

• • • Is a software application that enables a user to save, sort and manage data arranged in rows and columns.

    • Is good for small to medium data sets.

    • E.g. Microsoft Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, Open Office Calc, etc.

    • Most are multi-dimensional, meaning that they are made up of a stack of worksheets all linked together by formulas and references.

    • A change made in one worksheet will automatically affect others.

    • A typical spreadsheet program has these features:

      • • Numerous rows and columns for data and values storage;

        • Mathematical formulas and calculations;

        • Data sorting and analysis;

        • Multiple interlinked worksheets;

        • Visualization of data in the form of graphs and charts.

    • When dealing with larger relational data sets that need to be queried by multiple users, a full database program is superior to a spreadsheet.

Databases

• • • Database software is a software program used for creating, editing and maintaining data files and records.

    • They allow users to store data in the form of structured fields, tables and columns, which can then be retrieved either directly or through programmatic access.

    • Database software is also known as database management software (DBMS), although these terms are not exactly synonymous.

    • Usually provide a GUI that allows users to create, edit and manage data tables.

    • The record structure must be designed to make best use of the memory and to optimize searching.

      • • Before setting up the structure, these questions need to be answered:

          • • What information is needed?

            • What validation could there be?

    • When designing a database it is important to choose the correct field type.

      • • This ensures that the data stored is usable and it makes validation easier.

    • A database should always contain a key field. The key field is a unique identifier for each record.

      • • E.g. car registration number;

        • Social insurance number;

        • Your school’s examination center number;

        • Student ID number.

Storing data in tables (Flat DB)

• • • • Databases store data in tables; a single database file can store many tables, queries and reports.

      • When all the data is stored in a single table, this is known as a flat-file database.

Relational databases

• • • • A relational database (RDB) is a collective set of multiple data tables, records and columns.

      • RDBs establish a well-defined relationship between database tables.

      • Tables communicate and share information, which facilitates data searchability, organization and reporting.

      • RDBs use Structured Query Language (SQL), which is a standard user application that provides an easy programming interface for database interaction.

      • A relational database has more than one table and the tables are linked using key fields.

      • E.g. Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, MySQL.

E.g. a library database could have three tables:

• • • • • 1. Customer: When a customer joins the library, a record is created. It stores their

          2. details such as their first name and surname and includes a unique

          3. Customer ID.

          4. Book: Each book in the library has a record. It stores details about the

          5. book, such as the author and title and includes a unique book ID.

          6. Lending: When a customer borrows a book, the lending table stores the

          7. customer’s unique ID and the book’s unique ID in a record. The

          8. record could also include additional information such as when the

          9. book was borrowed and when it’s due back.

          10. The Customer ID and Book ID are both examples of key fields.

Advantages

• • • • The book’s details and the customer’s details need only be entered into the database once.

        • • Because of this, mistakes are less likely to happen and if there was a mistake in a customer’s record, correcting it will correct the mistake database-wide.

      • Duplication is avoided--this keeps the database’s file size down.

      • Details about books and customers are easily accessible using their unique IDs.

      • Queries can be performed and reports generated, e.g. a list of books a customer has borrowed since joining the library.

Email software

• • • Email software is a program that features the functionality for using electronic mail.

    • Occurs either through an email client installed on a computing device or webmail accessed through a server.

    • An email client is an application on a computing device that enables the configuration of one or more email addresses to receive, read, compose and send emails from that email address(es).

      • E.g. Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.

    • Webmail, or web-based mail, is any email client implemented as a web application and runs on a web server.

    • Ever webmail provider offers email access using a webmail client, and many of them also offer access by a desktop email client using standard email protocols (SMTP, POP and IMAP).

      • E.g. AOL Mail, Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo! Mail, etc.

Web browsers

• • • A web browser is a software program that allows a user to locate, access and display Web pages.

    • Browsers are used primarily for displaying and accessing websites on the internet, as well as other content created using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

    • Translates web pages and websites delivered using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) into human-readable content.

    • Also have the ability to communicate with a variety of protocols such as secure HTTP (HTTPS), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), email handling (mailto:), and files (file:).

    • Supports external plug-ins required to display active content, such as in-page video, audio and Flash content.

      • • E.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.

Computer aided design (CAD)

• • • Computer aided design is the use of computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis or optimization of a design.

    • CAD is used in many applications, including:

      • • Electronics, shipbuilding, prosthetics, interior design, automotive, aerospace, architecture, fashion, etc.

    • The three sub-categories of CAd programs are:

• • • • 1. Electronic Design Automation (EDA) for designing electronic systems.

        2. Mechanical Design Automation (MDA) for mechanical design.

        3. Computer-Aided Drafting for creating a technical drawing.

• • • Mechanical design produces detailed 2D and 3D renderings of the physical components of manufactured products.

      • • E.g. Autodesk AutoCAD, Sketchup, etc.

Graphics processing software

Graphics software can generally be categorized into Raster Graphics (Bitmap) or Vector Graphics packages.

Bitmap/raster graphics

• • • • When you take a photograph using a digital camera or scan an image from a magazine, you are creating a bitmap graphic.

      • A bitmap graphic is composed of many tiny parts, called pixels, which are often many different colors.

      • It is possible to edit each individual pixel.

      • If the dimensions of a bitmap graphic are increased, it will lose quality because it doesn’t have enough data to display extra detail.

Vector graphics

• • • • The use of geometrical primitives based on mathematical expressions e.g. points, lines, curves and shapes or polygons to represent images in computer graphics.

      • Is good for logo designs because the resulting image is clear and crisp.

      • They have no inherent resolution, thus they can be represented at any resolution, which makes them ideal for high-resolution output.

Bitmap vs vector graphics

• • • • Vector based graphics.

        • Do not work well when there is a need for soft-toned graphics in a picture.

        • Are better for page layout, typography, logos, sharp-edged artistic illustrations e.g. cartoons, clip art, complex geometric patterns, technical illustrations and diagramming.

      • Bitmap editors.

        • Are more suitable for retouching, photo processing, photo-realistic illustrations, collages, and illustrations drawn by hand with a pen tablet.