AS computing 2011 July Batch

[Ravichandran]

Dear all,

            Welcome to AS computing class. I am Dr.Ravi your facilitator for this course. This course consists of two modules, theory and practicals. In theory we will have 12 chapters and in practicals we do have programming classes. You will sit for theory and practical exams at the end of the course, which is conducted by CIE.

All the best, keep moving, for there is always a helping hand above you to guide you.

Dr.Ravi

 

[Ahmad Syahmi Irfan]

Besides, you can't upgrade (or fix) just one part, as all the software is integrated into one application.Another problem with integrated software is that they usually have have weak areas, meaning that they may have a brilliant word processing application.

 

muhammad amir asyraf said:

as far as i know some disadvantages of integrated software are the data may not be compatible with other software and some of the application in the software is not equal in term of performance( for example in microsoft office the Words apps is good but other apps like excel may not be so good in as Words)..

Raj Kumaran Kalidas said:

Aysraf, I know the advantages of intergrated software that is easier, easy moving and cheaper. What is the disadvantages of intergrated software?

 

[Muhammad Mujahid Lokman]

Utility program is a kind of system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool.

Software programs is a written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory

Afifah Ahmad said:

i dont really understand the part when dr. ravi explained to us regarding utility programs and software programs

can someone help me?

[Afifah Ahmad]

advantage of MICR

-can be read by both human and computer

-can detect forgery

disadvantage of MICR

-the ink is very expensive

Azrin Syaqir said:

input devices-magnetic ink character recognition...
Nadia Nadhira Airisal said:

Input devices =
Input devices are different pieces of hardware that are used to transfer data from the user to the processor 

Example of input devices =
mouse, keyboard, joystick , etc.

 

Output devices =
Output devices are any piece of computer hardware equipment used to transfer data from the processor to the user 

Examples = monitor, printer , speakers

 

Anything else to add ? 

 

[Nadia Nadhira Airisal]

System software basically consists of two major categories = a) Operating system and b) Utility programs

Operating system is the most important program that runs on a computer.
Every computer must have an operating system to run other programs.
Operating system perform basic tasks such as =

• recognizing input from the keyboard
• sending output to the display screen 
• keeping track of files and directories on the disk
• controlling disk drivers such as printers 

[Dain Razali]

Well, say in a school there are some form 5 students sitting for SPM. All their data entries are keyed into fields and each student has his or her own record (John's Record etc.) which contains many different fields such as name, date of birth, class etc. So an example of a file would be 'Form 5 Students' file since it contains all the records of form 5 students in that school. This is just an analogy so I hope it helps.

Asyraf Naim bin Jamal Shahid said:

We have learned that record is the collection of files. can anyone give me examples of a FILE ?

[0bptstdyzz21j]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_(computer_science)

[Afifah Ahmad]

its not the buffer that sends the interrupt, its the processor or the hard disk that gives the interrupt to inform that the other that they need to send more data i think

Mohamed Faiz bin Mohamed Razali said:

The buffer sends an interupt to ask for more data and to ask to stop sending data right?

Dain Razali said:

Most devices such as printers come with buffers. Buffers are usually at places where there is a difference between the transfer speed of 2 devices( where 1 is slower of faster than the other). One example of the use of a buffer is during data transfer from the Primary Memory ( Random Access Memory-RAM) to the Secondary Memory a.k.a Secondary Storage ( ROM ) and vice versa. For example, when we open a file in the computer, the operating system finds the data needed extracts it from the secondary storage. Since the transfer speed of secondary storage devices are extremely slow compared with that of the processor, the data is sent to the buffer while the processor carries on with other work to ensure the computer runs more efficiently. This is because if the data is sent from the secondary storage directly to the processor, the processor has to extract the data at the same speed as the secondary storage and is not free to do anything else. Hence, the buffer eliminates this problem. Once the buffer is full, it sends an 'interrupt signal' to the CPU (processor) to inform it that it is ready to transfer the data. Therefore, the data is then sent to the CPU at the same speed(speed of the processor) from the buffer and the CPU sends it to the RAM to be used. The buffer works the same the other way round too, where data from the RAM is sent to the CPU which transfers it to the buffer, and then the buffer saves it in the secondary storage. I hope I got it right... :/

Afifah Ahmad said:

hmm wat we learned yesterday was about utility programs, software, buffer, RAM, ROM (if i 4get 2 add anything pliz add it up ok)

utility programs 

-extra routines that are added to the operating system

-system programs are counted as utility

 

application software

-designed for specific tasks

-application packages = designed for specific tasks with user manual included

-tailor-made software = designed for specific users

-general purpose packages = for general purposes

 

integrated software

-consists of several parts and data can be shared between the application package

e.g. in microsoft office, when we use word, we can share the datas there into excel & powerpoint, but we cannot share the datas with adobe or notepad

 

SOMEONE UPDATE ABOUT BUFFER, ROM and RAM ok? 

 

[Nadia Nadhira Airisal]

Whats the difference of MICR and OMR ?

Afifah Ahmad said:

advantage of MICR

-can be read by both human and computer

-can detect forgery

disadvantage of MICR

-the ink is very expensive

Azrin Syaqir said:

input devices-magnetic ink character recognition...
Nadia Nadhira Airisal said:

Input devices =
Input devices are different pieces of hardware that are used to transfer data from the user to the processor 

Example of input devices =
mouse, keyboard, joystick , etc.

 

Output devices =
Output devices are any piece of computer hardware equipment used to transfer data from the processor to the user 

Examples = monitor, printer , speakers

 

Anything else to add ? 

 

[Muhammad Mujahid Lokman]

every alphabet on the keyboard is a character...how about the numbers and function key?

[3pi2mqtqk0utu]

im not sure in cie term what is the other name for off the shelf software...but in standard ways of saying it is a piece of ready to use software...for example windows os,anti virus, image editing software( photoshop) or any other software which you can use instantly after buying the products..

Afifah Ahmad said:

what is the other name for off-the-shelf software amir?

[Dain Razali]

You're right, Faiz

Mohamed Faiz bin Mohamed Razali said:

The buffer sends an interupt to ask for more data and to ask to stop sending data right?

Dain Razali said:

Most devices such as printers come with buffers. Buffers are usually at places where there is a difference between the transfer speed of 2 devices( where 1 is slower of faster than the other). One example of the use of a buffer is during data transfer from the Primary Memory ( Random Access Memory-RAM) to the Secondary Memory a.k.a Secondary Storage ( ROM ) and vice versa. For example, when we open a file in the computer, the operating system finds the data needed extracts it from the secondary storage. Since the transfer speed of secondary storage devices are extremely slow compared with that of the processor, the data is sent to the buffer while the processor carries on with other work to ensure the computer runs more efficiently. This is because if the data is sent from the secondary storage directly to the processor, the processor has to extract the data at the same speed as the secondary storage and is not free to do anything else. Hence, the buffer eliminates this problem. Once the buffer is full, it sends an 'interrupt signal' to the CPU (processor) to inform it that it is ready to transfer the data. Therefore, the data is then sent to the CPU at the same speed(speed of the processor) from the buffer and the CPU sends it to the RAM to be used. The buffer works the same the other way round too, where data from the RAM is sent to the CPU which transfers it to the buffer, and then the buffer saves it in the secondary storage. I hope I got it right... :/

Afifah Ahmad said:

hmm wat we learned yesterday was about utility programs, software, buffer, RAM, ROM (if i 4get 2 add anything pliz add it up ok)

utility programs 

-extra routines that are added to the operating system

-system programs are counted as utility

 

application software

-designed for specific tasks

-application packages = designed for specific tasks with user manual included

-tailor-made software = designed for specific users

-general purpose packages = for general purposes

 

integrated software

-consists of several parts and data can be shared between the application package

e.g. in microsoft office, when we use word, we can share the datas there into excel & powerpoint, but we cannot share the datas with adobe or notepad

 

SOMEONE UPDATE ABOUT BUFFER, ROM and RAM ok? 

 

[Muhammad Mujahid Lokman]

System Software have direct control and access to your computer hardware , and memory locations . They perform I/O operations on various memory locations , and control the hardware , to make the application software do a task . Operating systems , are the main examples for system software .

Exampls :
1) Microsoft Windows
2) Linux
3) Unix
4) Mac OSX
5) DOS
6) BIOS Software
7) HD Sector Boot Software
8) Device Driver Software i.e Graphics Driver etc
9) Linker Software
10) Assembler and Compiler Software

Application software run under System Software , and are made to do a specific task i.e ( Word Processing etc) , which have indirect access to the hardware (i.e Behind System Software) .

Examples :
Web browser, word processing software, spreadsheet software, database software, presentation graphics software. 

1) Opera (Web Browser)
2) Microsoft Word (Word Processing)
3) Microsoft Excel (Spreadsheet software)
5) MySQL (Database Software)
6) Microsoft Powerpoint (Presentation Software)
7) iTunes (Music / Sound Software)
8) VLC Media Player (Audio / Video Software )
9) World of Warcraft (Game Software)
10) Adobe Photoshop (Graphics Software)

 

while the OS is as asyraf said...

Asyraf Naim bin Jamal Shahid said:

Operating system is a type of software which is responsible for interacting with the user of the computer like microsoft windows XP,microsoft windows 98,microsoft windows vista and the latest WINDOW7..

Afifah Ahmad said:

can u give me examples of systems software, apps software and operating systems mujahid? so that i can see a clearer picture

Muhammad Mujahid Lokman said:

You would use an operating system on your pc/laptop to run all the processes and manage all the hardware and resources contained in your unit, also to manage the applications you have installed there.. whereas you would have system software or application software to sit on top of your OS to manage you day to day emailing, word processing, faxing, photos, music downloads etc...

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_system_sof...

Afifah Ahmad said:

can i know te difference between system software and operating system?

Muhammad Mujahid Lokman said:

System software is a computer software designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software

Asyraf Naim bin Jamal Shahid said:

On my opinion, System software refers to the files and programs that make up your computer's operating system. What about others ?

Afifah Ahmad said:

what's a system software? i think my notes on software are not complete