UTILITY

UTILITY PROGRAM

UTILITY PROGRAM ARE system software that assists users with controlling

or maintaining the operation of a computer, its

devices, or its software. Utility programs typically

offer features that provide an environment con-

ducive to successful use of application software.

For example, utility programs protect a computer

against malicious software and unauthorized

intrusions, manage files and disks, compress files,

play media files, and burn optical discs. (To learn

more about how to compress files, complete the

Learn How To 3 activity on page 189.)

One of the more important utility programs

protects a computer against malicious software,

or malware, which is a program that acts with-

out a user’s knowledge and deliberately alters the

computer’s operations. A computer virus is a type

of malicious software. For a technical discussion

about viruses and other malicious software, read

the High-T Talk article on page 178. Chapter 8

ech

discusses system software and utility programs in

more depth.

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Open source software is software provided

for use, modification, and redistribution. 

This software has no restrictions from the 

copyright holder regarding modification of 

the software’s internal instructions and its 

  redistribution. Open source software usually 

  can be downloaded from the Internet, often 

  at no cost. 

  • Shareware is copyrighted software that is 

    distributed at no cost for a trial period. To 

    use a shareware program beyond that period, 

    you send payment to the program developer. 

    Shareware developers trust users to send pay- 

    ment if software use extends beyond the stated 

    trial period. In some cases, a scaled-down version 

    of the software is distributed free, and payment 

    entitles the user to the fully functional product. 

    • Freeware is copyrighted software provided 

      at no cost by an individual or a company 

      that retains all rights to the software. Thus, 

      programmers typically cannot incorporate 

      freeware in applications they intend to sell. 

      The word, free, in freeware indicates the 

      software has no charge. 

      • Public-domain software has been donated 

        for public use and has no copyright restrictions. 

        Anyone can copy or distribute public-domain 

        software to others at no cost. 

COMPUTER SYSTEM

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

System software is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without having to be concerned with the low-level details such as transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display. Generally, system software consists of an operating system and some fundamental utilities such as disk formatters, file managers, display managers, text editors, user authentication (login) and management tools, and networking and device control software.

Application software, on the other hand, is used to accomplish specific tasks other than just running the computer system. Application software may consist of a single program, such as an image viewer; a small collection of programs (often called a software package) that work closely together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet or text processing system; a larger collection (often called a software suite) of related but independent programs and packages that have a common user interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office, which consists of closely integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.; or a software system, such as a database management system, which is a collection of fundamental programs that may provide some service to a variety of other independent applications.