Software systems Flashcards
(16 cards)
Outline types of software
source code- raw code produced by developers
Defines what they want software to do.
Open source- computer software with source code made evailable with a license which the copyright holder provides the rights tos tidy, change and distribute software.
Proprietary- doesn’t include source code.
Describe the concept of open source software
free licence/general public
Relaxed/ non-existent copyright restrictions
Built using community co-operation
Code is available for all to view, debug and rewrite.
Free from commercial pressures
Frequent integrations itch other software packages.
Several versions
High modularisation
Describe two forms of closed source software
bespoke- created for a single or small group of customers.
Identified need which no program can solve. Specific to business.
Expensive and reliance on software company to supply support
Off the shelf- buy ready made. E.g office. Doesn’t fully solve problems however cheaper and lots of support. Also familiar.
Describe presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint/ apple’s keyote
Create presentations.
Designed for projector.
Animations, multimedia, links, speaker notes,
Large text.
Visual appeal.
Mostly used in meetings and educational environments.
Describe desktop publishing
Allows creation of many types of publication such as manuals, posters and banners.
E.g. Microsoft publisher.
Allows user finer control over layout. Not designed for large amounts of text.
Otherwise word processing can’t o essays.
Templates/layout of text.
Also personal templates for a company
Describe drawing packages
bitmap-
Thousands of coloured pixels.
Most;y used for photos or drawings.
E,g. Adobe photoshop.
Advanced tools to manipulate bitmaps.
Important to start with high-quality image to cope with loss of fidelity .
Vector images:
Made up of lines and shapes that can be dynamically resized without loss of quality.
Used in diagrams. Data flow and flowcharts .
Describe database packages
databases used to store large amount of data.
E.g. bank records, health details. BBC website.
Content management.
Ability to search and sort data quickly.
Done by querying.
Microsoft access.
Describe mobile apps
small but powerful applications run on smartphones.
Access to Apple’s App Store and Google’s play store.
Apps are simple aas they require low processing power.
Developed in many programming languages and environments.
Apps for iPhones written in swift
Apps for android writeen in java.
Describe safety related systems
fly-by-wire aircraft.
Systems for recording emergency 999 ambulance requests. Traffic light, power statins.
Carefully controlled design tecvjniques.
Long and thorough testing
Powerful cpus never close to maximum capacity,
Backup Souter systems
Ability to manually override.
Describe weather forecasting
very complex
Impossible to simulate to perfect accuracy
Small differences in atmosphere can lead to big differences in the weather
Made by collecting quantitative data about current state.
Data like rainfall, temperature and wind speed transmitted and collected from thousands of sensors.
Then put into mathematical model,
Predictions made based on current conditions.
Parallel processing and distributed processing enables many computers to share the load because of the complexity of the processing required.
Collaboration across countries.
Describe computer aided design
use of computers for producing designs.
Hardware consists of graphics tablet and a graph plotter for output.
Specialised software can carry out geometric calculations necessary to produce accurate 2D and 3D represenattions.
Improve efficiency- enabling early visualisation of desig proposals, improve record keeping through better documentation and version control and promise team working,
Features:
Change part of drawing
Replicate any section
Use libraries of components
Use instructions
Zoom in for fine detail
Describe computer aided manufacture
computer attached to machines, drills and robots.
E.g. designing printed circuit boards.
Specifications, design, test, CAD, plotted out
Describe computer generated graphics and animation
graphics packages are used to create moving pictures one frame at a time to create an animated sequence.
Complex 3D graphics need to be rendered sp hat they can be effectively displayed.
Requires lots of calculations.
Animation also used in medical animation, education and training, forensic.
Describe automation
systems controlled by computers carrying out tasks.
Automated stock control systems
Control systems and robotics
Involve computer controlling a device e.g. washing machine, plane, industrial robot.
Has sensors for input. Output control a motor, light, heater.
Robots:
Associated with movement.
Work in environments hazardous for humans.
Tirelessly perform. Labour costs reduced. Quality of work consistent. Don’t need to be trained. Can work 24 hours a day.
Expensive
Risk of breakdown.
Malicious damage by hackers.
