Topic 4 Computer Software

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this Topic, you should be able to:
1. Define what is meant by computer software;
2. Explain the types and roles of operating systems (Using MS-Windows and its functions);
3. Explain other types of system software;
4. Describe what is meant by application software;
5. Explain major types of application software;
6. Explain the role of middleware and enterprise software; and
7. Describe three methods for acquiring computer software

INTRODUCTION

After learning about hardware let’s now discuss about another component called software. The
software is an important component of a computer system. Without software, a computer is
useless and cannot be used for any meaningful activities.
Computer software can be divided into two classes as shown in Figure 4.1:
1. Application software: A set of computer software developed to perform a specific task or
a business process. Examples of application software include word processing, computer
aided design, students’ information, payroll system, and games.
2. System software: This is the type of software that acts as intermediaries between the
hardware and the application software. System software includes operating systems,
language translators, utility programs, and performance monitors.

Figure 4.1: Classification of

computer software

Computer software is different

from computer hardware since
it is written instead of
manufactured. The process of
writing computer software is
called computer programming.
The person who is responsible
for developing computer
software is called the software
engineer or computer
programmer. The process of
developing computer software
will be discussed in Section
4.7.3. Figure 4.1: Computer software

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 59
4.1 OPERATING SYSTEMS
Operating system is the software that supervises the overall operation of a computer system. The
main function of an operating system is to provide a virtual machine that is easier to use and hide
all the complexity of the underlying computer hardware as shown in Figure 4.2.

This virtual machine environment is:

• Providing an interface between the user and the computer
hardware. When a user uses a computer system, he is not really
interacting with the computer hardware, but rather he is
interacting with the operating system.
• Managing all of the computer resources such as CPU, primary
storage, secondary storage, and Input-Output Peripherals.

Figure 4.2: Operating System and Computer Hardware

Two most important operating systems are UNIX and Microsoft Windows. UNIX is a dominant
operating system on high-end workstations and servers, while Microsoft Windows operating
system is widely used on personal computers (PC). The third operating system is LINUX, which
is similar to UNIX but is meant for personal computers. Another operating system that is also
popular nowadays is the OSX which is the operating system for Macbook computers. OSX is
also based on UNIX operating system.

4.1.1 Interacting with Operating System

Users tend to use one of the following interfaces for interacting with
computer systems. Each user interface is developed by various
professionals to meet different categories of users in computer
systems according to their abilities (user-abilities). The available
interfaces for users via operating system in this contemporary world
include
1) Command Line Interface (CLI),
2) Graphical User Interface (GUI),
3) Touch-based or direct manipulation interface, and
4) Anthropomorphic, voice-based or gesture-based interface.

In CLI user interface, commands are given by typing the text. For example: md simmons

Disk Operating System (DOS)

DOS simple means Disk Operating System. It is software that is loaded when the system is
switched on, to provide an environment for other application programs to run. Its function is to
organize the running of user programs and transfer of data between the various devices. In
addition, it monitors and controls the use of the hardware.

In GUI user interface, commands are given by pointing at icons or menus provided by the
system.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 60
4.1.2 Files, Processes, and Virtual Memory
Files and processes are two important resources of a computer system. These two resources,
however, are both physical resources but virtual resources created by the operating system.
Files enable us to store information in a computer system in an organized manner. A file
encompasses zero (0) or more records treated as unity, or anything on the storage device
meaningful to the user. Each file has a file name which is a string of characters that uniquely
identify each at a specific storage location or device to avoid duplications. Some of the functions
provided by the operating system for file handling are:
• Rename files
• Remove files
• Edit and update files
• Display the content of a file
• Protect files
Since there are a lot of files in a computer system, these files can be organized into directories (in
DOS) or folders (in windows). Different operating systems organise directories/folders in
different ways. It is possible to have single-level directory, two-level directory or multilevel
directory systems as shown in Figure 4.3.
Directory File

Root Directory Root Directory

Main Directory / Gh Tg Ng
A B C File Gh Tg Ng
User Directory
Single-level Directory
A B C A B File A Acc C A Lag Sub-directory

Multilevel Directory
Two-level Directory

Figure 4.3: Directory levels

FILES
A file encompasses zero (0) or more records treated as
a unity or any thing on the disk meaningful to the user.
Data is stored in secondary storage on the basis of
hierarchies in the context of database. The Figure
behind shows file hierarchy chart from top to down.
Edit command is used to create file in DOS nowadays.

Syntax
C:\>EDIT A [Enter]

1. at the DOS prompt, type edit

2. Leave a space
3. Type the file name (e.g. A)
4. Enter Figure 4.4: File hierarchy

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 61
FOLDERS (DIRECTORIES)
Folder (Directory) is an empty space created purposely to store files as well as sub-folders. The
purpose of a directory is to group files and speed searching of files from a storage location. There
are two graphical methods for displaying directories, Vertical and Horizontal methods. From the
classes of the directories are Root, Main, Sub, Sub-sub, etc. The root folder is any default folder
or directory from a storage device, may it be C: for harddisk, E: pendrive, etc. Any directory that
comes after the root is called Main Directory. A Sub Directory is also any folder that exists in the
main folder, follow by sub-sub directory respectively.

MAKING (FOLDER) DIRECTORY AND SUB-DIRECTORIES

Directory (Folder) is an empty space or cabinet created purposely to store files as well as sub-
directories

Keywords: - md
- cd
- cd..
- rd
- cd\
TO MAKE A MAY DIRECTORY
Syntax
C:\>md Gh [Enter]

5. at the DOS prompt, type md

6. Leave a space
7. Type the directory name (e.g. Gh)
8. Enter

CHANGING INTO A DIRECTORY OR WORKING INSIDE A DIRECTORY

Syntax
C:\>cd Gh [Enter]

1. at the DOS prompt, type cd

2. Leave a space
3. Type the directory name (e.g. Gh)
4. Enter

NB: You can follow the steps above to create sub or sub-sub directories

COMING OUT FROM A DIRECTORY

Syntax
C:\GH>cd.. [Enter] C:\GH\ACC>cd\ [Enter]

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 62
CASE STUDY_1
Directory graphically shows how your files are stored to speed up searching. You have been
contracted by an NGO to store their multinational associated files in your computer. The
programs are to store three different political parties from three different countries in Africa.The
project must be created on external drive (E:\) with the project tittle as ‘africdemocracy’ from
three countries on your own. Each country must have three political parties & a file of your
choice in each. Each political party must also have a file called “A”. Illustrate your answer in
vertical graphical form of your directory structure. Indicate each level whether Root, Main, etc to
suit your folder structure with squares for directories and circles for files.

Figure 4.5: Different types of directories structure

PROCESSES
A process is created by executing a program on a CPU. In
the earlier version of the operating system, only one
process can run a CPU. However, with the introduction of
faster hardware, many processes can run on a single CPU
at the same time. The management of many processes at
one time is called multitasking or multiprogramming. In
this environment, a process is executed until an
interruption occurs, for example, if the process requests
for input. While the input is handled, another process is
selected and executed. The task for choosing the next
process to run on the CPU is done by a component of the
operating system, known as the scheduler. So in this
environment, a process can be in various states as shown
in Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6: Process States

Since the switching among these processes occurs so rapidly, they appear to be executing at the
same time. The third type of resources provided by most operating systems is the virtual
memory. This virtual memory allows processes to have access to larger memory than is actually
provided by the main memory.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 63
Command(s)
An instruction to tell the computer to execute a specific task

CLS
For clearing the screen only at the command prompt or DOS prompt

Syntax
C:\>cls [Enter]

Copy
Use the copy command to copy file(s) from one location to another. This may be from one drive
to another, directory to folder or vice versa.

Syntax
C:\>copy simmons E: [Enter] - one file copied from c: to e: called simmons

C:\>copy simmons E\GH: [Enter] - one file copied from c: to e:\gh called simmons

E:\>copy *.* C: [Enter] - all files copied from e: to c:

E:\>copy S*.* C: [Enter] - all files begin with S copied from e: to c:

Other commands
Vol
Label
Ver
Date
Time
Tree
Del
Sort

4.1.3 Example 1: UNIX Operating System

In the early days of computers, each computer system has its own operating system. Examples of
these operating systems are given in Table 4.1.

Machine Operating System

IBM 360 System/360
IBM AS/400 OS/400
DEC PDP-11 DEC OS
Honeywell Honeywell Operating System
Table 4.3: Some old operating systems

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 64
However, things have changed after 1970, with the introduction of UNIX and MS-windows 1980
operating system.

4.1.4 Example 2: Microsoft Windows

When IBM introduced IBM PC in 1981, it came together with MS-DOS, an operating system
developed by Microsoft Incorporation. MS-DOS was very simple and only supported a single
process, which means that only one program can run at one particular time. The user interface to
this operating system is based on command line interface.

Microsoft windows is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) program (pictures) which is used in
organising the running of user programs and transfer of data between the various devices. It
monitors and controls the use of the hardware. In addition, it is a special set of instructions that
links hardware and other software programs together. MS-Windows is a multitasking unlike MS-
DOS. In the true sense of the word is the ability to allow a single user to perfume more than one
task at a time or to run more than one program simultaneously.

Once you learn how to use windows you can use the same basic procedures to control all
windows application software. Virtually all application software are designed to take advantage
of the windows use the same pull-down menu structures as windows to control processes such as
Undo command. In addition windows application software is usually more appealing. Because of
the graphical user interface, software written to work with windows also includes many sensible
features. For example enables you to use fonts and sizes on the screen as you create a file. Other
features like:
- Innovative, easy-to-use features (makes your computer easier to use with new and enhance
features)
- Improve reliability: (with new wizards, utilities, and resources that help keep your system
running smoothly)
- A faster operating system (a suite of programs designed to optimize your computer’s
efficiency, especially when used together, in terms of maintenance.
- True web integration
- More entertaining and fun.

To customising your desktop, taskbar, folders, menus, etc.

Icon
It is a diagrammatically representation set of programs in windows. Or can be defined as a
smaller picture that represents various types of System (Devices), Application (Programs),
Folders (Directories) and Files (Documents). An icon represents a running application or facility
whose window has been minimized or closed. That is in order to start an application or facility in
windows, the User ought to open into window format

There are three enclose items on the screen (dialog Box, Window, and Message Box)

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 65
Dialog box

Figure 4.7: Dialog box

Notes
➢ Windows does not minimize open dialog box
➢ To open a minimised window, click its button on the taskbar
➢ To restore your windows to their original state, right-click a blank area on the taskbar,
and then click Undo Minimise All

Window
A window is and enclosed area on the screen.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 66
Figure 4.8: Window

Launching a Program
All application programs run in a window. The window is an envelope area on the screen and
every window can be moved from one location to another. For example, if you open MS-Excel it
will appear in its own window.

Window Types

➢ Application Window: - contain a running application and a good example is the MS-
Excel
➢ Document Window: - Is said to contain data to be processed in any of the window
facilities. An example is a file (book) being processed in MS-Excel
➢ Folder Window: - It is mainly used for storing programs, files and sub-folders as well.

Other functions
Dialog box pars
How to create and manage icons
Creating window, parts, and controls

Using the windows accessories

- WordPad, Notepad, etc.
- How to manage file(s) such as Save, save As, etc.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 67
Message box

Figure 4.9: Message box

The Recycle Bin

Deleting a file/folder on a disk doesn’t mean that it has been deleted or gone permanently. The
recycle bin is the temporary location for deleted file(s) and folder(s). Unintentionally deleted
files and folders can be restored from the recycle bin. The drawback here is that, deleted files and
folders from any movable storage drive do not appear in the recycle bin. Therefore be extra
careful when deleting file(s) and folder(s) from any removable storage drive. Deleting anything
from the recycle bin means it is permanently gone.

4.1.5 Example 3: Linux Operating System

Linux is another operating system (OS) that can be used for personal computers. It was
developed by a Finnish student, Linus Torvalds. The first version of Linux was released in 1991.
The major release of Linux was version 1.0, issued in 1994. By this time, a vast amount of UNIX
software was ported to Linux, including over 1000 utility programs and X Windows. Many
different graphical user interfaces have also been written for Linux. One of them is called K
Desktop Environment or KDE (http://www.kde.org).
Linux is very popular due to its business model. It is free software. It can be downloaded from
various sites on the Internet. Linux is also considered to be the foundation of Open Source
Software. Users may use, copy, modify and redistribute the source and binary codes of Linux
freely. The only restriction is that all works derived from Linux may not be sold or redistributed
in binary form only.

4.1.6 Operating System for Mobile Devices

A mobile operating system is any an OS designed to suit computing devices such as
smartphones, iPads, and smartwatches. Mobile or computing devices normally have a small
primary and secondary storage. Thus, they require different types of operating systems. Some of
the operating systems for mobile devices are:
• Embedded Linux
• Palm OS
• Windows Mobile
• Symbian OS

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 68
Other examples of mobile operating systems are shown in the Figure below.

Figure 4.10: Some mobile operating systems

These operating systems are simpler than the normal operating systems and provide much less
functionalities. Windows Mobile is a compact operating system developed by Microsoft to be
used on devices such as PockectPC, Smartphone, and Portable Media Centers. It is designed to
be similar to desktop versions of Microsoft Windows. The first version of Microsoft Mobile
appears as Pocket PC 2000 Operating System.

4.2 OTHER TYPES OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE

4.2.1 Language Translator
Apart from operating systems, the most popular type of system software is language translators
or commonly known as compilers. The main function of a compiler
is to convert programs written in high-level languages into the
machine language as shown in Figure 4.11.

Machine language is a language that is understood by the CPU. It is

based on binary codes. This type of language is also known as the
low-level language. Another type of low-level language is called the
assembly language. This type of language allows instructions to be
represented by using names. High level language is a language that
is used by computer programmers to write computer programs.

Examples of high level languages are:

C; Pascal; Java; Ada; Visual Basic; Delphi;
Haskell; Prolog; LISP Figure 4.11: Function of a compiler

Examples of older high level programming languages include:

Algol; PL/1; POP-11; FORTRAN
High-level programming languages can be divided into various categories as shown below

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 69
Categories of high-level languages

Categories Examples of Languages

Structured Languages Pascal, C, Ada, Algol, PL-1
Functional Languages Haskell
Logic Programming Languages Prolog, LISP
Object-oriented Languages C++, Java, Python, PHP
Visual Languages Visual Basic, Bubble, Hypercard, Scratch

Some of the languages, for example Java, are not compiled to the
machine language, but to the virtual machine language. The virtual
machine for Java is known as Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The
advantage of using JVM is that a java program needs to be compiled
only once, and it can run on all machines that have the JVM.

4.2.2 Program Editor

Writing a computer program is done by using a software tool called the
program editor. This tool enables programmers to create a program file, edit the file and then
save the file. Some text editors are small and simple, while others offer a broad and complex
range of functionality. For example, two editors provided by UNIX operating systems are vi and
Emacs. Microsoft Windows come with the very simple editor known as Notepad.
Some of the common functionalities provided by the editors are:
✓ Search and replace;
✓ Cut, edit and paste;
✓ Undo and redo; and
✓ Text formatting.

Many programming languages are now supported by an Integrated Development Environment

(IDE). In this development environment, programmers can edit a program file, compile the
program and run the program by selecting the right icon or menu provided by the IDE. Some
IDE supports more than one language. An example of a multiple-language IDE is Eclipse, that
has Java as a base installed language. Eclipse also has plugins for C/C++, Python, Perl, Ruby,
Groovy, Fortran, Cobol, and PHP.

4.2.3 Authoring Tools

An Authoring Tool is a program that allows a non-programmer to easily create multimedia or
web-based application. The programming features provided by this tool are built in but hidden
behind buttons and other tools, so the author does not need to know how to program. Since this
tool is mainly designed for developing educational applications, it provides lots of graphics.
Some of the authoring tools for developing multimedia applications are Director, Adobe
Director, Authorware Professional, and Multimedia Toolbook.

4.2.4 System Utilities

The main role of system utilities is to support the operation, management, and users of a
computer system. Examples of these utilities are:

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 70
 ✓ Disk checker: Software that scans for errors in a disk in order to check the integrity of the
disk.
✓ System performance monitor: Software that monitors the performance of processes in the
computer system. Some of the performance measurements are processing time and
memory space utilised by the process.
✓ Anti-virus software: Software that protects a computer system from virus attack. The
main role of anti-virus is to identify, neutralise, and eliminate virus.

4.3 PERSONAL APPLICATION SOFTWARE

There are a large number of application software available covering various types of computer
applications. The most popular type of application software is personal application software. The
main aim of personal application software is to help users increase their productivity. There are
various applications or environments with different naming files. The Table below shows sample
software applications and their associated attributes.

Generic Name Example File Name Element (consist of)

Word processing MS-word Document Pages
Desktop publishing Corel Draw, MS- Drawing, Publisher pages
Publisher
Spreadsheet MS-Excel, Lotus Book sheets
Presentation MS-Power Point Presentation Slides
Websites Dreamweaver, HTML Websites webpages

4.3.1 Document Preparation Software

Most documents are now prepared by using computers. There are a number of software
applications that can be used for this purpose. These applications can be classified into:
➢ Word processing software: A type of software that allows user to edit text. One of the
earliest word processing software is Wordstar. Most people are now using Microsoft
Word and WordPerfect.
➢ Text formatter: A type of software that will accept a file prepared by using an editor and
then format the file based on the markup provided in the file. Two most popular text
formatters are nroff and LaTEX.
➢ Desktop publishing: This is a type of software that can produce high quality camera-
ready documents. An example of this software is PageMaker and Microsoft Publisher.

4.3.2 Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets software is a type of computer software that allows users to enter numbers into an
electronic ledger sheet. This software also provides facilities for users to enter formula to obtain
a calculated answer. The first spreadsheet software was VisiCalc which was created by Harvard
Business School student by the name of Daniel Bricklin in 1978.

4.3.3 Data Management

Data management software is a type of software that provides facilities for storage, retrieval and
manipulation of related data for personal application. An example of a popular data management
software is Microsoft Access.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 71
4.3.4 Presentation Software
Presentation software is the application software that is normally set for seminars or lectures. An
example of presentation software is Microsoft PowerPoint.

4.3.5 Computer-Aided Software

Computer aided design software is the application used by designers in designing and building
production prototypes in software and testing them as computer objects.
4.3.6 Software Suites
Personal application software is normally packaged into software suites. An example of a
software suite is Microsoft Office which is a collection of software such as Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Another popular software suite is OpenOffice,
which is a free cross-platform office application suite. It is available for a number of different
operating systems and supports over 45 languages. It was originally known as StarOffice, an
office suite developed by StarDivision. This company was acquired by Sun Microsystems in
August 1999.

4.4 GROUPWARE
Groupware allows people to communicate and share information. This type of software can be
divided into two categories: computer supported cooperative work and computer supported
social computing.

4.4.1 Communication Tools

Electronic communication tools send messages, files, data, or documents between people and
hence facilitate the sharing of information. Examples include:
• Synchronous conferencing;
• e-mail;
• Faxing;
• Voice mail; and
• Wikis.

4.4.2 Conferencing Tools

Electronic conferencing tools facilitate the sharing of information, but in a more interactive way.
Examples include:
➢ Internet forums (also known as message boards or discussion boards) · a virtual
discussion platform to facilitate and manage online text messages.
➢ Online chat- a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage real-time text messages.
➢ Instant Messaging.
➢ Telephony _ telephones allow users to interact.
➢ Videoconferencing _ networked PCs share video and audio signals.
➢ Data conferencing _ networked PCs share a common whiteboard that each user can modify.
➢ Application sharing _ users can access a shared document or application from their
respective computers simultaneously in real time.
➢ Electronic meeting systems (EMS) _ originally these were described as "electronic
meeting systems," and they were built into meeting rooms. These special purpose rooms
usually contained video projectors interlinked with numerous PCs; however, electronic
meeting systems have evolved into web based, any time, any place systems that will

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 72
 accommodate "distributed" meeting participants who may be dispersed in several
locations.

4.4.3 Collaborative Management Tools

Collaborative management tools facilitate and manage group activities. Examples include:
➢ Electronic calendars (also called time management software) - schedule events and
automatically notify and remind group members
➢ Project management systems - schedule, track, and chart the steps in a project as it is
being completed
➢ Workflow systems - collaborative management of tasks and documents within a
knowledge-based business process
➢ Knowledge management systems - collect, organise, manage, and share various forms of
information
➢ Prediction markets - let a group of people predict together the outcome of future events
➢ Extranet systems (sometimes also known as 'project extranets') _ collect, organise,
manage and share information associated with the delivery of a project (eg: the
construction of a building)
➢ Social software systems - organise social relations of groups
➢ Online spreadsheets - collaborate and share structured data and information

4.4.4 Social Computing Tools

The social computing tools are the social media platforms that support trusted and untrusted
users across the world to interact. The social media platforms are grouped into two, namely;
social media platforms and social networking platforms. The social media platforms are those
that are opened to the public to participate without any restriction. Examples of social media
platforms or groupware are Facebook, Facebook, and Friendster. Facebook is a free-access
website is owned and operated by Facebook, Inc. It was created by Mark Zuckerberg while he
was a student at Harvard University. Users can join networks to connect and interact with other
people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to
notify friends about themselves. The Friendster site was founded by Jonathan Abrams in March
2002. Friendster was developed for networking individuals in virtual communities.

The social networking platforms are those for only trusted group of users to share information.
Examples include WhatsApp and telegram.

4.5 MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE

Multimedia is a combination of a variety of media (text, audio, video, animation, graphics and
images). Multimedia software is a type of software that enables multimedia presentation of
information. One example of multimedia software is multimedia-based courseware.
A lot of computer games are now available in the market. Most of these computer games are
multimedia-based.

4.6 MIDDLEWARE AND ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE

Enterprise software refer to those applications that are important for the operation of an organisation.
The most important application software for an organisation is the computer-based information
systems. This system is application software that supports the process of storing, analysing, and
dissemination of information for a specific purpose. Most of the enterprise software are complex and

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 73
involve a lot of application modules running on heterogeneous platforms. To enable all these
application modules to be able to be linked together, there is a need for special software. This type of
software is called the middleware.
Computer platform refers to the type of computer hardware and operating system being used.

Heterogeneous platform is a collection of computer systems that involves variety of computer

hardware and operating systems. One of the major problems in communication between
application modules running on heterogeneous platforms is that each module may use different
data format.

4.7 METHODS FOR SOFTWARE ACQUISITION

The process of software acquisition must be started with requirement analysis. During this
analysis, the exact requirement of the software will be identified and a software specification
document will be produced. We then have a number of options:
(a) Search for publicly available freeware or shareware;
(b) Search for commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS); and
(c) Search for similar software that is currently being used by other organisations.

Once the software is identified, it needs to be evaluated to ensure that it really satisfies the
requirement set in the software specification document. If it is not, some customisation process
may need to be done. Otherwise, we have to adopt the next possible option that is to develop the
software from the beginning.

4.7.1 Freeware and Shareware

Freeware is software that is given for free. This type of software can be divided into two groups:
freeware that is available in binary codes and open-source software. Examples of open-source
software are:
➢ GNU suite of software, developed by Free Software Foundation;
➢ Linux Operating System;
➢ Apache Web Server;
➢ Sendmail SMTP;
➢ Perl programming language;
➢ Netscape Mozilla web browser; and
➢ Sun’s StarOffice application suites.

Shareware is similar to freeware, except that the developers of the software expect a little
financial contribution from the users.

4.7.2 Commercial Off-the-shelf software (COTS)

This is the type of software that is sold by the software vendors. In order to protect their software
or products from being copied and distributed illegally, these types are normally copyrighted and
thus, they are protected by the copyright laws. The enforcement of the copyright laws is done by
Software Publishers Association (SPA). To use copyrighted software legally, a user must
purchase a license from the software vendor. Some of these licenses require users to pay for the
licenses annually.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 74
Another issue related to COTS is software upgrade. Software vendors always revise their
software and sell new versions of the software. In most cases, this implies that users must acquire
new license to be able to use the new version of the software.

The relationship between Internet, Extranet, and Intranet

Internet: - it is a network of networks. There has been a dramatic growth in the use of Internet for banks
in Ghana communication. The Internet provides an effective, immediate and powerful method for banks
to communicate all sorts of issues. This exposes all the banks to the security risks that go with the
connection to the Internet. This Internet is really just a backbone connection that enables every computer
in the world to connect to every other computer. This gives criminals a direct means of reaching any and
every bank information in Ghana that is connected to the Internet. Though there is a firewall that provides
some security measures to prevent unauthorised users for accessing other confidential or private
information. The relationship between Internet, Firewall, Extranet, and Intranet that allows
communication between millions of connected computers worldwide is shown in the Figure ##

Extranet: - It is a private network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity, and possibly the
public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization’s information or operations
with suppliers, vendors, customers or other business to do remittances to and from overseas, e.g. Western
Union money Transfer. A customer can withdraw or deposit money at any branch of the bank without
going to the parent branch.

Intranet: - It is a private network within a single company like Ghana Commercial bank using the
Internet technologies or standard to enable employees anywhere in within the firm to share information
such as memos. Financial managers can now communicate with their staff effectively to perform routing
activities via intranet.

The Internet
Firewall
The worldwide, Extranet
a public space Internet
accessible by Intranet Company only
anyone Internet Internet

Suppliers,
customers,
collaborators
Figure ##: a conceptual diagram among Internet, Firewall, Extranet, and Intranet

Using firewall to prevent criminals

A firewall helps to keep your computer more secure. It restricts information that comes to your computer
from other computers, giving you more control over the data on your computer and providing a line of
defence against people or programs (including viruses and worms) that try to connect to your computer
without invitation.

Dr. Ohene-Bonsu Simmons, Ph.D. GCTU/ Intr. Comp. Systems Topic 4 Computer software Page 75