TYPES OF UTILITIES

some important utilities are given below :

1. TEXT EDITOR : This utility program is used for creating, editing text files. Using this program any text manner (generally in English like language) can be typed and saved on a disk file. This file can be edited, corrected and also retrieved any time etc. It supports special commands for text editing i.e. you can insert, delete, find, replace characters, lines and paragraphs etc.

2. BACKUP UTILITY : This program facilitates the backing up of disk. Back up means duplicating the disk information so that in case of any damage or data-loss, this backed up data may be used.The backed up data may be restored when needed i.e. if your original files are damaged or lost.

UTILITIES

Utilities are those application programs that assist the computer by performing  housekeeping functions like backing up disk or scanning/cleaning viruses or arranging information etc.

3. COMPRESSION UTILITY : This program facilitates compression of files. Large files can be compressed so that they take less storage area. when needed, these compressed files can be exploded back to their original form. By compression, the files are stored in a special format that takes less space. However, these compressed files cannot be directly used, they need to be exploded back to their original form before they can be worked upon.

4. DISK DEFRAGMENTER : This utility program attempts to minimise the fragmentation on your disk. A file is fragmented when it becomes too large for your computer to store in a single loaction on a disk. When this happen, your computer splits the file up and store it in a pieces. You can use framented files, but it takes your computer longer to access them.

5. ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE : This utility program ensures virus-free work environment. A computer virus is a computer program that can inject other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a copy of itself. A virus not only copies itself but also makes the computer system behave abnormally. For instance, unknown or unasked messages may get flashed or unwanted music gets played or unwanted graphical displays might occur

MAJOR CATEGORIES OF PACKAGES

Some major and most common categories of packages are :

(i) WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE -  Word processing software is used to manipulate a text document, such as a resume or a report. You typically enter text by typing, and the software provides tools for copying, deleting and various types of formatting. Some of the functions of word processing software include:

•     Creating, editing, saving and printing documents.
•     Copying, pasting, moving and deleting text within a document.
•     Formatting text, such as font type, bolding, underlining or italicizing.
•     Creating and editing tables.
•     Inserting elements from other software, such as illustrations or photographs.
•     Correcting spelling and grammar. 

  

  Fig. 1 word processing software

Electronic cutting and pasting of words, lines, paragraphs and texts from other sources can be achieved in a flash. All these and much more are offered by the word processing packages. In other words, a qualified text processing package gives you everything and much more than what you could achieve before the advent of the computer.
You can use a word processor to create almost any kind of document be it a term paper, business letter, thesis work, legal document, newsletter and even a book.
many word processors are available in the market. Some popular ones are : wordstar, word, wordperfect, softword etc.

(ii) ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS - Another very popular package is electronic spreadsheet.An electronic spreadsheet is a program that accepts data values in tabular form and allows users to manipulate/calculate/analyze data in the desired manner. Spreadsheets not only allows manipulation of data but also can generate graphs and charts to show the relationships among numbers more widely.

fig. 2 electronic spreadsheet

Like most elements in the computer world, spreadsheet have come a long way since they were first developed. Today, many spreadsheets are three dimensional, allowing you to create not just a single worksheet but a stack of them with each sheet linked electronically to the others.

There are numerous spreadsheet packages available in the market.Some popular ones are : Lotus 1-2-3, excel, quattroPro etc.

(iii) DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS(DBMS) - A basic philosophy behind the efficient use of a desktop computer is to avoid, or at least reduce, the drudgery and monotony of carrying out a task which is either absolutely routine or highly repetitive in nature. Handling and analyses of a large volume of repetitive data fall in this category. Therefore, a desktop computer is ideally suited for such purposes, subject to the limitations imposed by its performance versatility and speed.
The skill in handling data has resulted in a resulted in a number of practical and highly efficient software packages,ranging from financial analyses to hospital, library and institution management. In particular, for shops, small business establishments, schools, collages, universities, research institutions, small manufacturing units, professionals and individuals, the capability for data analyses and data-based management has turned out to be a bonanza. Indeed, virtually any type of data based management service can be provided by a desktop computer.

Fig. 3. database management system

Database management software extends your ability to organize collections of data stored in your computer and provides tools for listing subsets of the data that meet specified criteria. For example, when you organize information with index cards, you generally arrange it in some logical order such as alphabetically by name or datawise or citywise or in the increasing order of amount etc. etc. Also records meeting a specific criteria may also be selected by setting filter conditions. For instance, you may view the records of only those employees who are in dapartment 'sales'. All this and much more is possible through database management packages.
Like other package, there are numerous DBMSs flocking the market. Some popular ones are foxpro, Access , Oracle etc.

(iv) DESKTOP PUBLISHING PACKAGES - What is still more is Desk Top Publishing (DTP) using a computer. As the name suggests, you get everything that you can achieve by the  typesetting method, indeed much more, in a substantially shorter timeframe. Apart from composing the text, its layout, line drawings, charts and graphs can be easily created and included in the main body of the text using standard programs. scanners are available for black and white or colour pictures to be included in the main body of the text using standard programs. The design and layout of complete book or journal can be achieved without much trouble using a suitable DTP package.

(v) GRAPHICS, MULTIMEDIA AND PRESENTATION APPLICATIONS - Perhaps the most spectacular tasks performed by computer involve graphics and animation packages. Apart from the capability of drawing various types of charts, graphs and line diagrams and text, headlines and banners in a number of attractive fonts, these packages are capable of producing like-life drawings with or without animation. Much of the computer graphics and animation that you see on your television can be produced by the computer. This skill has immensely improved the quality and efficacy of educational, commercial and other audio-visual presentations, lecture-demonstration programs and mass communication, in general. Ultimately, it is the limit of human ingenuity which may restrict the application of the seemingly limitless graphics and animation capabilities of your computer.
Presentation graphics is another specialized  type of graphics software. These programs are  used to create professional looking visual aids for an audience. The visual aids can be computer images, papers printouts or photographics transparencies

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM

There are different types of operating systems available, which require different types of hardware to run upon.

(i) SINGLE PROGRAM OPERATING SYSTEM :- As the name suggests, this operating system is single user operating system, so only one user program can be supported and executed by it at any point of time.

(ii) MULTIPROGRAM OPERATING SYSTEM :- Unlike single program OS, this is multiuser OS. It supports multiprogramming i.e. more than one user can be supported by it, therefore, more than one user programs are loaded and active in the main store at the same time. These active programs are executed using some techniques one by one.

(iii) TIME SHARING OPERATING SYSTEM :- This OS uses the time sharing technique. each active user program is given a fair share of CPU time, if the time elaspes or an I/O operation is requested, CPU shifts over to the next job waiting and the previous program is put to wait or handed over to I/O manager. The active programs are scheduled for execution using certain job scheduling techniques.

(iv) REAL TIME OPERATING SYSTEM :- In real time OS, the job have fixed dealines and the jobs have to be completed within their dealines. The system performance is measuerd by its ability to complete within its dealine, this situation is called deadline overrun. An efficient real OS is that which gives minimum possible dealine overrun.

(v) MULTIPROCESSING OS :- The multiprocessing OS is capable od handling more than one processors as the jobs have to be executed on more than one processor. The multiprocessing OS should be capable of loadsharing in case of identical processors so that the system's efficiency improves. In case of unidentical processors, the multiprocessing OS should be able to control the super processor and in turn control the working of slave processors.

(vi) INTERACTIVE OS :- These Operating system are interactive in nature. These provide GUI interface to facilitate move and easy interaction to the user.