First of all, it should be said that the necessary computer programs for a resume can vary greatly depending on the specifics of your activity. Thus, those services that a web designer must have are not at all similar to those that are useful to an accountant. Therefore, as when filling out any other resume items, you should not write too much in this column. But you shouldn’t limit yourself to a monosyllabic phrase. The employer doesn't know anything about you. Where is the guarantee that you won’t end up being assigned a task that you can’t handle?

PC proficiency levels

When choosing computer programs for your resume, it is worth knowing that there are several levels of computer proficiency as such. They should under no circumstances be confused in order to avoid later unpleasant and awkward situations. Therefore, we will consider each level separately.

1. Beginner

Basic computer skills mean you have an understanding of what operating system(most often this is Windows), you know about its main components and capabilities. This level of PC proficiency assumes that you can easily install new program, find the required item in the menu, copy or move files, open and close a document, etc. What computer programs do you need to master? For a resume of an applicant who claims to have basic PC knowledge, it is important that it contains information about the ability to use the basic (standard) applications of the system. That is, the same calculator, notepad, media player and others.

2. Medium

In this case, in addition to basic services, the ability to work with office applications should also be included in computer programs for a resume. Most widely used product package Microsoft Office. First of all, you need to be fluent in MS Word, be able to create and edit tables in MS Excel (as well as make calculations using formulas). Some positions also require knowledge (applications for creating and managing databases), Power Point (presentation editor). In addition to entering data, it is important to be able to create tables, graphs, charts, change its design), etc. The ability to work with browsers and quickly search for information on the Internet is desirable.

3. Confident

Many people, when filling out the “Computer skills” column, thoughtlessly write that they “have PC proficiency at the level of a confident user.” To avoid misunderstandings, remember: confident computer skills assume that you understand not only standard and office applications, but also have some skills and experience with highly specialized programs necessary for your line of work. Here you need to choose what is most suitable in a particular situation. For example, a web designer need not mention that he knows how to use the 1C: Accounting service, but about his knowledge of working with Adobe Photoshop and other experiences working with different CMSs need to be said.

The ability to work on the Internet is an important advantage for a candidate

The item “Proficiency in computer programs” in a resume, as you have already seen, is of great importance. Skills related to working on the World Wide Web can give you additional weight in the eyes of the employer. If you use it well search engines, quickly find relevant and reliable information, know how to work with you know where and how to place press releases and company advertisements, are well versed in various forums and in social networks- have no doubt that for the owners of the firm or company you will be of great value as an employee.

What if you have minimal or no PC skills?

There is no point in talking once again about how important the computer programs you know are for a resume. A list that includes a large number of applications useful for working in a particular position is guaranteed to attract the attention of the employer. But what if your ability to use a computer is at the level of a beginner, and you really want to get a position? Let’s say right away that in some cases desire alone is not enough. At the same time, sometimes you can compensate for this shortcoming by mentioning in “Personal Qualities” quick learning and a willingness to constantly learn something new.

And, of course, don’t waste your free time: by mastering several new programs, you will significantly increase your ranking in the labor market!

Data Bank (BnD) is a system of specially organized data - databases, software, technical, language, organizational and methodological tools designed to ensure centralized accumulation and collective multi-purpose use of data.

Database (DB)- a named collection of data reflecting the state of objects and their relationships in the subject area under consideration.

Database management system (DBMS) is a set of language and software tools designed for creating, maintaining and sharing a database by many

by users.

Programs that users use to work with a database are called

applications. In general, many different databases can work with one database.

applications. For example, if a database models a certain enterprise, then to work with it

an application can be created that serves the personnel accounting subsystem, another application can be dedicated to the work of the employee payroll subsystem, a third application works as a warehouse accounting subsystem, a fourth application is dedicated to

planning the production process. When considering applications that work with one

database, it is assumed that they can work in parallel independently of each other, and

it is the DBMS that is designed to ensure the operation of many applications with a single database in such a way

in such a way that each of them runs correctly, but takes into account all changes to the database made by other applications.

Benefits of using a database

Let's consider what benefits the user receives when using the database:

    Compactness - information is stored in a database, there is no need to store multi-volume paper files

    Speed ​​- the speed of information processing (searching, making changes) by a computer is much higher than manual processing

    Low labor costs - no tedious work required handmade above data

    Applicability - always up-to-date information available

Additional benefits appear when using the database in a multi-user environment

environment, since it becomes possible to carry out centralized data management.

  1. Life cycle of BnD. Users.

Like any software-organizational-technical complex, a data bank exists in time and space. It has certain stages of its development (life cycle):

1. Design

2. Implementation

3. Operation

4. Modernization and development

5. Decommissioning

At each stage of its existence, different categories are associated with the data bank

users. Let us define the main categories of users and their role in the functioning of the data bank.

End users

Depending on the characteristics of the created data bank, the circle of its end users may

vary significantly. These may be random users accessing the database from time to time

time to obtain some information, and there may be regular users. As

random users can be considered, for example, possible clients of your company,

viewing a catalog of your products or services with a generalized or detailed description of both. Regular users can be your employees who work with special

programs developed for them that provide automation of their activities during

performing their official duties. For example, a manager planning work

service department of a computer company has at its disposal a program that helps him plan and distribute current orders, monitor the progress of their implementation, and order the necessary components from the warehouse for new orders. The main principle is that end users should not be required to have any special computer knowledge or language skills.

Databank administrators

This is a group of users who, at the initial stage of developing a data bank, are responsible for its optimal organization from the point of view of the simultaneous operation of many endpoints.

users, at the operational stage is responsible for the correct operation of this information bank in multi-user mode. At the stage of development and reorganization, this group of users is responsible for the possibility of correct reorganization of the bank without changing or stopping its current operation.

Application developers and administrators

This is a user group that functions during the design, creation and

reorganization of the data bank. Application administrators coordinate the work of developers

when developing a specific application or group of applications combined into a functional subsystem. Specific application developers work with that portion of the database information that is required for a specific application.

Not every data bank can accommodate all types of users. During development

information systems using desktop DBMS data bank administrator,

the application administrator and the developer often existed as one person. However, when building modern complex enterprise databases that are used to automate all or most of the business processes in a large firm or corporation, there may be both groups of application administrators and development departments. The most complex responsibilities are assigned to the database administrator group.

In the professional skills section or additional information many indicate computer knowledge. But not everyone can make a list computer programs for a resume. Of course, it’s best to only indicate software that you really know how to work with. After all, the recruiter may ask you to show your skills right at the interview.

Writing rules

HR officers advise writing about computer skills even to those people who are applying for a position not related to working on a PC. When describing your level of proficiency in this technique, you can indicate a list of programs that you know how to use. You also need to write down at what level you know the computer. You can indicate this as follows:

  • confident PC user;
  • average level;
  • entry-level computer skills.

But it’s not worth describing in detail about your knowledge of certain programs. Each applicant can use this example of writing this column:

Advanced user. Ability to work with basic MS Office programs (Access, Excel, Power Point, Word, WordPad), graphic editors (Picture Manager, CorelDRAW), programs for sending and receiving electronic correspondence (Outlook Express). I can search quickly necessary information on the Internet, I can work with different browsers(Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Amigo, Internet Explorer). Good knowledge of the features of the Windows operating system.

The universal version of this section may look slightly different:

Intermediate PC skills. Ability to work with MS Office programs (experience with Excel, Word), search and download necessary information via the Internet (worked with Opera browsers, Firefox), I can send emails.

Specifics of professions

There are a number of specialties for which it is necessary to list knowledge of programs that help to work. Of course, it’s better to start the description with general information about the level of computer skills and the ability to work with basic programs. For example, in an accountant’s resume this column might look like this:

Confident computer user. Knowledge of basic Microsoft programs Office, such as MS Access, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, ability to work with email (including Outlook Express, Mirramail, EmailOpenViewPro). Excellent Internet skills in various browsers (worked in Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others). Knowledge of specialized computer programs: 1C: Accounting 7.7 and 8, Parus, Client-Bank systems.

Too large a list listing all kinds of software can have the opposite effect: the employer will decide that your knowledge is very superficial.

It would be nice if an applicant for the position of sales manager, in addition to the list of basic PC programs, also indicates knowledge of specialized ones. In his resume, the specified section of the “professional skills” column may look like this:

Level of competent user. Skills in searching for specialized information on the Internet, experience working with various browsers (including Explorer, Opera, Chrome and others). Knowledge of the basics of working with operating rooms Linux systems and Windows, basic office programs, text and graphics editors (Word, WordPad, PowerPoint, Access, Paint, Excel, Photoshop). Skills in working with specialized systems "BEST", 1C:Enterprise (specification "Trade and Warehouse"), experience working with CRM system regulating relationships with clients.

If the position requires more in-depth knowledge certain programs, then they must be specified. So, for the position of PHP programmer, in addition to the ability to work with a PC, you may need the following: knowledge of PHP, social media API, WordPress API, CSS, HTML, JS, CSS.

In the latter case, you need to focus on your knowledge and the employer’s requirements.

If mastering new programs does not cause you any difficulties, this is worth noting at the end of the section.

General information about the operating system
All variety software(software) according to its functions is classified into system and application software.

System software is used to support the operation of other programs and allows the operation and configuration of machine hardware. System software includes:

Operating system (OS). A set of programs that control the random access memory, processor, external devices and files that conduct a dialogue with the user.

Dialog shells (shell programs). OS add-ons that provide a user-friendly interface.

Service software (Utilities). Disk maintenance programs ((copying, formatting, etc.). Programs for compressing files on disks (archivers). Antivirus programs and etc.

Application software are programs with which the user solves his problems. information tasks without resorting to programming. Application software includes:

BY general purpose:

Text editors

Graphic editor

DBMS (databases)

Spreadsheets

Communication (network) programs

Computer games

Special purpose software:

Accounting packages

Computer-aided design (CAD) systems

Math packages

Expert systems

Pedagogical software

Operating system - special program, which organizes a dialogue between the user and the computer, controls the distribution and use of machine resources, manages the exchange between the computer and those connected to it peripheral devices, controls the file structure of the disk.

The most famous operating systems are MS-DOS, UNIX, WINDOWS.

A file is a named area of ​​memory on an external storage device.

The file name consists of the file name itself and an extension, for example, turbo.exe. The extension usually indicates the file type, and the number of letters in it should not exceed three. Table 1 shows examples of file types and their extensions.

Table 1

File types and their extensions

File type

Extension

Text file

Archive files

Arj, .zip, .rar

Executable files

Com, .exe, .bat

File created in Ms Word Application

File created in Ms Excel Application

File created in Ms Power Point Application

A directory is a named set of files and subdirectories. In the Windows operating system, directories are called folders. Figure 1 shows an example of a multi-level file structure of drive C:

^ Fig. 1. Multi-level file structure

The root directory is the first level directory and is indicated by a "\" after the drive name. In the example above, the second-level directories are the IVANOV and PETROV directories, which in turn are subdirectories of the root directory. IN root directory there is also a file fin.com. The third-level directories DATA and PROG are subdirectories of the IVANOV directory, and the IVANOV directory is a superdirectory for them. The PROG directory contains three files pr1.doc, pr2.doc, pr3.doc. The PETROV directory contains three third-level directories TEXTS, DATA, EXE, which each contain one file doc1.txt, task.dat, prog.exe, respectively.

A file's path is a string containing the hierarchical sequence of directories in which the file is located. For example, for the file pr2.doc the access path will be: \IVANOV\PROG\

The full file name is a string that contains the drive name, the file access path and the file name. For example, for the file pr2.doc the full file name will be: C:\IVANOV\PROG\pr2.doc.
^ Basic concepts of the Windows operating system Objects of the Windows operating system
Windows operates with a number of objects. Any object has its own name, graphic designation (in the literature it is called differently - pictogram, icon, badge) and properties. Name and icon make it easy to distinguish this object from others. Properties define an object's characteristics, capabilities, and behavior in the Windows world. The user can influence the state of an object by changing its properties. Of course, different objects have different properties, but viewing and changing them are implemented in the same way for all objects. In Windows there are a large number of objects of the most diverse nature (Fig. 2.). Let's take a closer look at them.

Documents are objects containing this or that information: texts, pictures, sounds, etc. Development multimedia capabilities computer technology means that some documents may contain multiple types of information at the same time, such as moving images and sound.

Programs are used to process documents - these are unique tools for influencing documents. They are often also called Applications. There is a stable connection between individual programs and documents: the text editor works with text documents, a phonograph program plays sounds, etc.

A group of documents of the same type, as well as programs for processing them, can be placed in shared folder. A folder is another, larger Windows object. Unlike documents and programs, which are simple and “indivisible” objects, a folder can contain other objects, including new folders; in a particular case, the folder may be empty.

Let's move on to even larger logical objects that can contain folders, documents and programs. These are the most abstract Windows objects; these include the Desktop, the Recycle Bin and some other “office-type” objects, so to speak. Their names are based on the user’s deep everyday associations and are designed to make it easier for him to master the terminology.

^ Fig. 2. Windows object structure

On the desktop you can lay out the documents necessary for work and the tools for processing them - programs.

Objects that have become unnecessary are placed in the recycle bin. As in everyday life, an object can be removed from the basket and used again. Only after a special operation - emptying the recycle bin - does the object really disappear and become inaccessible.

All of the objects we've looked at so far are logical because they don't correspond to any particular piece of computer hardware. In contrast to logical objects, physical objects, on the contrary, are associated with devices that actually exist in the computer. This primarily includes disk drives (flexible and hard drives) magnetic disks, optical CD ROM), printers and objects accessible over the network.

All physical objects are combined into a single collective object called ^My Computer. In addition to the previously discussed objects, My Computer contains another specific logical component - the Control Panel, which is designed as a folder in which all kinds of computer settings are stored. By its nature, the Control Panel is a collection utilities to change the most general properties of the system, data about which is stored in the system database - the registry.

Another important generalized object is ^Taskbar - displays the name of each open window, which makes navigation very easy when there are a large number of windows on the screen.

Also on the taskbar there is an object - home Windows button- Start button.

In addition to the listed objects, there are many other objects. Elements such as folder name, buttons, lists, etc. are also objects. Any Windows application also has a set of objects unique to it.
^Worker Windows table
After turning on the computer, some devices are checked and the operating system is loaded. Depending on the number of programs installed on your computer, this can be a fairly lengthy process. The signal for its end is the appearance of the Windows 2000 desktop image on the screen (Fig. 2.3).

Fig..3. Windows desktop

The desktop is a graphical environment on which objects and controls of the Windows operating system are displayed. Objects are displayed as a variety of icons, and the main control element is the taskbar, located along the bottom border of the screen.
^ Desktop icons and shortcuts
An icon is a graphical representation of an object. Actions with an icon are equivalent to actions on an object. For example, copying an icon results in copying the object, deleting an icon results in deleting the object itself, etc.

A shortcut is only a pointer to an object. Therefore, copying a shortcut will create a copy of the shortcut itself, but not the object; deleting the shortcut will not affect the object, but will only remove the pointer to it. You can create as many shortcuts pointing to the same object as you like, saving them in different places. Since the shortcut is only a pointer, it takes up very little disk space, but at the same time provides easy access to the object associated with it from different places in the operating system.

The My Computer, My Documents, Trash, and Network Neighborhood icons are always located on the desktop and can be renamed, but cannot be removed from the desktop.

The My Computer icon provides access to an external storage device, which may include several logical drives, designated by the Latin letters C:, D:, etc.

The My Documents icon opens one of the folders that are organized on logical drives.

The Trash icon indicates a special container used for temporary storage of deleted objects. If a document or program is no longer needed, they can be deleted, but they are not permanently deleted, but are put in the Recycle Bin, from which they can later be restored.

If your computer has support installed local network, then on the desktop there is a Network Neighborhood icon that gives access to network resources.
^Taskbar
IN system area The taskbar may contain a clock and indicators of various modes, for example, keyboard layout, printer, volume control, communications, etc. By default, the taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen and cannot be covered by task windows. However, if the user wishes, it can be moved to the top or to the vertical borders of the screen, for which you need to use the move action by placing the mouse pointer on an empty space on the taskbar. If you need to change the width of the panel, you need to move the mouse cursor over its border, where it will take the form of a double-headed arrow and, using the move action, set the desired size of the taskbar.

If task windows are open, the buttons corresponding to these windows are placed in the taskbar, and by clicking on these buttons you can move from one window to another.
^ Main thing Windows menu
Clicking on the Start button located on the taskbar opens the Windows Main Menu (Fig. 4). Using the Main Menu you can:

Launch all Programs installed on the computer and registered in the system;

Open the last Documents you worked with;

Gain access to all operating system Settings tools;

Get access to Search Engine and Help systems Windows.

The Main Menu items for performing these actions are included in its required section. Above the dividing line there is a user section, the items of which can be created at your own discretion.

Fig.4. Windows main menu

The main menu contains the Shutdown item, which is necessary to correctly shut down the system before turning off the power.
^ Window interface of the Windows operating system
operating room Windows system offers the user a windowed interface in which each program being executed is given a separate window. In this case, windows can overlap each other, have different sizes. They can be minimized, and then the presence of the window will be displayed only by a button on the taskbar. Therefore, the taskbar is the most important element Windows interface. Switching between task windows is done by clicking the corresponding button on the panel. When you finish working with the program, the corresponding button will disappear from the taskbar.

Let's consider the structure of any Windows windows using the example of the My Computer window, which appears when you double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop (Fig. 5).

Fig.5. My Computer Window

The My Computer window and windows at subsequent levels have the following standard elements:

The title bar is the top line highlighted in color, which indicates the name of the window, the icon corresponding to this name, and three buttons for minimizing the window, expanding it to full screen, and closing it.

^ The window's main menu bar is the second line with a list of drop-down menus of commands for performing all possible operations with the selected objects or changing their presentation.

Toolbar - the third row containing buttons with icons for quick access to the most frequently used commands.

Address bar- a drop-down list that indicates the full access path to the current folder allows you to quickly navigate to any My Computer level object

^ Work area - a field for displaying the organization of information in a given folder or on this level. If all the folder and file icons do not fit in the window, then it will be supplemented with scroll bars located along the right and bottom edges of the work area, depending on its size and the location of the icons.

^ Status bar is the bottom line of the window, which displays auxiliary information.

The working field of the window contains icons of all hard drives computer and special folder icons. Double-clicking on the icon of one of the hard drives (for example, drive C:) will open the next level, allowing you to get acquainted with the organization of the information stored on it. In this case, depending on the system settings, this level is displayed in the same window or opens a new window. All folders in it are indicated by the same icon and differ only in names, while files, depending on their type, are displayed with different icons. Double-clicking on any folder will open a window showing how the information stored in it is organized, and so on until we reach the lowest level, which will house only files.

Click on system icon, located in the upper left corner of the window on the title bar, brings up the window menu, the commands of which allow you to control its size and location. Three of them are duplicated by buttons located on the right in the title bar - Collapse, Maximize and Close. If the window is maximized to full screen, the Maximize button changes to the Restore button, which restores the size of the window that was before the Maximize command was executed.

In order to resize a window horizontally or vertically using the mouse, you need to move the mouse pointer over one of the window borders (the mouse pointer will change to a double-headed arrow) and perform a move action. If you need to change both sizes at the same time, then the mouse pointer must be moved to the lower right corner and perform a move action.

Moving a window around the screen can be done by using the mouse to hover over an empty space in the title bar and then perform a drag action.
^ Panel Windows management
Various possibilities Windows settings designed to personalize the work environment and create conditions for effective work. Access to configuration tools is possible through a special Control Panel folder. You can open the window of this folder through the Main menu: Start - Settings - Control Panel.

The Windows operating system takes into account national differences in formats for recording numbers, dates, times, monetary amounts, etc. For example, the separator between the integer part of a number and the fractional part in the USA is a dot, and in Russia it is a comma. IN different countries There are differences in the formats for recording negative numbers and units of measurement of physical quantities. Typically, when installing a localized Windows versions they are configured automatically according to the country of residence. However, when working with files created in another standard, you have to adjust the default settings. To do this, open the Language and Standards window by double-clicking on the icon located in the Control Panel folder. On the General tab, just select the language with the location so that the corresponding values ​​are automatically set on the remaining tabs. Please note that the list separator for Russia is a semicolon, while for the USA it is a comma. Spreadsheet users often encounter this difference.

The computer's system clock and calendar are used when saving any file to record the moment it was created or modified. Using the Date and Time icon, a window in which the day of the month is selected from the calendar panel, the current month from the drop-down list, and the year from the spinner buttons. Exact time is set bit by bit using a counter by first selecting the desired digit (hours, minutes, seconds). The Apply button performs the installation without closing the window, and the OK button does the installation. On the second Time Zone tab, you can set automatic transition to summer and winter time, and also select the appropriate time zone.

Using the Keyboard icon, a window opens in which you can configure the auto-repeat speed of characters and the blinking frequency of the mouse cursor. On the Language and layouts tab, you can set keyboard layout options and combinations shortcut keys to switch them. If the Display language indicator on the taskbar checkbox is selected, you can switch the layout on the taskbar using the mouse through the indicator's context menu.

The Mouse icon opens the mouse settings dialog box. The Mouse Buttons tab specifies the functions of the left and right buttons, as well as the means for setting the interval for double click. The test area is used to train and check the convenience of setting the interval. The Pointers tab allows you to select a set of mouse pointers that appear on the screen in different operating modes. The Move tab is used to set the sensitivity of the mouse and create a trail when moving the mouse pointer.

Setting the screen parameters and its design is done in the Screen window, called up using the icon of the same name, or by clicking right button mouse over a free part of the Desktop and selecting a command context menu Properties. On the Settings tab, you set the screen resolution (measured by the number of horizontal and vertical pixels) and the color resolution (measured by the color coding bit depth of one pixel or the number of simultaneously displayed colors). These parameters depend on the amount of video memory on the video adapter board. The Apply button allows you to find out the mutual correspondence of the selected values, since if there is an unacceptable combination of these parameters, the computer will restore the correct original values ​​after 15 seconds.

Setting up the appearance of the Desktop is determined by the background image (the file in which it is stored is indicated on the Background tab), appearance elements of the dialog box (design schemes are selected on the Appearance tab), the appearance of the main icons (presentation options are selected on the Effects tab).

To provide sound for events, you need to open the Sound and Multimedia window. Such events could be Windows startup 98, opening or closing a window, emptying the basket, receipt Email, shutdown, etc. Each event can be associated with a sound clip. A ready-made set of settings associated with assigning certain sounds to various events is called sound design.. Events that have sound are marked in the list with a loudspeaker icon. The file field specifies the full access path to the audio clip corresponding to the selected event.

Clipboard

The clipboard in Windows XP is a special memory area used to temporarily store information. Information placed on the clipboard is available to all running programs. Thus, the clipboard is used to transfer any data between different applications and documents.

A context menu is a menu that is called up by right-clicking on an object

Computer software

What is software

The capabilities of a modern PC are so great that an increasing number of people are finding use for it in their work, study, and everyday life. The most important quality modern computer is its "friendliness" towards the user. Communication between a person and a computer has become simple, visual, and understandable. The computer itself tells the user what to do in a given situation and helps get out of difficult situations. This is possible thanks to computer software.

Let's use the analogy between a computer and a person again. A newborn person knows nothing and cannot do anything. He acquires knowledge and skills in the process of development, learning, accumulating information in his memory. A computer that is assembled in a factory from microcircuits, wires, circuit boards and other things is like a newborn human. We can say that loading software into a computer's memory is similar to the process of teaching a child. Software is created by programmers.

The entire set of programs stored on all devices of the computer’s long-term memory constitutes it. software(BY).

Computer software is constantly updated, developed, and improved. Price installed programs on a modern PC often exceeds its cost technical devices. Development of modern software requires very high qualifications from programmers.

Types of software

There is a necessary part in computer software, without which you simply cannot do anything on it. It is called system software. The buyer purchases a computer equipped with system software, which is no less important for the operation of the computer than the memory or processor. In addition to the system software, the computer software also includes application programs And programming systems.

Computer software is divided into:

    - system software;
    - application software;
    - programming systems.

System software and programming systems will be discussed later. Now let's get acquainted with the application software.

Application software composition

Programs with which the user can solve his information problems without resorting to programming are called application programs.

As a rule, all users prefer to have a set of application programs that almost everyone needs. They are called general purpose programs. These include:

    Text and graphic editor, with the help of which you can prepare various texts, create drawings, build drawings; in other words, write, draw, draw;

    Database management systems (DBMS), which allow you to turn your computer into a reference book on any topic;

    Table processors that allow you to organize spreadsheet calculations that are very common in practice;

    Communication (network) programs designed to exchange information with other computers connected to the data in a computer network.

A very popular type of application software is computer games. Most users begin their communication with the computer from them.

In addition, there is a large number special-purpose application programs For professional activity. They are often called application software packages. These are, for example, accounting programs that produce accruals wages and other calculations that are made in accounting departments; computer-aided design systems that help designers develop designs for various technical devices; packages that allow you to solve complex mathematical problems without writing programs; training programs on various school subjects and much more.

Questions and tasks

    1. What is computer software?
    2. What tasks does the application software perform?
    3. Name the main types of general-purpose application programs.
    4. What are special purpose applications?

About system software and programming systems

What is an operating system

It is not difficult to understand why application programs are needed. What is system software?

The main part of the system software is operating system(OS).

An operating system is a set of programs that manage RAM, processor, external devices and files and conduct a dialogue with the user.

The operating system has a lot of work to do, and it is in working order almost all the time. For example, in order to execute an application program, it must be found in external memory(on disk), place in RAM, having found free space there, “start” the processor to execute the program, monitor the operation of all machine devices during execution and, in case of failures, display diagnostic messages. The operating system takes care of all these concerns.

Here are the names of some common operating systems for personal computers: MS-DOS, Windows, Linux.

Interactive mode

During operation, the application program itself organizes communication with the user, but when the program has completed its work, the operating system begins to communicate with the user. This communication takes place in the following form:

The OS displays a prompt in some specific form. In response, the user issues a command defining what he wants from the machine. This could be a command to execute a new application program, a command to perform some operation with files (delete a file, copy, etc.), a command to report the current time or date, etc. After executing the next user command, the operating system again issues a prompt.

This mode of operation is called interactive mode. Thanks to the OS, the user never feels left to the mercy of fate. All operating systems on personal computers work with the user in dialogue mode. Dialogue mode is often called interactive mode.

Service programs

In addition to the OS, system software also includes many maintenance and service programs. For example, these are disk maintenance programs (copying, formatting, “treatment”, etc.), compressing files on disks (archivers), combating computer viruses and much more.

Programming systems

In addition to system and application software, there is a third type of software. It is called programming systems (SP).

A programming system is a tool for a programmer to work with.

Programmers work with programming systems. Every SP is focused on a specific programming language. There are many different languages, for example, Pascal, BASIC, FORTRAN, C (“C”), Assembler, LISP, etc. In these languages, the programmer writes programs, and with the help of programming systems enters them into the computer, debugs, tests, and executes them.

Programmers create all types of programs: system, application and new programming systems.

Questions and tasks

    1. What types of software are available on modern computers?
    2. What is an operating system (OS)? What main functions does it perform?
    3. What is the interactive mode of communication between the OS and the user?
    4. What are programming systems intended for? Who works with them?