Software Applications in

Business
Naveed Umar
 Computer
 A computer is a machine that manipulates data
according to a list of instructions
 Modern computers are based on comparatively
tiny integrated circuits and are millions to billions
of times more capable while occupying a fraction
of the space.
 Today, simple computers may be made small
enough to fit into a wristwatch and be powered
from a watch battery
 Personal Computers
 Personal computers in various forms are icons
of the Information Age and are what most people
think of as "a computer"; however, the most
common form of computer in use today is the
embedded computer.
 Embedded computers are small, simple devices
that are used to control other devices for
example; they may be found in machines
ranging from fighter aircraft to industrial robots,
digital cameras, and children's toys.
 How computers work
 A general purpose computer has four main
sections:
• The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU),
• The Control Unit
• The Memory &
• The Input and output devices (collectively termed
I/O).
 These parts are interconnected by busses,
often made of groups of wires.
 Central processing unit &
Microprocessor
 The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic
I/O (and often other hardware closely
linked with these) are collectively known
as a central processing unit (CPU).
 Early CPUs were composed of many
separate components but since the mid-
1970s CPUs have typically been
constructed on a single integrated circuit
called a microprocessor.
 Hardware
 The term hardware covers all of those parts of a
computer that are physical objects.
 Circuits
 Displays
 Power supplies
 Cables
 Keyboards
 Printers
 Mouse etc. are all Hardware
Peripheral device (Input/output)
 Input
 Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick, Image scanner
 Output
 Monitor, Printer
 Both
 Floppy disk drive, Hard disk, Optical disc drive
 Software
 Software refers to parts of the computer which
do not have a material form, such as programs,
data, protocols, etc.
 When software is stored in hardware that cannot
easily be modified (such as BIOS ROM in an
IBM PC compatible), it is sometimes called
"firmware" to indicate that it falls into an
uncertain area somewhere between hardware
and software.
 Application software performs specific
tasks or applications

 Systems software allows a computer to

operate and run application software.
 Operating System
 Unix / Linux
 Microsoft Windows
 DOS
 Mac OS
 Embedded and real-time
 Experimental
 User Interface
 Graphical user interface (GUI)
 Microsoft Windows

 Text user interface

 Command line interface, shells
 Control Unit
 The control unit (often called a control system or central
controller) directs the various components of a computer.
 It reads and interprets (decodes) instructions in the
program one by one.
 The control system decodes each instruction and turns it
into a series of control signals that operate the other
parts of the computer.
 Control systems in advanced computers may change the
order of some instructions so as to improve performance
 A key component common to all CPUs is the program
counter; a special memory cell (a register) that keeps
track of which location in memory the next instruction is
to be read from.
 Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)
 The ALU is capable of performing two
classes of operations:
 Arithmetic and
 Logic
 An ALU may also compare numbers and return
Boolean truth values (true or false) depending
on whether one is equal to, greater than or less
than the other ("is 64 greater than 65?")
 Logic operations involve Boolean logic: AND,
OR, XOR and NOT. These can be useful both
for creating complicated conditional statements
and processing Boolean logic.
 Memory
 A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of
cells into which numbers can be placed or read.

 Computer main memory comes in two principal

varieties:
 Random Access Memory or RAM
 Read-only Memory or ROM

 RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU

commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and
software that never changes, so the CPU can only
read from it.
 Memory…….
 ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-
up instructions. In general, the contents of RAM are
erased when the power to the computer is turned off
while ROM retains its data indefinitely
 In a PC, the ROM contains a specialized program called
the BIOS that organize loading the computer's operating
system from the hard disk drive into RAM whenever the
computer is turned on or reset.
 Software that is stored in ROM is often called firmware
because it is theoretically more like hardware than
software
 Memory…….
 Flash memory blurs the distinction
between ROM and RAM by retaining data
when turned off but being rewritable like
RAM.
 However, flash memory is typically much
slower than conventional ROM and RAM
so its use is restricted to applications
where high speeds are not required.
 Input/output (I/O)
 Hard disks are common I/O devices used with computers
 I/O is the means by which a computer receives information from the
outside world and sends results back
 Devices that provide input or output to the computer are called
peripherals. On a typical personal computer, peripherals include
input devices like the keyboard and mouse, and output devices such
as the display and printer.
 Hard disk drives, floppy disk drives and optical disc drives serve as
both input and output devices. Computer networking is another form
of I/O.
 Often, I/O devices are complex computers in their own right with
their own CPU and memory. A graphics processing unit might
contain fifty or more tiny computers that perform the calculations
necessary to display 3D graphics. Modern desktop computers
contain many smaller computers that assist the main CPU in
performing I/O
 Multitasking
 While a computer may be viewed as running one
gigantic program stored in its main memory, in some
systems it is necessary to give the appearance of
running several programs simultaneously
 This is achieved by having the computer switch rapidly
between running each program in turn
 One means by which this is done is with a special signal
called an “interrupt” which can periodically cause the
computer to stop executing instructions where it was and
do something else instead
 By remembering where it was executing prior to the
interrupt, the computer can return to that task later
 Multitasking……
 If several programs are running "at the same time", then
the interrupt generator might be causing several hundred
interrupts per second, causing a program switch each
time.
 Since modern computers typically execute instructions
several orders of magnitude faster than human
perception, it may appear that many programs are
running at the same time even though only one is ever
executing in any given instant.
 This method of multitasking is sometimes termed "time-
sharing" since each program is allocated a "slice" of time
in turn
 Multiprocessing
 Cray designed many supercomputers that used
multiprocessing heavily
 Some computers may divide their work between one or
more separate CPUs, creating a multiprocessing
configuration
 Traditionally, this technique was utilized only in large and
powerful computers such as supercomputers, mainframe
computers and servers
 However, multiprocessor and multi-core (multiple CPUs
on a single integrated circuit) personal and laptop
computers have become widely available and are
beginning to see increased usage in lower-end markets
as a result.
 Multiprocessing……
 Supercomputers in particular often have highly unique
architectures that differ significantly from the basic
stored-program architecture and from general purpose
computers.
 They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-
speed interconnects, and specialized computing
hardware.
 Such designs tend to be useful only for specialized tasks
due to the large scale of program organization required
to successfully utilize most of a the available resources
at once.
 Supercomputers usually see usage in large-scale
simulation, graphics rendering, and cryptography
applications
Networking & Internet
 Some Basic Definitions
 Web client
 Machine that initiates internet request
 Web server
 Machine that services internet request
 Browser
 Software at the client side to interact with web data
 Intranet
 An internal network of computers confined to a single place
 Extranet
 When two or more intranets are connected with each other,
they form an Extranet – e.g., Virtual Private Network (VPN)
 Internet
 A global network of networks is defined as internet
 NETWORKING DEVICES
 Topology of a LAN means its physical lay
out. There are three main types of
Network Topology, namely
 Bus Topology,
 Star Topology and
 Ring Topology.
 Networking Devices
 Hubs
 These provide central connection point for a
LAN. They organize cables and relay data
signals to all computers. There are ports on
the back of a hub used to connect computers.
They come in different sizes and shapes.
 Repeaters
 Repeaters regenerate signals. A repeater would amplify the entire
electric signal it receives. However, it has no capabilities of
directing network traffic.
 Bridges
 A Bridge is a combination of hardware and software. It has its own
operating system. It helps to conserve the bandwidth of a
network. Bandwidth is the speed of a network. It indicates how
many bits can be transmitted across a network in a given time.
 In case of a bridge, the larger network is physically chopped into
smaller segments. A bridge can read the MAC (Media Access
Control) or physical address of a computer on data packets. MAC
address is printed on the Network Interface Card.
 A bridge matches this MAC address with the one stored in its
table and judges that which particular segment does a data
packet belong to and accordingly sends that packet to such a
segment.
 It does not allow other packets belonging to other segments to
spread to a particular segment and hence conserves the
bandwidth.
 Switches
 A switch is also a combination of hardware and
software having its own operating system. Like
bridges, the switches are also used to increase the
bandwidth of a network. However, in case of a switch,
a network is virtually divided into small segments
called Virtual LANs or VLANs.
 Similar type of users can be grouped into a VLAN
despite that they have no physical proximity or
closeness. A switch would read the MAC address on
a data packet and match it with the list of MAC
addresses of the user machines contained in it.
 It then sends data packets only to that machine on a
VLAN to which these packets relate. Packets
belonging to other VLANs are not allowed to enter
into a particular VLAN, hence bandwidth increases.
 Routers
 Routers use a combination of hardware and software
to forward data packets to their destination on the
internet. They are more efficient and sophisticated
than bridges and switches.
 They can divide large networks into logical segments
called Subnets on the basis of IP addressing scheme.
 A router can communicate with another router on the
internet with the help of Routing Information Protocol,
and thus it can build a routing table. This routing table
contains information about different network
addresses and different routes for delivery of data
packets to a host machine on a network.
 A router is a decision making device. When a data
packet arrives at a router it reads the network
addresses from the IP address on the data packet
and determines the shortest possible path through
which this packet can be delivered to its destination.
 Following diagram explains how
routers on the internet backbone
forward data packets by
determining the shortest possible
path for the destination.
 In this example a client machine
‘A’ sitting on network no. 140.57
sends data to a web server ‘B’
hosted at network no. 100.
 ‘R1’ is the router attached to
network no. 140.57. After
consulting its routing table it can
find that the shortest possible path
for sending data to machine ‘B’ is
to forward data packets to ‘R2’,
the router attached to network no.
100.
 In case there is a blockade
then‘R1’ can look for the
alternative shortest path.
 Here, the alternative shortest path
for the delivery of data packets to
‘B’ can be R1-R3-R4-R2.
 What is the Internet?
• The Internet is a worldwide computer network.

• It is a network of networks.

• There is no central control, all the computers and sub-

networks are linked together on a voluntary basis.

•These computers use the TCP/IP (Transmission Control

Protocol/Internet Protocol) as the method of connecting to each
other and transferring information.
Example…What is the Internet?
L A N s e n d s a r e q u e s t o u t o n t h e In t e r n e t t o a "r e m o t e " n e t w o r k ...

LAN
R o u te r R e m o te L A N

R o u te r

T e le c o m
C o n n e c t io n

F i r e w a ll
L A N S erv er

T e le c o m
R o u te r C o n n e c t io n
 How the Internet Works

 IP Address
 Because the internet is a network, each
computer must have a unique address just like
any node on a network.

 Every Computer has an IP address, that is

unique; for example the IP address of
CSUS.edu is 130.86.90.1
 How the Internet Works (cont..)
• When the request is issued it first goes to a
server that determines the address of the
remote server
• Then it goes to a router that “routes” it to
the destination.
• With Visual Route you can see the routers
implicated and their place in the world
Security Issues over the Internet
 Security is the biggest factor slowing down
the growth of e-commerce worldwide. For
instance, when you enter your credit card
no. in a text box, it is potentially exposed
to millions of people on the internet and
can be misused. It is important to know
following terms in connection with the
security threats over the internet
 Back Doors and Trojan Horses
 Back Doors are those hostile programs which, when run
on a machine, install hidden services in order to give
attackers remote access capabilities to a compromised
machine.
 Trojan horses are those programs that appear harmless
but actually have some malicious purpose. For example,
HAPPY99.EXE is a Trojan horse that displays a firework
and then sends copies of it to the e-mail addresses
found on the system.
 The term Trojan Horse has been borrowed from history.
In history it has been used to refer to a huge wooden
horse where the whole Greek army was hidden during a
war and the enemy was deceived because it could not
figure out that.
 Viruses and Worms
 Viruses and Worms are malicious programs that can travel
between computers as attachments on email or
independently over a network. These terms are sometimes
used interchangeably; however, essentially they are
different.
 Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike
viruses have the capability to travel without any help or
human action. A worm can replicate itself which means that
it can send copies of itself
 to everyone listed in the email address box on a system.
Viruses, on the other hand, need to be activated through a
human action.
 Another difference is that viruses modify existing programs
on a computer unlike worms which can install back doors
or drop viruses on the system they visit.
 FIREWALLS
A firewall is a combination of hardware
and software that sits between the internet
and internal network of an organization to
protect the network from outside attack
 It can examine the data entering or leaving
from the network and can filter the data
according to certain rules, thus, protects
the network from an attack.
 Proxy Server
 A proxy server sits
between an internal
trusted network and
the un-trusted
network, that is,
internet
 E-Business
 An e-business is defined as a company/entity
that has an online presence.
 E-businesses that have the ability to sell, trade,
barter or transact over the web can be
considered as e-commerce businesses.
 An e-business model is defined by a company’s
policy, operations, technology and ideology.
 Advantages of E-business
 Personalized service
 High-quality customer service
 No inventory cost
 Worldwide reach of the business
 Electronic catalogues (convenient and
quick transaction)
 Bulk transactions
 Improved supply chain management
Disadvantages of E-business
 Less security
 Less privacy
 No physical proximity with items
purchased
 Online catalogues vs. Paper
catalogues
 Paper catalogs
 Advantages
• Easy to create a catalog without high technology
• Reader is able to look at the catalog without
computer system
• More portable than electronic catalog
 Disadvantages
• Difficult to update changes in the product
information
• Only limited number of products can be displayed
Online or Electronic Catalogs
 Advantages
 Easy to update product information
 Able to integrate with the purchasing process
 Good search and comparison capabilities
 Able to provide timely, up-to-date product information
 Can provide broad range of product information
 Possibility of adding voice and motion pictures
 Cost savings
 Easy to customize
 Disadvantages
 Difficult to develop catalogues
 Large fixed cost if used for small no. of
products
 Need for customer skill to deal with computers
and browsers