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John Hassler

Professor C. Mason
Computer Information systems 204
September 13, 1996
Application Software
Computer systems contain both hard and software. Hardware is any tangib
le item in a computer system, like the system unit, keyboard, or printer. Softw
are, or a computer program, is the set of instruction that direct the computer t
o perform a task. Software falls into one of two categories: system software an
d application software. System software controls the operation of the computer
hardware; whereas, application software enables a user to perform tasks. Three
major types of application software on the market today for personal computers a
re word processors, electronic spreadsheets, and database management systems (Li
ttle and Benson 10-42).
A word processing program allows a user to efficiently and economically
create professional looking documents such as memoranda, letters, reports, and r
esumes. With a word processor, one can easily revise a document. To improve th
e accuracy of one's writing, word processors can check the spelling and the gram
mar in a document. They also provide a thesaurus to enable a user to add variet
y and precision to his or her writing. Many word processing programs also provi
de desktop publishing features to create brochures, advertisements, and newslett
ers.
An electronic spreadsheet enables a user to organize data in a fashion s
imilar to a paper spreadsheet. The difference is the user does not have to perf
orm calculations manually; electronic spreadsheets can be instructed to perform
any computation desired. The contents of an electronic spreadsheet can be easil
y modified by the user. Once the data is modified, all calculations in the spre
adsheet are recomputed automatically. Many electronic spreadsheet packages also
enable a user to graph the data in his or her spreadsheet (Wakefield 98-110).
A database management system (DBMS) is a software program that allows a
user to efficiently store a large amount of data in a centralized location. Dat
a is one of the most valuable resources to any organization. For this reason, u
ser desire data be organized and readily accessible in a variety of formats. Wi
th aDBMS, a user can then easily store data, retrieve data, modify data, analyze
data, and create a variety of reports from the data(Aldrin 25-37).
Many organizations today have all three of these types of application so
ftware packages installed on their personal computers. Word processors, electro
nic spreadsheets, and database management systems make users' tasks more efficie
nt. When users are more efficient, the company as a whole operates more economi
cally and efficiently.
Works Cited
Aldrin, James F. "A Discussion of Database Management Systems." Database Monthly
May 1995: 25-37.
Little, aren A. And Jeffrey W. Benson. Word Processors. Boston: Boyd Publishing
Company,
1995.
Wakefield, Sheila A. "What Can An Electronic Spreadsheet Do For You," PC Analyze
r Apr.
1995: 98-110.

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