Chapter 6

Processing the Information: Computer Software

Chapter 6 deals with software and programming. In addition to providing descriptions of various types of software, this chapter focuses on emerging trends and innovations in software, and on software development and management.

[ Update | Exercises | IT@Work ]

Update

King of the Hill

It was a recipe for success: one part luck—the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time, one part business smarts—the ability to recognize opportunities and seize them, and one part clear vision of an extraordinary future. Stir together well, and what do you get? Complete dominance of an industry. Some would go further to claim that Microsoft’s dominance of the desktop is downright "tyranny", necessitating Justice Department intervention for the sake of maintaining competitive markets.

But is dominance really all that bad? In its recent series on "technopolies", the Economist describes the advantages that accrue to consumers and business when—as is the case in many high-tech firms—a single player dominates its niche within a technology market. These Gentle Giants (Economist, 12/21/96) foster stability, set reasonable standards that don’t squash innovation, and provide leadership that is sorely needed when pushing the frontiers of technology.

So, we can all just sit back and rely on the benevolence of mighty King Bill and his bevy of Microserfs to dictate the desktop of the future. Right? Well, some people out there are not so certain. Check out Business Week’s two part series, INSIDE MICROSOFT (Part 1), INSIDE MICROSOFT (Part 2), which describes the challenges facing Microsoft as it is forced to contend with the realities of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Or fantasize along with Steward Alsop in his amusing piece, Musings on the Downfall of Microsoft (Fortune Magazine, 2/17/97). Finally, explore the operating system of the founder of Microsoft in Walter Isaacson’s In Search of the Real Bill Gates (Time Magazine, 1/13/97).

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Exercises

Surf the Internet to find material on SAP AG products, especially those related to the Internet. Explain why some people believe that SAP AG’s software is the most important software of the ’90s. (See Buck-Emden, R., and J. Galimov, SAP R/3 System, Addison-Wesley, 1996.)
Review the HTML code provided in the Internet Supplement to this book. Compare this language with other languages presented in Chapter 6.
Find a newsgroup interested in C++. Review the content of the messages. Try to find the reasons for the popularity of the language. Post some messages.
Identify some freeware and shareware software of your interest. Check the procedures for the use of shareware. Relate your findings to the ethics section in the Internet Supplement.
Find a vendor of Case tool. Download information on the benefits of the vendor’s products.

IT@Work

Cypress

Defense Language Institute

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