Types of software Flashcards
Define the term freeware.
Freeware is software which is licensed at no costs.
What is off the shelf software?
Off the shelf software is software which is designed to provide a general purpose for customer satisfaction and can be bought from shops.
Define bespoke software.
Bespoke software is software which is custom written to meet the criteria of a group, individual or an organisation.
Give two differences between off the shelf and bespoke software.
Off the shelf software has a general purpose for customers.
Off the shelf software can be bought from a shop and cheap.
Bespoke software is custom written software to meet a certain criteria.
Bespoke software is expensive.
What is shareware?
Shareware is software which is closed software free of charge for evaluation on a trial basis.
What is open source software?
Open source software is software, which is free for the public and can be used and modified to suit the users needs.
What is closed source software?
Closed source software is software, which is licensed and owned by someone, group or an organisation. As they have the license for the software, no one can copy the software and republish it without your permission.
What are the differences between open and closed source software. (4 marks)
Open source software is free and closed source software is paid for.
Open source software can be modified by anyone whilst with closed source software can’t be modified because the source code cannot be accessed.
What is software?
Software are the applications/programs on a computer made via programming languages.
Identify one advantage and one disadvantage to a company using closed source/proprietary software? (2 marks)
The advantages you could have mentioned:
Comes with customer support - Helps the organisation use the software.
Should be well tested and reliable - Meaning the company shouldn’t find/have any problems with the software.
Very secure
The disadvantages you could have mentioned:
May be paying for for features they don’t need
Software may not exactly match their needs and it cannot be modified
Software may not gain any new features through updates, as software companies will want to add it to their latest software as a selling point.
Identify one advantage and one disadvantage to a company using open source software? (2 marks)
The advantages you could have mentioned:
Free - no additional costs
Source code can be adapted to meet the companies needs meaning it has more features or fewer features.
Can be reliable because the community fixes the bugs meaning the business(s) don’t have to fix it individually.
The disadvantages you could have mentioned:
Unpatched holes in the software leading to worried customers and/or affect sales.
Limited support with the software.
