Computer Basics

2 - Applications:  Integrated & Suites

Integrated software combines the functions of several programs into one interface. Such a program is usually designed for the beginning or casual user.

Many advanced features are omitted that might be found in stand-alone products. For example, the word processor in an integrated software package would not likely have a way to automatically generate a table of contents and would have fewer options on how to handle footnotes, headers, and footers.

Microsoft Works is an example of integrated software.

Suites

A software suite is a set of applications which can each stand alone. They are packaged together for a lower price than if all were bought separately. There are usually enhancements that help the applications communicate with each other, also.

Some popular suites of office software include MS Office, Lotus Smart Suite, and WordPerfect Office. These include a number of other programs, such as:

• word processing

• spreadsheet

• presentations

• e-mail client

• address book

• database

Examples

An example of a graphics suite is Corel Draw Suite, which includes programs for:

• vector illustration

• layout

• bitmap creation

• image-editing

• painting

• animation software

An example of a publishing suite is Adobe Publishing Collections, which includes:

• Adobe PageMaker - desktop publishing

• Adobe Photoshop - bitmap graphics

• Adobe Illustrator - vector graphics

• Adobe Acrobat - converts documents to Portable Document Format for sharing

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Last updated: 08 Sep 2005