Role of Applications Reflection

            A word processor such as Microsoft Word is an application that creates documents using formatted text, including bold or italicized text, bulleted or numbered lists, indented text, and even columns (Vahid & Lysecki, 2017). You can also insert pictures into the document. The disadvantage of a word processor is that the tool is not recommended for presenting information visually, for showing numbers and calculating formulas, or for storing data, those tasks are better suited for presentation software, spreadsheets, and database applications. A scenario that would be useful for a word processor is collaborating with other colleagues on a document. The application I recommend for documenting the information about my day is a word processor, as I can format the text in any way I choose, add bullets, change font sizes, and align text to best present the information.

A spreadsheet application, such as Excel, is used for representing text, numbers, and calculated formulas in a table format. A spreadsheet has cells and rows where a user enters data and inserts formulas (Vahid & Lysecki, 2017). The disadvantage of spreadsheet applications is that it's not the best tool for presenting information visually, which is best suited for presentation software. A scenario to you would use a spreadsheet is for creating a financial budget.

Presentation applications such as PowerPoint visually show graphics, text, and animations in a slideshow format  (Vahid & Lysecki, 2017). The disadvantage of presentation software is that it should not be used for sharing numbers or calculations in a table format, a spreadsheet is a better tool, or for storing information to retrieve later, which is best used with a database. Another use of presentation software is for the creation of videos that can be shared with others.

Database applications store a collection of data. Databases add data, process data, and retrieve information that can be reported on and manipulated  (Vahid & Lysecki, 2017). A disadvantage with database applications is that formatted text is not easy to store in the database. A scenario where a database can be used is to store employee information, store inventory, number of items sold, along with product costs.

           

References

Vahid, F. & Lysecki, S. (2017) INT 100: Fundamentals of Information Technology & Literacy, zyBook ISBN: 978-1-5418-0827-0.