Applications are the visible tools we use—music players, editors, browsers—while the OS works behind the scenes to manage resources and prevent conflicts.
Nearly every app shares the same skeleton: a main workspace plus menus that issue commands. You give input; the app shows the result.
Learn new software faster by scanning its menus first, then trying simple input → result actions. The UI changes, but the core pattern doesn’t.
Hello, this is Jay.
In the previous post, we talked about operating systems, and finally even touched on macOS and iOS.
If the operating system is like the house of a computer, then the applications are the furniture and tools inside it. The OS works behind the scenes, managing resources and preventing conflicts between devices and software. Applications, on the other hand, are what we actually face on the screen—the tools that create visible results. Most people don’t really “feel” the operating system directly, but they do experience computers through the applications that run on it. In that sense, using a computer essentially means using applications. That’s why today, we’ll be taking a closer look at applications.
Applications at a Glance
Applications come in many forms. If you want to listen to music, you open a music player. If you want to draw, you open Paint or Photoshop. For documents, you use Word; for numbers, Excel; for presentations, PowerPoint. To watch videos, you open a media player, and for the internet, you launch a browser. Each program has its own purpose, but in reality, all of them work on the same principle. The names and functions of menus differ, but the structure and flow are nearly identical.
Main Screen + Menu: The Core Pattern
Most programs can be broken down into two main areas: the main workspace where you actually create something, and the menu, which gives you control. The workspace is like a stage where you type text or draw pictures. The menu is like the lighting and tools that let you shape what happens on that stage. When you tell the menu, “Save this file,” the result is reflected in the workspace. When you select “Bold,” the text on the screen immediately changes. At its core, every program follows the same simple rule: you give a command through the menu, and the result appears in the main screen.
Where Menus Live
Menus are usually placed at the top of the screen. Think of common Office programs in Windows: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all have menus like File, Edit, View, and Format arranged neatly at the top. In some programs, menus might appear on the left, or these days, they may be represented by icons. Rarely do you see menus at the bottom (since Windows already has a taskbar there). Another important type is the context (right-click) menu—it shows only the commands relevant to what you selected, speeding up your work.
Input → Result (Everywhere)
In the end, every program comes down to input and result. The user gives input through the keyboard or mouse, the program interprets it, and the result appears on screen. For example, in Excel, you click a cell and type, and the text shows up. Then, you click the Bold button, and the text becomes bold. This same pattern applies everywhere: adding a slide in PowerPoint, saving a file in Notepad, drawing a line in Paint. It’s always input → result.
Learn New Apps by Reading Menus First
Knowing this principle makes new programs far less intimidating. When you open a program for the first time, simply look for the menus. They’re labeled in a way that’s easy to understand, so scanning them gives you a quick overview of what the program can do. In PowerPoint, menus like Design, Animations, and Slide Show clearly show it’s for presentations, styling, and displaying slides. Notepad’s menus—File, Edit, View, Format—make it obvious that it’s a basic text editor. In Paint, you’ll see images, colors, and shapes: a tool for drawing, coloring, and inserting shapes.
Common Menu Patterns
- File: open, save, export, print
- Edit: copy, paste, cut, undo
- View: zoom, toolbars, layout
- Program-specific: Word (formatting), Excel (formulas/data), PowerPoint (slides/animations)
- Help: feature explanations, troubleshooting
Overcoming the Fear of New Software
People often fear new programs simply because the screen looks unfamiliar. But beneath the surface, they all share the same skeleton. Ask, “Where’s the menu? What words do I see here?”—and you’ll quickly grasp what the program is for. Then learn only the features you need, one by one. You don’t need to master everything at once.
Wrapping Up
While appearances differ, the framework is the same. Understand main screen + menu and input + result, and you can pick up the basics of any program quickly—like riding any bicycle once you know how to ride one. Operating systems will come and go, and applications will appear and disappear, but the core principle doesn’t change. Scan the menu first; test input and see the result; iterate. Once you’ve learned this, you’ll never be afraid of applications again.
Thank you so much for reading. In the next post, we’ll take a look at some of the most important Windows programs one by one. Learning is fun—and as always, I wish you happiness!
You can view the original Korean blog post at the link below