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CGP Computer Science > 01 - Section 1 - Types of software > Flashcards

01 - Section 1 - Types of software Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the operating system do in basic terms?

A

Operating systems manage hardware and run software

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2
Q

What are the main functions of an operating system?

A
  • communicate with internal and external hardware via the device drivers
  • provides a user interface
  • provides a platform for different applications to run
  • allows the computer to ‘multi-task’ by controlling memory resources and the CPU
  • deal with file management and disc management
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3
Q

What do device drivers do?

A

Device drivers allow the OS and Hardware interact (communicate) with each other
-internal hardware and peripherals

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4
Q

What does every piece of hardware connected to a computer system need?

A

a device driver

-they will effectively act as a ‘translator’ for the signals between the OS and hardware

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5
Q

When a computer is booted up what does the OS do in regards to the device driver?

A

The OS will choose the correct device driver for the hardware it detects

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6
Q

Why are new device drivers released sometimes?

A

Device manufacturers may release updates to device drivers in order to fix bugs or improve the performance
-updates may be installed automatically by the OS or manually by the user

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7
Q

What does a user interface allow?

A

A User Interface allows the user to interact with a computer system

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8
Q

What does GUI stand for?

A

Graphical User Interface

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9
Q

What are GUIs?

A

They are a type of user interface designed to be easy for everyday users by making them visual, interactive and intuitive

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10
Q

What have GUIs been optimised for overtime?

A

GUIs have been optimised for different input methods

  • in the past used to be WIMP-based (using windows, icons, menus and pointers)
  • Android and iOS were created for touchscreen devices (finger gestures instead of mouse movement)
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11
Q

What is a command-line interface?

A

A command-line interface is text based
The user enters specific commands to complete tasks
Command line interfaces are less resource-heavy than GUIs

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12
Q

Who would use command-line interfaces?

A

Advanced users can find command-line interfaces to be far more efficient and powerful than GUIs
-used to automate processes using scripts

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13
Q

What provides a platform for running applications?

A

Operating systems

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14
Q

What are operating systems which can run multiple applications called?

A

multi-tasking OSs

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15
Q

How does the OS help the CPU carry out multi-tasking?

A

By efficiently managing memory and CPU processing time

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16
Q

How does then OS manage memory for the CPU?

A
  • when an application is opened, the OS moves the necessary parts to memory, also parts when they are required
  • OS decides if applications or features have been recently used, if not they may be removed from memory
  • to run multiple apps, the OS makes sure apps don’t overwrite or interfere with each other
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17
Q

What does a memory manager do?

A

It allocates certain memory addresses, to make sure their processes are placed into separate locations

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18
Q

How does the OS manage CPU processing time?

A
  • only one application is processed by the CPU at a time, the others wait
  • OS divides the time between open application, by prioritising certain processes(most efficient order)
  • when required, the OS organises the movement to and from virtual memory
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19
Q

What do computers store data as?

A

files

-images, music, videos etc. are all just collections of data

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20
Q

What do file extensions do?

A

File extensions (e.g. .jpeg .mp3) tell the computer which software should be used to open this file

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21
Q

What does the OS do in terms of file management?

A
  • OS is responsible for file management
  • file management involves, organising data into a usable hierarchical structure
  • OS also seals with the movement, editing and deletion of data
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22
Q

How does the OS manage the hard disk?

A
  • it splits the physical disc into storage sectors, decides which to write data to and keeps track of free space on the disk
  • ideally the data for a single file would be placed in the same place but this doesn’t always happen
23
Q

What software does the OS use to organise and maintain the hard disk with?

A 
utility software
(for example defragmentation software)
24
Q

What are the two options for how OSs deal with user accounts?

A

single-user

multi-user

25
Q

What are example of single-user OSs?

A

Windows 10

OS X

26
Q

What does a single-user OS mean?

A

It allows one user to use the computer at once

27
Q

What is an example of a multi-user OS?

A

UNIX server

28
Q

What does a multi-user OS mean?

A

It allows several users to use the computer at the same time
-they use mainframes(huge supercomputers) and give many users simultaineous access at the same time (for example ATMs allow thousands of people access to the banks mainframe at the same time)

29
Q

How does the OS manage user account control?

A

User accounts allow different users to be granted access to specific data or resources on a computer system

30
Q

What anti-theft measures can OSs have to prevent other users accessing locked devices or accounts to steal information?

A
  • user accounts may be password or pin protected

- some devices also require a user to draw a specific pattern on the screen or have a fingerprint or retina scanner

31
Q

What does defragmentation software do?

A

It reorganises data on the hard drive to put fragmented files back together. It also moves files to collect all the free space together (to prevent further fragmentation)

32
Q

Why does the hard disk’s data become fragmented?

A
  • As files are moved, deleted, and change size, lots of small gaps begin to appear on the disk
  • when writing files to the disk the OS then splits the files into smaller blocks to fill the gaps
33
Q

What is the problem with disk defragmentation?

A

-it makes reading and writing files slower as the read/write head has to move back and forth across the disk

34
Q

Is disk fragmentation an issue for SSDs?

A

As SSDs use flash storage with no moving parts, fragmentation doesn’t cause any issues (it can access data quickly however it’s arranged)
-SSDs actually have a limited read/write times, defragmenting them can actually shorten their life span

35
Q

What is a backup?

A

A backup is a copy of a computer system’s files and settings stored externally
-this means data can be recovered if its lost

36
Q

Why can data be lost?

A
  • fire
  • theft
  • flood
  • malware
  • hardware failure
37
Q

What is a backup utility?

A

A backup utility is software with facilities such as scheduling of regular backups, creating rescue disks, disk images, and options for full or incremental backup

38
Q

What is a full backup?

A

It’s where a copy is taken of every file on the system.

  • use a lot of storage space
  • can take a long time to create
  • is faster to restore from
39
Q

What is an incremental backup?

A

Incremental backups are where only the files created or edited since the last backup are copied.

  • use less storage
  • quicker to create
  • a full system restore is slow, the last full back up must be restored, followed by every incremental backup since then
40
Q

What are the four types of backup utilities you need to know?

A
  • full backup
  • incremental backup
  • compression software
  • encryption software
41
Q

What is compression software?

A

Compression software reduces the size of files so they take up less disk space.

42
Q

When is compression software mainly used?

A

On the internet to make files quicker to download (standard file formats are .zip .rar)

43
Q

What needs to happen to compressed files before they can be used?

A

Compressed files need to be extracted before they can be used.

44
Q

What is encryption software?

A

Encryption software scrambles data to stop third-parties from accessing it. Encrypted data can be decrypted using a special ‘key’

45
Q

What is open source software?

A

Open source software is software where the source code is made freely available.
-users may legally modify the source code to create their own spin-off software, which can be shared under the same licence and terms as the original software

46
Q

What are examples of open source software?

A 
Apache HTTP server (runs web servers)
GIMP (image editing)
Firefox (web browser)
VLC media player
Linux OS (open source operating system)
47
Q

What are the advantages of open source software?

A
  • it’s (usually) free
  • made for greater good, not profit (encourages collaboration)
  • software can be adapted by users to fit their needs
  • popular software is very reliable and secure (any problems are quickly solved by the community)
48
Q

What are the disadvantages of open source software?

A
  • small projects may not get regular updates (so it could be buggy, have unpatched security holes)
  • may be limited user documentation
  • no warranties if something goes wrong
  • no customer support
49
Q

What is proprietary software?

A

Proprietary softare is software where only the complied code is released. The source code is usually a close-guarded secret.

50
Q

What do proprietary software licences do?

A

They restrict the modification, copying and redistribution of the software. It’s usually paid for.

51
Q

What are examples of proprietary software?

A

Microsoft (Office, Windows, Outlook…)

Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator…)

52
Q

What are the advantages of proprietary software?

A
  • comes with warranties, documentation and customer service
  • should be well-tested and reliable as the companies reputation depends on this (fixes and updates will come regularly)
  • usually cheaper for companies then developing their own custom-built software
53
Q

What are the disadvantages of proprietary software?

A
  • can be expensive
  • software may not exactly fit a user’s need
  • software companies may not maintain older software after warranties expire (to get people to buy their latest product)

CGP Computer Science (24 decks)

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