1.2 Software and Software Development

Question 1

Define Open source

Answer 1

Open source code can be used by anyone without a license and is distributed with the source code.

Question 2

Open source advantages

Answer 2

Can be modified and improved by anyone
Technical support from online community
Can be modified and sold

Question 3

Open source disadvantages

Answer 3

Support available online may be insufficient or
incorrect. No user manuals.
Lower security as may not be developed in a
controlled environment

Question 4

Open source example

Answer 4

Mozilla Firefox, Linux

Question 5

What are system utilities

Answer 5

Software to ensuring/maintain the consistent, high performance of the operating system

Question 6

Name 5 System Utilities

Answer 6

Backup
Antivirus 
Automatic Updates
Disk Defragment
Compression

Question 7

Define Applications software

Answer 7

Designed to be used by the user to perform one specific task.

Question 8

Define Systems software

Answer 8

Low-level software that is responsible for running the computer system

Question 9

Example of Applications software

Answer 9

Web browsers, spreadsheets

Question 10

Example of Systems software

Answer 10

Utility programs, Operating system, Device drivers

Question 11

Define Translators

Answer 11

A translator is a program that converts high-level source code into low-level object code

Question 12

Define Compiler

Answer 12

Compilers translate high-level code into machine code all at once,

Question 13

Define Interpreter

Answer 13

Interpreters translate and execute code line-by-line. They stop and produce an error if a line contains an error

Question 14

Define Assembly Code

Answer 14

Low-level language

Question 15

What are the stages of compilation?

Answer 15

Lexical analysis
Syntax analysis
Code generation
Optimisation

Question 16

What is a memory manager

Answer 16

Keeps track of what portions of memory have been allocated
Determines how much memory to allocate to each process
Determines when a portion of memory should be available for a process

Question 17

Give three advantages of using libraries

Answer 17

Error-free
Save time
Re-usable
Designed by experts

Question 18

What are the similarities and differences between static and dynamic linkers?

Answer 18

Both: link external modules and libraries to main program
Static: File size increased.
Dynamic: External updates automatically feed through to main program

Question 19

Give two advantages of using interpreted

code over compiled code

Answer 19

Is platform independent
Runs instantly without time waiting for compilation
Useful for debugging

Question 20

Give two advantages of using compiled code over

interpreted code

Answer 20

Faster to execute

Does not require compiler to run

Question 21

Define libraries

Answer 21

High-level languages come with pre-written code libraries that give you access to many specialist functions

Question 22

Define Linkers

Answer 22

Compilation of high-level programs, often results in several object code files. The linker resolves all of the cross-references between the files and creates a single executable program.

Question 23

Define Interrupts

Answer 23

Are signals generated by software or hardware to indicate to the processor that a process needs attention