4.1

Question 1

What is hardware?

Answer 1

The electrical or electro-mechanical parts of a computer system

Question 2

What is software? 2 categories?

Answer 2

All of the programs that make a computer function
System & application software

Question 3

What are examples of system software?

Answer 3

• operating system
• utility programs
• library programs
• translators

Question 4

What are examples of application software?

Answer 4

• general purpose
• special purpose

Question 5

What is systems software?

Answer 5

Required to run and manage the computers hardware and applications programs

Question 6

What are some things systems software does?

Answer 6

• allocates jobs to the processor
• peripheral management
• maintaining security and checking for viruses
• software installation
• translating program code into machine code

Question 7

What does the OS do?

Answer 7

Serves as a middle man for communication between the computers hardware and software as software applications cannot talk directly to the hardware

Question 8

What are the tasks of an OS?

Answer 8

• resource management
• provision of a user interface

Question 9

What is included in resource management?

Answer 9

• processor scheduling
• memory management
• backing store management
• IO management

Question 10

What is utility software designed to do

Answer 10

Some analyse, configure, optimise or maintain a computer system:
- defragmentation
- install/uninstall software
- keep software up to date
- monitor resources and performance
Some perform additional common tasks needed by users:
- virus checks
- automatic backup
- file compression

Question 11

What is a library?

Answer 11

Collection of pre-compiled routines that can be used by other programs

Question 12

What are the 3 types of translators?

Answer 12

Assemblers = translate assembly language into machine code
Compilers = translate high - level, language programs into object code
Interpreters = also translate high-level

Question 13

What are the types of application software categories?

Answer 13

• general purpose
• special purpose
• off the shelf
• bespoke

Question 14

What is general purpose software used for?

Answer 14

Generic tasks:
- word processors
- graphic packages
- spreadsheet software

Question 15

What is special purpose software used for?

Answer 15

Single, specific job:
- payroll/accountancy software
- media players
- calendar programs
- online payment softwares

Question 16

What are the benefits of off-the shelf?

Answer 16

• readily available for anyone to use
• usually lower cost
• likely to be well documented and tested

Question 17

What are the drawbacks of off-the-shelf?

Answer 17

• little to no control of the features of the product
• may not do exactly what you want

Question 18

What is bespoke software?

Answer 18

Created to fulfil your own exact specifications

Question 19

What are the benefits and drawbacks of bespoke software?

Answer 19

Benefits:
- complete control over the process
Drawbacks:
- significantly increased cost
- several weeks or years to develop