5.1 Operating systems

Question 1

CMOS

Answer 1

complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

Question 2

Operating system

Answer 2

software that provides an environment in which applications can run and provides an interface between hardware and human operators

Question 3

HCI

Answer 3

human-computer interface

Question 4

GUI

Answer 4

graphical user interface

Question 5

CLI

Answer 5

command line interface

Question 6

Icon

Answer 6

small picture or symbol used to represent, for example, an application on a screen

Question 7

WIMP

Answer 7

windows, icons, menu and pointing device

Question 8

Post-WIMP

Answer 8

interfaces that go beyond WIMP and use touch screen technology rather than a pointing device

Question 9

Pinching and rotating

Answer 9

actions by fingers on a touch screen to carry out tasks such as move, enlarge, reduce and so on

Question 10

Memory management

Answer 10

part of the operating system that controls the main memory

Question 11

Memory optimisation

Answer 11

function of memory management that determines how memory is allocated and deallocated

Question 12

Memory organisation

Answer 12

function of memory management that determines how much memory is allocated to an application

Question 13

Security management

Answer 13

part of the operating system that ensures the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data

Question 14

Contiguous

Answer 14

items next to each other

Question 15

Virtual memory systems

Answer 15

memory management (part of OS) that makes use of hardware and software to enable a computer to compensate for shortage of actual physical memory

Question 16

Memory protection

Answer 16

function of memory management that ensures two competing applications cannot use same memory locations at the same time

Question 17

Process management

Answer 17

part of the operating system that involves allocation of resources and permits the sharing and exchange of data

Question 18

Hardware management

Answer 18

part of the operating system that controls all input/output devices connected to a computer

Question 19

Device driver

Answer 19

software that communicates with the operating system and translates data into a format understood by the device

Question 20

Utility program

Answer 20

parts of the operating system which carry out certain functions, such as virus checking, defragmentation or hard fish formatting

Question 21

Disk formatter

Answer 21

utility that prepares a disk to allow data/files to be stored and retrieved

Question 22

Bad sector

Answer 22

a faulty sector on an HDD which can be soft or hard

Question 23

Antivirus software

Answer 23

software that quarantines and deletes files or programs infected by a virus (or other malware)
can be run in the background or initiated by the user

Question 24

Heuristic checking

Answer 24

checking of software for behavior that could indicate a possible virus

Question 25

Quarantine

Answer 25

file or program identified as being infected by a virus which has been isolated by the antivirus software

Question 26

False positive

Answer 26

a file or program identified by a virus checker as being infected but the user knows this cannot be correct

Question 27

Disk defragmenter

Answer 27

utility that organises the sectors on a hard disk so that files can be stored in contiguous data blocks

Question 28

Disk content analysis software

Answer 28

utility that checks disk drives for empty space and disk usage by reviewing files and folders

Question 29

Disk compression

Answer 29

software that compresses data before storage on an HDD

Question 30

Backup utility

Answer 30

software that makes copies of files on another portable storage device

Question 31

Program library

Answer 31

a library on a computer where programs and routines are stored which can be freely accessed by other software developers for use in their own programs

Question 32

Library program

Answer 32

a program stored in a library for future use by other programmers

Question 33

Library routine

Answer 33

a tested and ready-to-use routine available in the development system of a programming language that can be incorporated into a program

Question 34

Dynamic link file (DLL)

Answer 34

a library routine that can be linked to another program only at the run time stage