Ch12 Flashcards
What is included in system software
BIOS
Operating system
System Utilities
What is BIOS
Basic Input/Output System - tells the computer to load the operating system files
Where is BIOS stored
ROM - Read Only Memory.
-cannot be modified
Function of Operating System
Controls the interaction between Application software with hardware by allocating resources
-includes managers and user interface
Define Application software
Any program that runs on the computer
What is API
Application programming interface - bridges the gap between the OS + Application Software
A factor of a successful OS
The reliability of the link between OS and hardware
Name 2 user interfaces:
GUI - graphical user interface
CLI - command line interface
What is a GUI
A user interface that relies on windows, icons, menus and pointers
Advantages of GUI
-Aesthetic
-Intuitive
Disadvantages of GUI
-cannot access all settings
-Takes more storage
What is a CLI
A user interface where users type in commands to control the computer.
Disadvantage of a CLI
-Need to know commands to use
-Not intuitive
Advantage of a CLI
-All settings can be accessed
-Takes up less storage
-Quicker to access
What are peripheral devices
Hardware devices connected to the computer
-Eg. mouses, speakers
What is driver software
Links the OS with peripherals
Name the 4 managers in the OS
Peripheral
Memory+Multitasking
User
File
Memory Manager function
-Allocates CPU processing time and ram storage
-If RAM is filled, it will create a swap file in secondary storage
-moves application data to main memory when in use and removes when not.
Peripheral manager function:
-Installs and updates driver software
-communicates to hardware using drivers
-Holds peripheral device usage requests in buffer memory until it can be processed.
User manager function:
-Controls user access to files + settings.
-Security measures to prevent access to non-intended user such as password.
File manager
-Manages data storage on the computer
-Creates, names, saves, copies, deletes, moves files
Utility software function:
Helps to optimize the computer’s performance
what is included in US software
-Encryption software
-Defragmentation
-Compression tools
-Backup software
define process of degragmenting
-Rearranges the data into contiguous blocks.
-This reduces the mechanical movement the discs need to do to retrieve the data.
-This speeds up loading process
Why can’t you defragment SSD’s
Have no moving parts so having fragmented files do not slow down the loading process.
Why are files fragmented
-Data is saved on the disk on the first segment available. —This means files are split across different parts of the disc
Define lossless compression
Reduced a file’s size by removing redundancies. Original can be retrieved
Define lossy compression
Converts image files into smaller files by reducing pixel resolution and color depth.
Define a swap file
Temporary memory used in the secondary storage because the RAM if full. They run slower though.
