Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Computer Science > Section 2 - Systems Software > Flashcards

Section 2 - Systems Software Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What are the functions of an Operating System (OS)?

5 functions

A

Memory Management
Interrupt Service Routine
Processor Scheduling
Backing Store Management
Peripheral Management

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is memory management?

A

The process of moving pages/segments of memory between primary and secondary storage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What are pages?

A

4kb divisions of memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What are segments?

A

Logical divisions of memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is internal and external fragmentation, and which are experienced by paging and segmentation?

A

Internal fragmentation occurs with paging, where storage space is wasted within the page.
External fragmentation occurs with segmentation, where storage space is wasted within RAM.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the interrupt service routine?

5 steps

A
  • After each Fetch/Decode/Execute (FDE) cycle, the system checks for any interrupts
  • If an interrupt is detected, its priority is checked against the current task
  • The current task is paused, its register values being sent to secondary storage
  • The interrupt task is completed
  • The previous task is restored
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is an interrupt?

A

A signal to stop/change the current task in the CPU

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Functions of an Operating System

Give examples of interrupts.

3 examples

A

Power-fail interrupt
Clock interrupt
Input/output device signal (requesting service or signalling the end of an operation)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is processor scheduling?

A

Allocation of processor time to each task

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What are the types of processor schedule algorithms?

5 algorithms

A
  1. Round Robin
  2. First Come First Served
  3. Shorted Job/Time First
  4. Shortest Remaining Time
  5. Multi-Level Feedback Queue
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the Round Robin algorithm for processor scheduling?

A

Each process gets a slice of processor time in a cycle
(simple)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the First Come First Served algorithm for processor scheduling?

A

The first task started will be the first task finished
(simple, inefficient)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the Shortest Job/Time First algorithm for processor scheduling?

A

The task with the shortest total time is finished first
(may never complete long tasks)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the Shortest Remaining Time algorithm for processor scheduling?

A

The task with the shortest remaining time is finished first
(may never complete long tasks, takes resources to calculate remaining time)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is the Multi-Level Feedback Queue algorithm for processor scheduling?

A

Tasks are organised based on priority, resources, and potentially task time
(complex, takes resources to organise)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is backing store management?

A

Allocates and tracks data on secondary storage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Functions of an Operating System

What is peripheral management?

A

Management of input/output devices

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Types of Operating System

What is the BIOS?

Give the full title, as well as its job and stored location

A

Basic Input/Output System
Holds the boot-up instructions to load the Operating System (OS), and deals with OS crashes.
Stored in ROM.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Types of Operating System

Name every type of Operating System (OS).

4 types

A

Real-Time
Distributed
Embedded
Multi-user Mulit-tasking

Multi-user and Multi-tasking are also types, but can be combined

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Types of Operating System

Name the features of a Real-Time Operating System (OS).

A

Short response times
Takes many inputs
Incorporates redundancy (if a component fails, switch to backup hardware)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Types of Operating System

Give examples of where a Real-Time Operating System (OS) is used.

A

Hospital machines, airplanes, self-driving cars

22
Q

Types of Operating System

Name the features of a Distributed Operating System (OS).

A

Tasks split between processors (in a network) - may be split based on computer specialty

23
Q

Types of Operating System

Give examples of where a Distributed Operating System (OS) is used.

A

Animation rendering, big company networks

24
Q

Types of Operating System

Name the features of an Embedded Operating System (OS).

A

Performs simple tasks
Used limited resources
Built-in to devices

25
Q

Types of Operating System

Give examples of where an Embedded Operating System (OS) is used.

A

Toasters, washing machines, stopwatches

26
Q

Types of Operating System

Name the features of a Multi-user Multi-tasking Operating System (OS).

A

Allows multiple users to provide input at once
Allows multiple tasks to be completed at once

27
Q

Types of Operating System

Give examples of where a Multi-user Multi-tasking Operating System (OS) is used.

A

A single powerful mainframe or
supercomputer, connected to many terminals

28
Q

Types of Operating System

What is a device driver?

A

A program that allows the computer to interface with a hardware device

29
Q

Types of Operating System

What is a virtual machine?

A

Software that mimics an Operating System (OS) on a different OS

30
Q

The Nature of Applications

What is systems software?

A

The software needed to run the computer’s hardware and application programs
This includes the operating system, utility programs, libraries and programming language translators

31
Q

The Nature of Applications

What is utility software?

A

System software designed to optimise the performance of the computer or perform
tasks

32
Q

The Nature of Applications

Name some examples of utility software

A
  • Disk defragmentation
  • Automatic backup
  • Automatic updating
  • Virus checker
  • Compression software
33
Q

The Nature of Applications

What are the two types of application software?

A
  • General-purpose
  • Special-purpose
34
Q

The Nature of Applications

What is general-purpose application software?

A

Software that can be used for many different purposes
(e.g. word-processor, spreadsheet, graphics package)

35
Q

The Nature of Applications

What is special-purpose application software?

A

Software that performs a single specific task or set of tasks
(e.g. accounts packages, hotel booking systems, fingerprint scanning systems)

36
Q

The Nature of Applications

What are the main features of open source software?

A
  • Source code is available for view and edits
  • Cheaper to develop
  • Robust

People not part of the dev team can contribute to the final product

37
Q

The Nature of Applications

What are the main features of closed source software?

A
  • Source code is not available to the public
  • Easier to monetise
38
Q

Programming Language Translators

What is source code?

A

Code written by the programmer, or the input to a translator

39
Q

Programming Language Translators

What is object code?

A

Machine code, or the output of a translator

40
Q

Programming Language Translators

What does an assembler do?

A

Translates assembly code to machine code (binary)

41
Q

Programming Language Translators

What does a compiler do?

A

Translates a high-level language into machine code all in one go
The object code can then be saved (.exe file) and run whenever needed without the presence of the compiler
Errors are flagged at the end of compilation

42
Q

Programming Language Translators

What does an interpreter do?

A

Translates a high-level language into machine code line by line
Translation is done each time the code is run
Errors are flagged during runtime

43
Q

Programming Language Translators

What is bytecode?

A

.

44
Q

Programming Language Translators

What are the advantages of using a compiler?

A
  • Object code can be saved on disk and run whenever required without the need to recompile (however, if an error is discovered in the program, the whole program has to be recompiled)
  • Object code executes faster than interpreted code
  • Object code produced by a compiler can be distributed or executed without having to have the compiler present
  • Object code is more secure, as it cannot be read without a great deal of ‘reverse engineering’
45
Q

Programming Language Translators

What are the advantages of using an interpreter?

A
  • Platform independence - the source code can be run on any machine which has the appropriate interpreter available (e.g. Java’s byte code)
  • Useful for program development as there is no need for lengthy recompilation each time an error is discovered
46
Q

Programming Language Translators

What are the 4 stages of compilation?

A
  1. Lexical analysis
  2. Syntax analysis
  3. Code generation
  4. Optimisation
47
Q

Programming Language Translators

What happens during lexical analysis?

A
  • Remove comments and unnecessary whitespaces
  • Creates token/symbol table
  • Tokenises variable names
48
Q

Programming Language Translators

What happens during syntax analysis?

A
  • Abstract syntax tree created
  • Type errors detected
  • Syntax errors detected
49
Q

Programming Language Translators

What happens during code generation?

A

Machine code is generated

50
Q

Programming Language Translators

What happens during optimisation?

A
  • Makes code faster
  • Makes code smaller
51
Q

Programming Language Translators

What is a linker?

A

A system tool that combines different code files and libraries into a single executable

52
Q

Programming Language Translators

What is a loader?

A

A system tool that loads executable files into memory so they can be run by the operating system

Computer Science (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions