Section 6 Flashcards
Hardware
A generic term for the physical parts of the computer, both internal and external
Software
A generic term for any program that can be run on a computer
Application Software
programs that perform specific tasks that would need doing even if computers didn’t exist.
e.g. editing text, carrying out calculations
Utility programs
Programs that perform specific common task related to running the computer.
e.g. zipping files
Library programs
code, data, and resources that can be called by other programs.
Translators
Software that converts programming language instructions into 0s and 1s (machine code).
Different types of translators - ALL of them
Compilers: a program that translates a high-level language into machine code by translating all of the code.
Assembler: a program that translates a program written in assembly language into machine code.
Interpreter: a program for translating a high-level language by reading each statement in the source code and immediately performing the action.
Operating System Software
A suite of programs designed to control the operations of the computer.
Virtual Machine
The concept that all of the complexities of using a computer are hidden from the user and other software by the operating system.
Resource management
How an operating system manages hardware and software to optimise the performance of the computer