SLR 5

Question 1

What should you call an app?

Answer 1

Application software

Question 2

What are some types of Utility Software?

Answer 2

Antivirus
Defragmentation
Backup
Firewalls
Compression

Question 3

What should you call apps similar to Word?

Answer 3

Word processor

Question 4

What should you call apps similar to PowerPoint?

Answer 4

Presentation Software

Question 5

What are specific applications?

Answer 5

Apps with little use, only 1 purpose

Very specific for its set task

Question 6

What should be said instead of

“I would recommend Microsoft word”?

Answer 6

“I would recommend a word processor”

Question 7

What are generic applications?

Answer 7

Apps which can be used for multiple purposes

Question 8

What are Utilities?

Answer 8

Software which is designed to keep your computer safe, keep it running efficiently and provide useful tools for managing files

Question 9

What are some common types of Utilities?

Answer 9

File repair, backup, compression, defragmentation, anti-malware, file management and device drivers

Question 10

What are the types of backup?

Answer 10

Full backup- creates copies of all data files

Incremented backup- copies any data that has been changed

Backups can also he manual, automatic or scheduled

Question 11

What is defragmentation?

Answer 11

The process of reorganising your files on a hard disk, putting fragments of files and free space back together

Reduces movement of the read/write head across the surface of the disk, which speeds up file access

Can damage SSDs due to their lack of moving parts

Question 12

What do translators do?

Answer 12

Takes our code, source code, and turns it into object/machine code

Question 13

What is open source software?

Answer 13

Users can modify and distribute the software

Can be installed on any number of computers

Users can access the source code

May not be fully tested

Question 14

What are the benefits of open-source software for users and creators?

Answer 14

Users- software is free, wide community modification is allowed

Creators- gets their software out to a wider community

Question 15

What are the drawbacks of open-source software for users and creators?

Answer 15

Users- can be poorly supported, some features may not be well tested

Creators- little to no financial gain

Question 16

What is closed source software?

Answer 16

Software protected by the copyright and patents act

Users can’t modify the software

Paid for by the user

Supported by developers who don’t share source code

Tested prior to release

Question 17

What are the benefits of closed source software for users and creators?

Answer 17

Users- Well supported and tested, professionally made

Creators- they receive income for the product

Question 18

What are the drawbacks for closed source software for users and creators?

Answer 18

Users- must be paid for

Creators- constant demand from the community for more features and improvements, piracy issues

Question 19

What is a library?

Answer 19

Ready compiled and tested programs which can be called when needed

Question 20

What is a Dynamic Link Library (DLL)?

Answer 20

A library that contains subroutines written to carry out common tasks on the OS

Question 21

What are the benefits of libraries?

Answer 21

Quick and easy to use to add to your code

Pre-tested, so you can be relatively sure they’re free of errors

Pre-compiled so they typically are optimised to run quickly

Question 22

What are the drawbacks of libraries?

Answer 22

Adding functionality or specific tweaks can be difficult or impossible

You can get black boxed from your own implementation, so you can see how efficient it is because you can’t view it

Must trust the developer will maintain the library

Question 23

What are linkers?

Answer 23

Responsible for putting the appropriate machines addresses in all the external call and return instructions so all modules and the external library routines are linked together correctly

Also links any separately compiled subroutines into the object code

Question 24

What are two methods linkers use?

Answer 24

Static linking - implements required code into the object code, can result in large executable files

Dynamic linking - the OS links required code while the program runs to decrease the file size

Question 25

What is a loader?

Answer 25

A loader is a part of the OS that loafs the executable program file into the memory, which allows it to be ran

Responsible for loading the required libraries into the memory

Question 26

How is source code translated into machine code?

Answer 26

The 4 stages of compilation

Question 27

What are the 4 stages of compilation?

Answer 27

Lexical analysis
Syntax analysis
Code generation
Code optimisation

Each phase prepares the code for the next stage of compilation

Question 28

What happens in lexical analysis?

Answer 28

A lexer transforms lexemes in the source code into tokens by scanning each word letter by letter

A white space decides when a lexeme is complete

A token looks like this:

[tokenclass:token]

Once the token stream is created those tokens are placed into an input table

Question 29

What happens in syntax analysis?

Answer 29

Receives inputs in token form and analyses the structure of the input, checking if the syntax is correct or not

An abstract syntax tree is built as a result

Question 30

What happens in code optimisation?

Answer 30

Attempts to reduce execution time of the code by:

Takes redundant code and rewrites it in a new way with the same outcome

Removes subroutines that are never called

Removes variables and constants that are never referenced

However, compilation time will increase due to this process