Software

Question 1

What does the boot loader/bootstrap loader do?

Answer 1

It performs the boot sequence which ends with the entire OS being loaded

Question 2

What does BIOS stand for, and what is its purpose?

Answer 2

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) initializes and tests hardware during the boot process and provides runtime services for the operating system.

Question 3

What are the key functions of the BIOS?

Answer 3

• Power-On Self-Test (POST).
• Obtain an inventory of the hardware from the CMOS
• Test the hardware
• BIOS locates the MBR, which is then responsible for loading+executing the OS kernel, which continues the start-up procedure

Question 4

What does POST stand for, and what does it do?

Answer 4

POST (Power-On Self-Test) checks and verifies the integrity of hardware components before booting the operating system.

Question 5

What is CMOS, and what is its role in a computer?

Answer 5

CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) is battery-backed, volatile memory.
It stores
- hardware settings (eg Disk drive)
- user settings )date and time)

Question 6

What is MBR, and what does it do?

Answer 6

MBR (Master Boot Record) is the first sector of a storage device, containing the bootloader and partition table.

Question 7

What is the kernel in an operating system?

Answer 7

The kernel is the core part of the operating system that manages hardware resources and facilitates communication between hardware and software.

Question 8

What does UEFI stand for, and how is it different from BIOS?

Answer 8

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a modern replacement for BIOS
- faster boot times
- support for larger drives
- graphical interface

Question 9

What are interrupts?

Answer 9

Interrupts are signals sent to the CPU to indicate the need for the CPU’s attention

Question 10

What does IRQ stand for, and what is its purpose?

Answer 10

IRQ (Interrupt Request Line) is a hardware signal sent to the CPU to handle specific tasks from devices.

They are managed through the Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC).

Question 11

What is an I/O range?

Answer 11

I/O range refers to a set of memory addresses assigned to hardware devices for communication with the CPU.

It prevents conflicts by ensuring unique address ranges for each device.

Question 12

What is multitasking in computing?

Answer 12

The computer appearing to run more than one program at the same time

Question 13

What is a process?

Answer 13

A sequence of instructions that can be executed by the CPU

Question 14

What is multiprocessing?

Answer 14

In the same computer different processes can be executed by different CPUs or CPU cores at the same time.

Question 15

What is Parallel processing?

Answer 15

Breaks up a task into smaller pieces and runs them simultaneously on separate processors or computers.

Question 16

What is a thread?

Answer 16

A part of a larger program that runs independently, but simultaneously with other parts of the program.

Question 17

What is Multithreading?

Answer 17

The ability of an Operating System to let programs split themselves up into multiple tasks and to allow these tasks to be executed independently

Question 18

What is a program?

Answer 18

A set of instructions to accomplish a task. It can consist of multiple processes

Question 19

What is virtual memory?

Answer 19

Space on the Hard disk
Storage used as RAM when the computer has used all its RAM. It is not RAM.

a method that computers use to manage storage space to keep systems running quickly and efficiently

Question 20

What does an interpreter do?

Answer 20

An interpreter reads each program line by line, converts it to machine code and executes it.

Question 21

What is Machine Code Generation?

Answer 21

A certain type of compiler reads the whole program and creates a new file with an extension of exe that the user can run directly.

Question 22

What other type of compiler is there, aside from Machine Code Generation?

Answer 22

Intermediate Representations
The languages is first compiled to bytecode. This is then compiled to a file an extension of class.

Question 23

What are the four stages of the machine cycle?

Answer 23

1. FETCH
2. DECODE
3. EXECUTE
4. STORE

Question 24

Define DBMS

Answer 24

A Database Management System (DBMS) is a software system that allows users to create, define, manipulate and manage databases.