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11B1/Cp > Software (Ch12) (M1) > Flashcards

Software (Ch12) (M1) Flashcards

1
Q

What is system software?

A

System software is software that governs the computer system

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2
Q

Give two functions of system software

A

Functions of System software:

Controls the hardware, including any peripherals
Allows other programs (applications) to run
Provides an interface for the user to interact with the computer
Maintains the system

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3
Q

What are the two kinds of system software?

A

Operating systems and utilities

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4
Q

Give two tasks of the kernel

A

The kernel performs various tasks:
It manages computer memory
It schedules tasks
It deals with data security

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5
Q

What is the memory manager, and what does it do?

A

The memory manager is a piece of software in the kernel. It loads any software application that you want to run into virtual memory (RAM).

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6
Q

How does the memory manager ensure that programs do not interfere with one another?

A

To ensure that this doesn’t happen, the memory manager gives each application a private memory area in RAM in which to run.

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7
Q

Why does a kernel need to schedule tasks?

A

A kernel needs to schedule tasks, because a more important task may interrupt and require a time slice immediately from the CPU.

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8
Q

What is scheduling?

A

Scheduling is setting tasks to run at a certain time. The kernel ensures that high priority tasks are set to run before those with a lower priority.

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9
Q

Part of the kernel is responsible for user permissions and access rights. Give one example of a permission that a user can have.

A

Open files
Write to files
Delete files

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10
Q

What is an operating system?

A

An operating system is the central software that manages, and controls, the hardware and software on a computer or device.

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11
Q

Give two examples of operating systems

A

Windows
Linux
Unix
iOS
Android

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12
Q

What are the four main components of an operating system?

A

Operating systems are made up of four main components:

The Kernel
Device Drivers
User Interface
System Utilities

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13
Q

Give three examples of a user interface

A

Examples of User Interfaces:

Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Command Line Interface (CLI)
Menu Driven Interface
Natural Language Interface

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14
Q

What are the features of a Graphical User Interface (GUI)?

A

Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers (WIMP)
A GUI is visual, interactive and intuitive
It is optimised for mouse and touch gesture input
(Visual representation of applications, programs and data are designed to be intuitive and easy to learn for novice users)

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15
Q

What are the features of a Command Line Interface (CLI)?

A

Text based
A CLI is less resource heavy compared to a GUI
Has more commands than a GUI
A CLI is efficient, and is for advanced useers
It is useful for automating processes with scripts
Includes powerful, text-based commands that can be complicated in nature and are more suited for advanced users

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16
Q

What are the features of a Natural Language Interface?

A

Responds to questions in spoken language
It is not always reliable and can sometimes mishear the user
More popular, and now improvements are always being made
Has gained much wider popularity and accuracy over the last decade, with the introduction of digital assistants, like Alexa.
Answers may be limited

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17
Q

What are the features of a Menu Driven Interface?

A

Successive menus are presented to the user
Single options are chosen at each stage
The system a NLI is running on usually uses buttons on a keypad
Examples of uses of Menu Driven Interfaces are: Cash points, chip and pin devices

18
Q

What is multitasking?

A

Multitasking is when you have more than one program open and running at the same time

19
Q

How many programs can actual execute at once?

A

Only one program can execute at once

20
Q

How does memory become fragmented?

A

Over time, memory becomes fragmented as programs are loaded and closed because they use different amounts of memory.

21
Q

When the memory is full, what does the operating system use?

A

When the memory is full, the operating system uses virtual memory.

22
Q

Give one example of a setting the operating system will retain for each user

A

Icons
Desktop background

23
Q

What is a multi-user system?

A

A multi-user operating system is where multiple numbers of users can access different resources of a computer at the same time.

24
Q

In the filename, what tells the operating system which application to load the file into?

A

An extension to the filename tells the operating system which application to load the file into

25
Q

What is a device driver?

A

A device driver is a piece of software that translates commands from the operating system into instructions that hardware devices can understand and execute.

26
Q

What are device drivers specific to?

A

Device drivers are specific to the hardware and operating system

27
Q

Give three tasks performed by utilities

A

Some tasks performed by utilities include:

System security, e.g. encryption, firewalls
System performance, e.g. defragmentation, task manager
Storage efficiency, e.g. compression
Backups
System information and diagnosis

28
Q

What is utility software?

A

Utility software is a type of software that is designed to help users manage, maintain, and optimise their computer systems.

29
Q

What is application software?

A

Application software is software that performs specific tasks for users, such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases.

30
Q

What does an encryption utility do?

A

Encryption utilities scramble data so that it can only be read by a computer with the correct software key.

31
Q

What does a user have to enter, to decrypt data?

A

The correct password must be entered, to decrypt the encrypted data

32
Q

What does a defragmentation utility do?

A

Defragmentation utilities can move the contents of memory sectors to be closer to other ones in the same file.
This ensures that the computer runs faster and more efficiently.

33
Q

What does a compression utility do?

A

A compression utility reduces a file’s size by discarding some of the data.

34
Q

What are the two types of compression?

A

Lossy and lossless

35
Q

What happens to data during lossless compression?

A

No data is lost and the file can be decompressed with all its information intact. The original file can be restored.

36
Q

What happens to data during lossy compression?

A

Data is lost in the compression process and when the file is decompressed it will not contain all of the original information. The original file cannot be restored.

37
Q

Why is lossy compression unsuitable for text or program files?

A

Because lossy compression causes irreversible change, where data is lost

38
Q

GIve one example of a file type that can be compressed using lossy compression

A

JPEG
MP3

39
Q

GIve one example of a file type that can be compressed using lossless compression

A

PNG
Bitmap
GIF

40
Q

What is the purpose of a user interface?

A

A user interface allows the user to interact with a computer system

41
Q

What is the main advantage of encryption?

A

The main advantage of encryption is that intercepted or stolen data is still secure, as only the intended readers of the data can unscramble and understand the data.

42
Q

What has to be done to a compressed file, before it can be used?

A

A compressed file needs to be extracted before it can be used.

11B1/Cp (13 decks)

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