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system software Flashcards

1
Q

what happens when the computer is switched on?

A

the computer is switched on and before the operating system is loaded the hardware devices that will be used by the computer need to be checked.Once deemed correct the operating system will be loaded in RAM with the drivers for the hardware devices.

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2
Q

what a boot sequence?

A

the intitial set of operatioms that the computer performs when it is switched on.

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3
Q

what performs the boot sequence?

A

the boot loader.

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4
Q

what is BIOS?

A

Basic Input-Output System.It is low-level software that resides in a non-volatile ROM chip on a computer’s motherboard.

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5
Q

what is firmware?

A

Software that permanently resides on ROM.

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6
Q

What does the BIOS do?

A

It is responsible for POST(Power-On Self-Test) and loading the operating system.

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7
Q

What is the process when the computer turns on?

A

The BIOS begins the Power-On Self-Test to check the hardware. An inventory of the hardware connected to the computer is obtained from the CMOS. The hardware is tested to determine if it is functioning correctly. The BIOS locates the Master Boot Record(MBR) a section of code usually stored on the hard disk drive. The MBR loads and executes the operating system kernel which continues with the start-up procedure.

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8
Q

what is the kernel?

A

the core of a computer’s operating system that remains in RAM.

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9
Q

What is the kernel responsible for?

A

The input/output requests from software, translating them into instructions for the CPU. Its handles memory and peripherals.

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10
Q

what is CMOS?

A

it is a battery-backed,volatile memory the stores hardware settings( the types of hardware installed on your computer) and user settings(the current date and time)

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11
Q

what is UEFI?

A

a replacement for the traditional BIOS on PCs

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12
Q

what are advantages of UEFI compared to BIOS?

A

It can boot from drives of 2.2 TB or larger.
it can run in 32-bit or 64-bit mode which has more address space which make the boot process faster.
UEFI setup screens can be more user-friendly than BIOS

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13
Q

what features does UEFI provide?

A

It supports Secure Boot which checks for validity to ensure no malware has tampered with the boot process.
It can support networking features what can aid in remote troubleshooting and configuration which is not possible with a traditional BIOS.
It operates as a tiny operating system that runs on top of a computer’s firmware and can do a lot more than a BIOS.
It can be loaded on flash memory or a hardrive.

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14
Q

what is an interrupt?

A

It is a signal sent to the CPU from hardware or software indication the need for the CPU’s attention.

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15
Q

why are interrupts so important?

A

it is the only way in which the CPU can be told to stop what it’s currently processing and switch to a new process without many different processes without having to run an enitrie process to completion.

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16
Q

what generates interrupts?

A

hardware or software.

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17
Q

how are software intterupts generated?

A

They are generated are generated from programs

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18
Q

how are hardware interrupts generated?

A

when a signal is sent from a device

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19
Q

what happens when the CPU recieves an interrupt?

A

it stops the task it is currently processing and begins the execution of an interrupt handler program which attends to the needs of the device or software which initiated the interrupt

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20
Q

how are interrupts handled?

A

When the device has multiple interrupt outputs to handle it will handle them in the order of relative priority.

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21
Q

How are IRQs?

A

a unique Interrupt Request Number which the CPU uses to identify the device which is interrupting it.

22
Q

what is an IO range?

A

An IO range is a buffer a temporary storage area in RAM used to speed up a slow input/output device.

23
Q

what are processing techniques used for?

A

they are designed to optimise the efficiency of a computer system.

24
Q

what are the processing software processing techniques?

A

multitasking and multithreading

25
Q

what is multitasking?

A

It is a technique used by the operating system to appear to be running several programs simultaneously.

26
Q

what does multitasking do?

A

when a job cannot use the processor the system can suspend or interrupt the job freeing the processor to work on another job. The CPU switches very short bursts of processing time between all the running programs so that the user seems to be running several program simultaneously.

27
Q

how does multitasking work?

A

a process occupies a certain amount of RAM it also makes use of registers within the CPU and operating system
memory space.
When two processes are multitasking the operating system allots a certain number of CPU execution cycles to one program.
After the number of cycles the operating system makes copies of all the registers used by the processes and notes the point at which the process paused in its execution.
It then loads all the resgisters used by the second process and allows it a certain number of CPU cycles.
When those are complete it makes copies of all the registers used by the second program and loads the first program.

28
Q

what is multithreading?

A

when one program can have several different threads running at the same time.

29
Q

what is virtual memory?

A

section of hard disk used as an extension of RAM.

30
Q

what is virtual memory useful for?

A

it is a slower device used if faster RAM runs out of space.

31
Q

what are Translators

A

software programming tools that convert code into another type of code.

32
Q

what are programming languages?

A

tect-based instructions structured according to syntax of language.

33
Q

what are translators made up of?

A

compiler, assembler and interpreter.

34
Q

what is a high level language?

A

it contains a high level of abstraction where underlying computer workings hidden from programmer(closer to human languages)

35
Q

what do high level languages include?

A

variables, arrays, objects,methods,loops

36
Q

what are examples of high level languages?

A

python,JavaScript and Delphi

37
Q

what is a low level language?

A

they are closer to machine language and includes machine language and assembly language.

38
Q

what is machine language?

A

binary code the computer understands

39
Q

what is assembly language?

A

translated into machine code by assembler

40
Q

what is an IDE?

A

programmer-friendly environment to develop programs without basic text editor to type code.

41
Q

what is interpreted language?

A

read and is executed directly there is no compilation stage.

42
Q

what does an interpreter do?

A

it reads program lines, converts to machine code and executes

43
Q

what are an advantage and disadvantage of interpreters?

A

(ad) if code has syntax error it will run up until the error line.
(dis) everytime the programs runs it re-interprets each line then executes which slows down the process.

44
Q

what are compilers?

A

compiled languages transformed into executable form before running.

45
Q

what is the advantage and disadvantage of compilers?

A

AD object/source code executed after compilation(not compiled each time)
DIS syntax error in source code means the code cannot run.

46
Q

what does the Machine code generation entail?

A

compile source code directly into machine code and create a new file which is object code

47
Q

what does machine dependent mean

A

only executes on machine it was compiled on

48
Q

what are intermediate representations?

A

language compile into bytecode(machine-independent ) then executed without need to re-read source file.

49
Q

what is object code(bytecode)?

A

executed by virtual machine interpreter for faster analysis and interpretation.

50
Q

explain the machine cycle?

A

Fetch the program from memory into CPU to start execution.
Decode instruction using CPU instruction set to understand type.
Execute instruction using data if necessary.
Store obtained result in main memory or send to and output device or CPU keeps value in internal registers.
Update state of various elements for the next instruction.

51
Q

How does CPU process data?

A

write programs in high-level languages represent code in binary because the computer understands that. Compile program into low-level set of instructions. Common ISAs instruction CPU understands and executes

IT (8 decks)

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