Systems Software Flashcards
What is an operating system
An operating system (OS) is software that provides an interface between the user and the hardware in a computer system
What are the main functions of an OS
Provide a user interface
Memory management & multitasking
Peripheral management & device drivers
User management
File management
What is a user interface
A user interface is how the user interacts with the operating system
What is a command line interface
A Command Line Interface (CLI) requires users to interact with the operating system using text based commands
What is a graphical user interface
A Graphical User Interface (GUI) requires users to interact with the operating system using visual elements such as windows, icons, menus & pointers (WIMP)
What is a menu interface
A menu interface is successive menus presented to a user with a single option at each stage
What is a natural language interface
A natural language interface (NLI) uses the spoken word to respond to spoken or textual inputs from a user
What is memory management
carried out by the operating system allocating main memory (RAM) between different programs that are open at the same time
What is peripheral management
Peripheral management is a process carried out by the operating system managing the way peripherals (hardware) interact with software
What is a device driver
A device driver is a piece of software used to control a piece of hardware
What is user management
User management is a process carried out by the operating system enabling different users to log onto a computer
What is file management
File management is a process carried out by the operating system creating, organising, manipulating and accessing files and folders on a computer system
What is utility software
Utility software is software designed to help maintain, enhance and troubleshoot/repair a computer system
What is Defragmentation
Defragmentation software groups fragmented files back together in order to improve access speed
What is Compression
reduces the amount of secondary storage required by performing an algorithm on the original data by using lossless of lossy compression
