Systems Software Flashcards
What is an operating system?
An operating system is software that provides an interface between the user and the hardware in a computer system.
An operating system hides the complexities of the hardware from the user, for example: a user does not need to know “where” on secondary storage data is kept, just that it is saved for when they want it again.
What are the 5 key areas of an operating system?
- User interface
- Memory management and multitasking
- Peripheral management and drivers
- User management
- File management
What is a user interface?
A user interface is a program or a set of programs that allows a user to interact with a computer.
What are some examples of user interface?
Command Line Interface (CLI), Graphical User interface, Menu, Natural language (NLI), touch sensitive interface, voice driven interface
What is command line interface?
A command line interface (CLI) requires users to interact with the operating system using text based commands.
CLIs are more commonly used by advanced users.
Examples of CLIs are MSDOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) and Raspbian (for raspberry pi)
What is graphical user interface?
A graphical user interface (GUI) requires the users to interact with the operating system using visual elements such as windows, icons, menus and pointers (WIMP)
GUIs are optimised for mouse and touch gesture input.
Examples of GUI include Windows, Android, and MAC OS
What is a menu driven interface?
A menu interface is successive menus presented to a user with a single option at each point.
Often performed with buttons or a keyboard.
Examples include: chip and pin machines, vending machines, entertainment streaming services, cash machines, old ipods.
What is touch sensitive, and voice driven interface?
Touch sensitive:
A human interacts with the device by pressing on a touch screen, making it very intuitive and suitable for most users without training. They may not work with dirty or wet fingers and it will take longer to write text than with a keyboard.
Examples include smartphones and tablets.
Voice driven:
Controlled by speaking commands aloud to a listening device. The interface is intuitive, hands-free which speeds up the processes. However commands may be misheard or limited in what can be performed. Examples include Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s siri, and google home.
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
Exampels include voice assistant, search engines, smart home devices
What are the advantages and disadvantages of user interfaces?
CLI
Advantages - uses less system resources, useful for automation of tasks, commands are often faster to type than navigating menus
Disadvantages - requires users to remember commands, typing errros are common, less intuitive than GUI
GUI
Advantages - Intuitive and user-friendly; Requires no previous knowledge to use; Information is visual, making it easier to understand
Disadvantages - Uses more system
resources; Can be slower to find and
execute commands; Can be frustrating when doing repetitive tasks
Menu
Adv - Simplicity; Efficiency
Dis - Limited flexibility; Accessibility issues
NLI
Adv - Can be used by people with disabilities; Intuitive
Dis - Not always reliable; Privacy concerns
What is memory management?
Memory managementis a process carried out by the operating system allocating main memory (RAM) between different programs that are open at the same time
The OS is responsible for copying programs and data from secondary to primary storage as it is needed
Programs and data require different amounts of RAM to operate eciently and the OS manages this process
RAM is allocated based on priority and fairness,for example, system applications
(essential) may have a higher priority than user applications
The OS dynamically manages the memory, adjusting allocation as needed to maintain
optimal system performance
Memory management makes multitasking possible
What is multitasking?
Multitasking is a process made possible by the OS simultaneously managing system
resources (memory, CPU etc)to give a userthe perception of being able to use multipleprograms at the same time
The OS splits tasks and allocates system resources based on a priority
The CPU can only execute one instruction at a time, it can execute billions of them in one second.
This makes it appear that multiple programs are running at the same time
What is peripheral management?
Peripheral managementis a process carried out by the operating system managing the way peripherals (hardware)interact with software
The OS allocates system resources to peripherals to ensure ecient operation
Peripheral management makes plug-and-play (PnP)functionality possible,
automatically detecting and conguring new peripherals withoutthe need for
manually installing device drivers or power cycling the system
What is a device driver?
A device driver is a piece of software used to control a piece of hardware
Peripherals require device drivers in order to be used by the operating system
The OS has generic device drivers built in which makes basic compatibility possible
and enables plug-and-play (PnP)
In order for hardware to be used to its maximum capacity, often a separate device driver must be downloaded from the manufacturer
Device drivers are OS specific and are regularly updated
What is a peripheral?
A peripheral is an external device connect to a computer system to input or output data. Data is transferred between external devices and the processor and this process needs to be managed by the OS.
(hardware)
What is user management?
User managementis a process carried out by the operating system enabling dierent
users to log onto a computer
The OS is able to maintain settings for individual users, such as desktop backgrounds, icons and colour schemes
A system administrator is able to allocate dierent access rights for dierent users on a
network
What is file management?
File managementis a process carried out by the operating system creating, organising, manipulating and accessing les and folders on a computer system
The OS manages where data is stored in both primary and secondary storage
File management gives the user the ability to:
Create files/folders
Name files/folders
Rename files/folders
Copy files/folders
Move files/folders
Delete files/folders
What is utility software?
What are the three types of utility software?
How does defragmentation software work?
What is fragmentation?
What are the effects of defragmentation?
What is data compression?
What is encyrption software?
What is taskmaster?
