Systems Software Finished Flashcards
what is systems software
software that governs the computer system
what does systems software do (4)
controls the hardware, including peripherals
allows applications to run
provides an interface for the user to interact with the computer with
maintains the system
what are the kinds of systems software (2)
operating systems
utilities
what is an operating system
a suite of programs that manages and controls the computer
what are the functions of an operating system (8)
controlling hardware components providing a platform for software to run on providing a user interface multitasking facilities managing a computer's memory managing peripherals managing files managing users
what is a user interface
a suite of programs that allows a user to interact with a computer
what are the three types of user interface
graphical user interface (GUI)
mobile user interface (Mobile UI)
command line interface (CLI)
pro and con of GUIs
powerful and easy to use but require a lot of processing power
pro and con of CLIs
incredibly powerful and use little processing power but difficult to use
what is multitasking
being able to run more than one program simultaneously
what are the two conditions needed to multitask
the operating system needs to be able to support multitasking
the computer must have enough memory to hold more than one program in primary memory at the same time
why must computer memory be managed (2)
so more than one program can run at the same time
so more than one document can be opened at the same time
what is one method of memory management
paging
what is paging
when memory is broken up into fixed-size blocks called pages
when a program is run it is loaded into memory and the OS determines how much memory the program requires and allocates enough pages to hold it and its documents
what are peripherals
hardware devices connected to a computer
how does the OS operate a peripheral
it uses a device driver which contains instructions on how to control the device
where does the OS get the device driver from
each connected device has its own driver
what are the two advantages of using a device driver
any device can be used with the operating system
drivers can be updated to give better performance or remove a bug
what does file handling software enable the user to do (8)
create, modify and delete files and folders
copy and duplicate files and folders
move files and folders
rename files and folders
sort items into different orders, according to name, file type and data created
search for particular files and folders
restore deleted files
set access rights to files such as read only or edit
how do operating systems manage users (3)
it allows individual users to be created and deleted
access levels can be given to users, such as admin or standard user rights
auditing (keeping a log) of files a user creates, access, edits and deletes
what is utility software
software that helps maintain a system
what are four examples of utility software
encryption software
defragmentation software
data compression software
backup software
what happens over time when data is stored on a hard disk
it becomes fragmented which takes longer to read
what does defragmentation software do
takes fragmented files and rearranges the segments so they run contiguously
why are smaller files easier to transmit across a network
they require fewer packets to be sent
what are the two types of backup
full backup
incremental backup
what is a full backup
making a copy of every file on a computer network
what is an incremental backup
making a copy of any new files created or edited since the last backup
