Unit 1 - A3 - Computer software in an IT system Flashcards
What is a file type?
File types helps the computer determine which software will be used to access the file and how or where it should be stored.
What are the common image types?
.bmp (BITMAP) .tif (TIFF) .jpg (JPEG) .gif (GIF) .raw (RAW)
What are the common video Types?
.mov (MOV) .avi (AVI) .mp4 (MPEG4)
Name some common application software file types:
Microsoft Office’s Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx) and Access (.mdb)
What is meant by compatibility when talking about file types and why is this an issue?
Some file types only work with certain software. For example, spreadsheet application would not be able to open a word processing document (.docx)
This may be an issue because you may need to purchase new software. Sharing files with others who do not have the required software.
Give advantages and one disadvantage of using JPEG as a file type.
It can be opened by most software applications; Take up less memory than many other file types necause the file is compressed when it’s saved; Useful for email attachments; Disadvantage : Quality might not be high enough for some purposes.
What’s the difference between MP3 and MP4?
MP3 only stores audio files while MP4 holds both audio and video data with high quality.
What is the disadvantage of MP3 and MP4 files?
They are not protected file types and this has led to piracy.
The role of operating system in networking (NOC)
Network operating system provides printer, database and application sharing, common file system and managing security and housekeeping aspects.
The role of operating system in security (OS Security)
It’s a way to protect the system from threats, bugs, viruses or any malware hackers. It safe guards any assets of computer that is capable of being stolen, edited or deleted.
- User Authentication
- Antivirus and firewall software
- Backup facilities
The role of operating systems in memory management.
The operating system manages the computer’s resources, such as its memory.
To do this the operating system decides and tracks:
*Which processes to allocate memory to.
*How much memory to allocate to each process
*When to un-allocate memory
*Transferring data to the pagefile (or swapfile) on the HDD (VIRTUAL MEMORY) temporarily to free RAM (Paging or swapping)
The role of the operating system in device drivers
A device driver is a small piece of software which manages the communication between a device and the IT system. The OS comes with generic device drivers to work with a wide variety of devices, however most devices have their own drivers which take full advantage of the device’s capabilities.
What is open source software
Open source software is where the code used to create the software (source code) is available to anyone to copy, change and adapt it to meet their needs.
It is often free, with support and fixes provided by a community of users (via online forums).
Testing is not always as thorough as proprietary software and reliability is not guaranteed.
What is proprietary software?
Software that only the original authors can legally copy, inspect and alter the source code.
How can people other than the original developer access the source code of proprietary software?
Someone in possession of the correct licence could also alter the software source code, but generally this is not permitted.
