Unit 4 Software Flashcards
What is system software
provides the services that the computer requires such as the operating system or utility software
what is application software
provides services that the user requires
what is the role of the operating system
to manage computer processes and memory along with hardware and software
what functions do an operating system have
input/output operations
user can communicate with the computer
error handling
loading and running of programs
managing of security
what are applications run on
they are run on the operating system
what is the operating system run on
it is run on the firmware
what is firmware run on
the hardware
what is firmware
provides basic machine instructions that allow the hardware to function and communicate with software
what is an interrupt
a signal sent from a device or from software to the microprocessor.This stops the microprocessor to stop what it is doing so that it can service the interrupt.
what is the purpose of an interrupt
it allows computers to carry out many task or to have several windows open at the same time
example of a hardware interrupt
can be the pressing of a key or moving the mouse
what is high level language
they enable a programmer to work quickly and dont require them to have prior knowledge of the hardware and instruction set
advantages of high level languages
easier to read and understand since language is closer to english
can be written in shorter time
debug at the development stage
easier to maintain once in use
what are low level languages
they can refer to machine code or assembly language.It requires knowledge of specific architecture and hardware of a certain computer
advantages of low level languages
can make use of special hardware
includes special machine dependent instructions
code doesnt take up much space in memory
can write code that performs a task very quickly
disadvantages of low level languages
takes longer to write and debug
more difficult to understand
disadvantages of high level languages
programs can be larger
programs can take longer to execute
programs may not be able to make use of special hardware
what is assembly language
it is a form of low level languages that use mnemonics
why is an assembler used to for assembly language
it translates the assembly language into machine code
what is a compiler
it translates high level languages. it translates the whole code at once before executing it
what is an interpreter
it translates high level languages. it translates and executes the code line by line
how does a compiler report errors
it provides an error report for the whole code
how does an interpreter report code
it stops execution when an error is found
when is an interpreter used
when developing a program
when is a compiler used
when trying to translate the final program
advantages of interpreters
easier and quicker to debug and test programs during development
easier to edit programs
disadvantages of interpreters
programs cannot be run without it
programs take longer to execute
advantages of compilers
a compiled program can be stored ready for use
an already compiled program can be executed without the compiler
takes up less space in memory after execution
its executed in shorter time
disadvantages of compilers
takes a longer time to write,test and debug programs during development
what is an Integrated Development Environment
is used by programmer to aid the writing and development of programs ( such as Pycharm or visual studio)
What are common features of IDE’s
code editors - allows a program to be written and edited
run time environment-
translators- compiler or interpreter
error diagnostics-finds possible errors while the code is being typed
auto completion-can offer prompts
auto correction-finds possible errors while the code is being typed
prettyprint-color the words to lay out the program
