1.5- Systems software

Question 1

What is an operating system?

Answer 1

An operating system (OS) is software that provides an interface between the user and the hardware in a computer system

Question 2

What is a user interface?

Answer 2

A user interface is how the user interacts with the operating system

Question 3

What is a command line interface?

Answer 3

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 MS DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) and Raspbian (for Raspberry Pi)

Question 4

What is graphical user interface?

Answer 4

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) requires users to interact with the operating system using visual elements such as windows, icons, menus & pointers (WIMP)
GUIs are optimised for mouse and touch gesture input
Examples of GUIs are Windows, Android and MAC OS

Question 5

What is a menu interface?

Answer 5

A menu interface is successive menus presented to a user with a single option at each stage
Often performed with buttons or a keypad
Examples include
Chip and pin machines
Vending machines
Entertainment streaming services

Question 6

What is a natural language interface?

Answer 6

A natural language interface (NLI) uses the spoken word to respond to spoken or textual inputs from a user
Examples include
Virtual assistants - Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri
Search engines
Smart home devices

Question 7

What are the advantages and disadvantages to command line interfaces?

Answer 7

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 errors are common
Less intuitive than GUI

Question 8

What are the advantages and disadvantages of graphical user interfaces?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

What are the advantages and disadvantages to menu interfaces?

Answer 9

Advantages:
Simplicity
Efficiency

Disadvantages:
Limited flexibility
Accessibility issues

Question 10

What are the advantages and disadvantages to Natural language interfaces?

Answer 10

Advantages:
Can be used by people with disabilities
Intuitive

Disadvantages:
Not always reliable
Privacy concerns

Question 11

What is memory management?

Answer 11

Memory management is a process carried out by the operating system allocating main memory (RAM) between different programs that are open at the same time

Question 12

How does the OS aid memory management?

Answer 12

The OS is responsible for copying programs and data from secondary to primary storage as it is needed. Memory management makes multitasking possible
Memory management enables more than one program to run at a given time because it ensures that these programs are not overwritten, meaning that they are not replaced with another program if another is opened.

Question 13

What is multitasking?

Answer 13

Multitasking is the process of more than one program running concurrently, and it is needed as it enables a user of a computer to perform a variety of functions concurrently.

Question 14

What is peripheral management?

Answer 14

Peripheral management is when the OS controls the sending of data between the peripheral devices and the software of a computer.

Question 15

What is a device driver?

Answer 15

a program of the OS that acts as an interface between the computer and the connected peripherals, which allows the OS to manage the peripheral devices.

Question 16

What are the peripherals of a computer?

Answer 16

The peripherals of a computer are the hardware components (devices) that connect to it- such as:
input devices: keyboard, mouse
output devices: display, speaker, printers

Question 17

Why are drivers needed in the OS?

Answer 17

Tell software how to function
Communicates with computer operating systems
Without one, device cannot communicate with operating system so is vital for device to function

Question 18

What is user management?

Answer 18

User management is a process carried out by the operating system enabling different users to log onto a computer, allowing users to form, manage and erase individual accounts.
This provides the users with control over their digital assets like:
Applications
Devices
Networks
Cloud services

Question 19

What are the benefits of user management?

Answer 19

It allows multiple different people to have and use different accounts on the same device
User management also ensure personalisation of settings and has organisational benefits
Finally, user management provides digital security
Creating accounts for people in the organization
Manage access to resources on their device
Monitor device use for safety and confirm relevance of use

Question 20

What is file management?

Answer 20

File management is a process carried out by the operating system creating, organising, manipulating and accessing files and folders on a computer system
The file management manages where data is stored in both primary and secondary storage
The file management allows users to control who can access, modify and delete files/folders (permissions)

Question 21

What does file management give users the ability to do?

Answer 21

Create files/folders
Name files/folders
Rename files/folders
Copy files/folders
Move files/folders
Delete files/folders

Question 22

Why is file management needed in the OS?

Answer 22

1. To communicate with hardware to create, save, store, append, modify, search and delete
2. Manages the location of files on the computer in an organised manner which means that users can easily access all of their files + see the path taken to locate a specific file
3. Increases productivity since users can quickly search for files
4. Speeds up the process of carrying out actions (e.g creating files, saving files)
5. For data security and protection from unauthorised access
6. File sharing and collaboration allows multiple users to access the files to edit and save them at any time

Question 23

What is utility software?

Answer 23

Utility software is software designed to help maintain, enhance and troubleshoot/repair a computer system

Question 24

What is defragmentation?

Answer 24

Defragmentation software groups fragmented files back together in order to improve access speed

Question 25

Why is defragmentation important?

Answer 25

Defragmentation software takes the fragmented files and rearranges the segments so that they run contiguously. This decreases read/write time, thereby speeding up computer performance

Question 26

What is compression?

Answer 26

Compression reduces the amount of secondary storage required by performing an algorithm on the original data

Question 27

What is lossy compression?

Answer 27

Lossy compression physically removes data from the original data to reduce its size, the original file can not be re-created

Question 28

What is lossless compression?

Answer 28

Lossless compression uses mathematics to order data more efficiently reducing its size, the original files can be re-created as no data is lost

Question 29

Why is compression needed?

Answer 29

to reduce file sizes, saving storage space and allowing faster data transmission.

Question 30

What is encryption?

Answer 30

Encryption is the process of scrambling data using an algorithm from plain-text into cipher-text in order to make it unreadable to users without the master key

Question 31

Why is encryption important?

Answer 31

Encryption software enhances the security of the computer system and keeps data safe. Encryption protects private information, ensuring the data can not be reached by unauthorised users. It scrambles the entire computer’s hard disk and encodes it so that the data is unreadable in case of theft, unauthorised access or simply losing your computer.

Question 32

How is wireless data encrypted?

Answer 32

Wireless networks are identified by a 'Service Set Identifier' (SSID) which along with a password is used to create a 'master key' When devices connect to the same wireless network using the SSID and password they are given a copy of the master key The master key is used to encrypt data into 'cipher text', before being transmitted The receiver uses the same master key to decrypt the ciphertext back to 'plain text' To guarantee the security of data, the master key is never transmitted. Without it, any intercepted data is useless

Question 33

How is wired data encrypted?

Answer 33

Wired networks are encrypted in a very similar way to a wireless network, using a master key to encrypt data and the same key to decrypt data Encryption on a wired network differs slightly as it is often left to individual applications to decide how encryption is used, for example HTTPS

Question 34

What is a backup?

Answer 34

A backup is a copy of data.

Question 35

What is a full backup?

Answer 35

full backup: creating multiple copies of all organizational data files advantage: includes store and recovery times which are shorter disadvantage: requires a large amount of space

Question 36

What is an incremental backup?

Answer 36

incremental backup: only copies modified data since the last backup advantage: fastest backup time (only backs up increments) disadvantage: also requires full backup

Question 37

Describe how full and incremental backups could be used to restore company data in the event of loss.

Answer 37

If a company has been using full and incremental backups to backup their data, to restore the data in the event of loss, they would need to restore the full backup first, and then restore and additional incremental backups that were performed, in chronological order of when those incremental backups were performed (i.e the first incremental backup would be restored first). This way they get back all of their company data.

Question 38

Why are backups important?

Answer 38

they protect valuable data from loss due to accidental deletion, hardware failure, software issues, or even malicious attacks

Question 39

What are the different ways you can store backed up data?

Answer 39

1. Offsite storage device 2. Onsite storage device 3. Online cloud storage

Question 40

What is an offsite storage device?

Answer 40

Offsite storage device: this could be data types or USB disks but this type of backup is a physical device with a copy of your systems. Usually, these need to be taken off-site and stored securely, but they are low-cost and reliable solutions.

Question 41

What is an onsite storage device?

Answer 41

Onsite storage device: this type of backup allows for fast access to recent backups without having to locate specific physical disks. Usually, these can store an even larger amount of data and an even greater history of changes for any files you need to recover. Since this is onsight, this is usually combined with an off-site copy, using either a physical device or an online option.

Question 42

What is online cloud storage?

Answer 42

Online cloud storage: Another good option for backups is online via a ‘cloud’ platform. Cloud backups can be fully automated and are a completely scalable solution as they can handle however much data you have. By automating this process and removing the need to rely on physical disks to provide backups it is easier and allows you to feel confident on your offsite backup to be readily available.