Hardware and Software

Question 1

What is hardware?

Answer 1

• The term given to the physical components of a computer system
• Includes both the internal and external components of a computer system

Question 2

What is software?

Answer 2

• The name given to program code
• Sequences of instructions which are executed in order to perform a task

Question 3

What is application software?

Answer 3

• The name given to programs that complete a specific task for the user
• Examples include word processors, web browsers and spreadsheets

Question 4

What is system software?

Answer 4

• Operates, controls and maintains the computer and its components

Question 5

What is the operating system (in terms of system software)?

Answer 5

• Form of system software
• Allows the user to control the computer with ease
• Provides a virtual machine, hiding the true complexity of the computer from the user
• Manages and controls access to the computers resources including:
  - Memory management
  - Processor scheduling
  - Interrupt handling

Question 6

What are utility programs?

Answer 6

• Form of system software
• Used for completing housekeeping tasks such as:
  
  • Data backup
  • Data defragmentation
  • Data compression

Question 7

What are library programs?

Answer 7

• Form of system software
• Contains useful functions that are frequently used by a program
• Used by programmers to simplify the process of developing programs
• Must be imported within the program

Question 8

What are translators?

Answer 8

• Form of system software
• Translates between different types of language
• Three types including:
  
  • Compilers
  • Assemblers
  • Interpreters

Question 9

What are low-level programming languages?

Answer 9

• Programs are processor specific
• Directly affect the processor

Question 10

What is machine code?

Answer 10

• Form of low-level language
• Uses binary to represent instructions
• Long and difficult to understand
• Programs are prone to errors and difficult to debug

Question 11

What is machine code useful for?

Answer 11

• Embedded systems and real-time applications

Question 12

What is assembly language?

Answer 12

• Form of low-level language
• Developed to simplify programming
• Uses mneumonics instead of binary instructions

Question 13

Why is assembly language better than machine code?

Answer 13

• The use of mneumonics makes assembly language more compact and less error prone than machine code

Question 14

What is a high-level programming language?

Answer 14

• Not platform specific
• Must be translated into machine code before execution
• Uses english and maths in instructions
• Examples include Java and Python

Question 15

Evaluate high-level vs low-level programming language

Answer 15

• High-level is portable whereas low-level isn’t due to their processor specific nature
• High-level is more understandable than low-level although assembly language is also understandable with mneumonics compared to machine code
• High-level uses commenting and named variable for easy debugging, low-level debugging is hard

Question 16

What are assemblers?

Answer 16

• Translates assembly language into machine code
• Platform specific
• Translation is quick

Question 17

What are compilers?

Answer 17

• Translates high-level languages into machine code
• Platform specific
• Checks for errors line-by-line
• Translates entire program at once
• If source code contains an error, it wont be translated

Question 18

What are interpreters?

Answer 18

• Translates high-level languages into machine code, line-by-line
• Checks for errors during translation

Question 19

Evaluate compilers vs interpreters

Answer 19

• Compilers check for errors line-by-line before translating, interpreters begin translation immediately
• Compilers translate entire source code at once, interpreters check each line for errors during translation
• Compilers do not need the source code or the compiler to be present for execution, whereas interpreters need both
• Compilers protect the source code, interpreters do not

Question 20

What is source code?

Answer 20

• Input to a translator

Question 21

What is object code?

Answer 21

• Translator’s output