Hardware And Software

Question 1

Define hardware

Answer 1

The physical components of a computer

Question 2

Define software

Answer 2

The digital components of a computer, software controls hardware

Question 3

What is general purpose software?

Answer 3

Application software that can be used for many different tasks and not limited to one function. E.g word processors,spreadsheets and web browsers.

Question 4

What is bespoke software?

Answer 4

Software designed to meet specific needs of a user or organisation e.g bug tracking software

Question 5

What is special purpose software?

Answer 5

Type of software designed to perform a specific task.

Question 6

What are the advantages of off the shelf software compared to bespoke?

Answer 6

-Can be used for many tasks, not limited to one function
-Can be bought off the counter
-More support
-User friendly
-Has regular updates

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of off the shelf compared to bespoke?

Answer 7

-Off the shelf isn’t customised
-Limited control
-Security concerns

Question 8

What is Utility Software?

Answer 8

System software designed to help analyse, configure, optimise or maintain a computer. A single piece of utility software is called a utility or tool

Question 9

Explain what a Virus Scanner does

Answer 9

Detects and prevents malicious software and viruses on computer or laptop, scans and updates weekly.

Question 10

What does a disk defragmenter do?

Answer 10

Reorganises files on a HDD to improve customer performance

Question 11

What does a system monitor do?

Answer 11

Monitors performance and system resources on a computer system

Question 12

What does file management do?

Answer 12

Process of organising,storing and retrieving files in a way that makes them easy to find.

Question 13

What are examples of utility software?

Answer 13

-Virus scanner
-Disk defragmenter
-System Monitor
-File Management

Question 14

What is translator software?

Answer 14

Allows new programs to be written and run on computers by converting source code into machine code.

Question 15

What are three types of translator software and what do they do?

Answer 15

-Assembler-converts assembly code into machine code
-Interpreter- converts 3rd generation languages such as JavaScript into machine code one line at a time
Compiler-Converts third generation languages such as C++ into machine code ch one code all at once

Question 16

What is the operating system?

Answer 16

The operating system is responsible for hiding the complexities of hardware from the user and providing a virtual machine

Question 17

What are some functions of an OS?

Answer 17

-Controls and allows users to communicate with computer
-Allows users to communicate with computer
-Management of RAM
-Interrupt handling

Question 18

What are some OS requirements of a desktop PC?

Answer 18

-PC able to multitask
-Peripheral management
-Multi user
-Backup
-Customisable
-Archiving

Question 19

What are some OS system requirements for a mobile phone?

Answer 19

-Battery life
-Customisable
-Touch screen support
-Wireless network

Question 20

What are OS requirements for an embedded system?

Answer 20

-Specific purpose
-limited time

Question 21

It is desirable that an operating system is:

Answer 21

-Efficient
-Reliable
-Maintainable
-Small

Question 22

What is a Real Time operating system?

Answer 22

An operating system designed to manage hardware resources and execute tasks within a strict time constraint e.g embedded systems,medical devices

Question 24

What are 2 methods of allocating processor time by OS?

Answer 24

Scheduling Notes-process of managing and allocating CPU time to multiple processes that are running simultaneously
Round Robin Notes-OS algorithm that distributes work evenly among available resources by giving process turns to run on a repeating system.

Question 25

What is the advantage of Round Robin over Scheduling?

Answer 25

-Fairness -Easy to predict -Reduce waiting time

Question 26

What is the disadvantage of round robin over scheduling?

Answer 26

-Priority processes won’t complete quickly

Question 27

What is the memory management of the OS responsible for?

Answer 27

Keeping track of which parts of the main memory are being used for each process

Question 28

What is virtual memory and why is it used?

Answer 28

Using a portion of HDD as an extension of RAM allowing the computer to use more ram than physically available.

Question 29

What is Disk thrashing?

Answer 29

When memory is being constantly moved between RAM and Hard Drive

Question 30

What are library programs?

Answer 30

Collections of compiled routines which are shared by multiple programs such as the printing function.

Question 31

What is a DLL?

Answer 31

A dynamic link library is a collection of small programs that larger programs can LiDAR when needed to complete specific tasks. The small program(DLL file) contains instructions that help the larger programs handle what may not be the core function of original program.

Question 32

What is an advantage of libraries?

Answer 32

-Sharing of code across programs -Saves memory as routines -Reduce amount of programming required.

Question 33

What is the client server model?

Answer 33

A client usually does not share its resources but requests content or service from a server.