Unit 4: Software

Question 1

What is system software?

Answer 1

System software is software essential for the operation of the computer system

Question 2

What are some examples of system software?

Answer 2

• The operating system
  -Utility Software

Question 3

What does utility software do?

Answer 3

Utility software helps maintain, enhance, repair, and troubleshoot the computer system

Question 4

What are some examples of utility software?

Answer 4

-defragmentation(maintain)
-compression(enhance)
-encryption(enhance)
-task manager(troubleshoot)

Question 5

What is application software?

Answer 5

Software that is chosen by the user to carry out specific tasks

Question 6

What is an operating system?

Answer 6

An operating system is software that manages computer hardware and provides a platform for running applications

Question 7

What is a user interface?

Answer 7

A user interface is how the user interacts with the OS

Question 8

What is a command line interface?

Answer 8

A CLI requires users to interact with the OS with text based commands

Question 9

What is a Graphical User Interface?

Answer 9

A GUI requires users to interact with the operating system using visual elements such as windows, icons, menus, and pointers

Question 10

What is a menu interface?

Answer 10

A menu is successive menus presented to a user with a single option at each stage

Question 11

Examples of things that use a menu interface?

Answer 11

-Vending machine
-Entertainment streaming services

Question 12

What is a natural language interface?

Answer 12

A natural language interface uses the spoken word to respond to spoken or textual inputs from a user

Question 13

Examples of things that use a NLI?

Answer 13

-Virtual assistant
-Smarthome devices
-Search engines

Question 14

Advantages of using a CLI?

Answer 14

-Uses low system resources
-Useful for automation of tasks
-Commands are faster to type than using menus

Question 15

Disadvantages of using a CLi?

Answer 15

Requires users to remember commands
Typing errors are common

Question 16

Advantages of GUI

Answer 16

• User friendly
  -No prior knowledge required to use
  -Information is visual and easy to understand

Question 17

Disadvantages of GUI

Answer 17

Uses more system resources
Can be slower to find and execute commands
Frustrating to use when doing repetitive tasks

Question 18

Advantages of menu

Answer 18

-Simple to use
-Efficient

Question 19

Disadvantages of menu

Answer 19

• Limited flexibility
  -Accessibility issues

Question 20

Advantages of NLI?

Answer 20

• Can be used by people with disabilities
  -Intuitive

Question 21

Disadvantages of NLI?

Answer 21

-Privacy issues
-Not always reliable

Question 22

What is peripheral management?

Answer 22

Peripheral management is a process carried out by the operating system managing the way peripherals (hardware) interact with software

The OS allocates system resources to peripherals to ensure efficient operation

Peripheral management makes plug-and-play (PnP) functionality possible, automatically detecting and configuring new peripherals without the need for manually installing device drivers or power cycling the system

Question 23

What is a device driver?

Answer 23

A device driver is a piece of software used to control a piece of hardware

Peripherals require device drivers in order to be used by the operating system

The OS has generic device drivers built in which makes basic compatibility possible and enables plug-and-play (PnP)

Question 24

What is memory management?

Answer 24

The operating system allocates main memory between different programs that are open at the same time
-Main memory is allocated based on priority

Question 25

What is multitasking?

Answer 25

- Made possible by OS simultaneously managing system resources to give the user the perception they are using multiple programs at the same time -The OS splits tasks based on priority -The CPU executes one instruction at a time

Question 26

What is system security?

Answer 26

Operating Systems provide many safety features such as encryption, firewall, virus scan, and password protected system accounts.

Question 27

What is file management?

Answer 27

File management carried out by the OS creating, organising, manipulating and accessing files and folders on a computer system. The OS manages where data is stored in both primary and secondary storage

Question 28

What does file management give the user?

Answer 28

File management gives the user the ability to: Create files/folders Name files/folders Rename files/folders Copy files/folders Move files/folders Delete files/folders

Question 29

What is user management?

Answer 29

User management is a process carried out by the operating system enabling different users to log onto a computer The OS is able to maintain settings for individual users, such as desktop backgrounds, icons and colour schemes A system administrator is able to allocate different access rights for different users on a network

Question 30

What is firmware?

Answer 30

Firmware is embedded directly in to the hardware of a device, to make them function

Question 31

What is the role of firmware in the startup of a computer?

Answer 31

When a computer is turned on, it has to explore the ROM for its initial boot-up instructions, these are contained in a Bootstrap loader The initial process is handled by the basic input/output system (BIOS) which is known as firmware Once start-up is complete, instructions are sent to RAM to be processed by the operating system This layer ensures that hardware devices e.g. keyboard and mouse are available and can be communicated directly by the operating system Firmware translates between the hardware and the software

Question 32

What is an interrupt?

Answer 32

An interrupt is a signal for the CPU to stop what it is currently doing and do something else as a higher priority

Question 33

How is an interrupt generated?

Answer 33

Interrupts are generated by hardware or software Interrupts are added to an area called the interrupt service routine The interrupt service routine holds instructions that will need to be fetched, decoded and executed to complete the commands of the interrupt The contents of the registers within the CPU cannot be lost by an interrupt, so contents are copied to a reserved area in RAM called a stack Contents are added to the top of the stack, which will save them for later retrieval when the interrupt is complete The interrupt will be executed instead of the original instructions

Question 34

What are examples of hardware interrupts?

Answer 34

power button may have been pressed moving the mouse clicking an icon to open a new program keyboard presses e.g. ctrl, alt, delete

Question 35

What are examples of software interrupts?

Answer 35

a program is not responding division by zero two processes trying to access the same memory location