1.7 System Software
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What is the purpose of the Operating System?
Runs the computer Manages the hardware and applications
What are device drivers?
Communicate with the peripherals and internal hardware
What is the purpose of the user interface?
Allows the user to interact with the device. This can be a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which are visual and easy for someone to use Or a command-line interface Where the user needs to type in commands to make it work.
What is multitasking?
When you have more than one program open and running at the same time The processor allocates a small amount of time to each process and cycles between them
What are File and disk management?
Where the operating system manages the movement, editing, and deletion of data.
What are User accounts?
The operating system manages the accounts of the different users.
What is Utility software?
Utilities are the programs that help maintain and configure a program.
What is defragmentation?
Defragging magnetic hard drive groups all of the files for each program together and all of the free space together. This makes it read and write quicker.
What is the purpose of backup utilities?
Schedules and manages backups.
What are incremental backups?
Only files since the last backup are saved
What are full backups?
All data is backed up
What is compression?
Reduces the size of large files so that they take up less space.
What is Open-Source Software?
It’s usually free and the source code is available so it can be adapted for individual needs
What is Proprietary Software?
Usually has to be paid for Only the compiled code is released so it cannot be edited
What is fragmentation?
Fragmentation is where a file is stored non-contiguously on a disk.
What is meant by paging?
Paging is a method of memory management that breaks up memory into fixed-size blocks.
What are the differences between command lines and GUIs?
Command lines are less resource-heavy than GUIs GUIs are optimized for specific input methods
How can device drivers help fix bugs?
Developers and device manufacturers can release updates to device drivers in order to improve their performance and fix bugs
What can the Operating System do?
Provide a user interface Provide file management and disk management Manage system security and user accounts
How does the OS allow multitasking?
By managing resources
What are the steps so the OS can manage resources?
When an application is opened the OS moves the necessary parts of the application to memory
What are the advantages of Open source software?
Usually free Encourges collaboration The software can be adapted by users to fit their needs
What are the disadvantages of Open source software?
Could be buggy Unpatched security holes Small projects may not get regular updates
What are the advantages of Proprietary software?
Comes with warranties, documentation and customer support Should be well-tested and reliable Usually cheaper for companies than developing their own custom-built software