Software and Hardware
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What is hardware, give some examples.
Hardware is the physical components that make up a computer system
What is software, give some examples.
Software is the programs or coded instructions that make a computer function
What are the 2 different types of software
System and Application software
What is System Software needed for?
System Software is needed to run the computer’s hardware / Application software
What is Application Software needed for
Application Software is needed to help carry out user-related tasks.
What are the types of System Software?
Operating System Libraries Utility Programs Programming Language translators
What are the types of Application Software?
General Purpose Specialised Applications Bespoke Applications
What are Library programs and what are they used for?
• Library programs are pre-written software that is stored in a compiled format. • They are used to assist programmers in interacting with peripherals such as printers
What are advantages of using Library programs?
• Programmers don’t have to rewrite huge bits of code. - Library programs are often reliable and efficient pieces of code as they have been designed to be used widely
What are Utility programs?
Programs designed to help maintain/optimise the performance of a computer
What are examples of Utility programs?
Disk defragmentation File compression Firewall File backup software Antivirus software Encryption of data before transmission
What does a disk defragmenter do? Why is this helpful?
• It recognises the hard disk so that parts of the same file stored in different places are recombined. • It makes reading a file quicker
Give an example of a General Purpose, Special purpose
• word processor, spreadsheet - payroll system
Advantages of special purpose over bespoke software?
• It will be cheaper • It will be ready to be installed immediately • It is likely to be well-documented, well tested and debugged
What is an operating system?
• A set of programs that manages the operations of the computer • It lies between application software and the computer hardware
Where is the operating system held?
• In permanent storage (like a hard disk) - When a computer is turned on, the OS is copied from storage into RAM
What are the roles of the Operating System?
• It hides complexities of the Hardware from the user by creating a user interface • It handles interrupts It manages • Memory • Processor Scheduling • Secondary Storage • Input/Output devices
How is memory managed by the OS?
• OS controls the allocation and management of space - It can also copy data to the hard disk if virtual memory is needed
What is virtual memory and when is it used?
• Virtual memory is when the hard disk is used as an extension of memory • It’s used when RAM isn’t large enough to store all of the programs the user is running simultaneously
How is processor scheduling managed by the OS?
-The OS is allocates processor time to multiple applications running at the same time
What are the objectives for the scheduler?
• Maximise throughput • Be fair to all users on a system • Provide acceptable response time to all users • Ensure hardware is kept as busy as possible
How is backing store managed by the OS?
The OS keeps a directory of where files are stored so they can be quickly accessed
How are peripherals managed by the OS?
• The OS communicates with the peripherals to check they are switched on and the correct peripheral to send the data to • They also ensure peripherals are allocated to processes without causing conflicts.
How are interrputs managed by the OS?
• The OS detects the interrupt signal and displays an error message to the user if appropriate