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Chapter 3: Systems Software (Key Terms (Applications Software: The…
Chapter 3: Systems Software
Defragmentation
Reorganising data on a hard drive to put broken up files back together and collect up the free space.
Key Terms
Applications Software: The everyday programs that we use to create documents and perform tasks.
Hardware: The physical parts of a computer system.
Systems Software: Controls the operation of hardware in a computer
Device Driver: A program that controls a particular device connected to a computer system.
Utility Software: Helps manage, maintain and control the computer’s resources.
Operating System
An Operating System (OS) is a piece of complex software found on most computer systems.
The Main Functions of an OS are to:
Communicate with internal and external hardware via the device drivers
Provide a user interface, allowing a user to interact with the computer and vice versa
Provide a platform for different applications to run
Allow the computer to multi-task by controlling memory resources and the CPU
Deal with file management and disk management
Manage system security and user accounts
Device Drivers let the OS and Hardware communicate
Every piece of hardware connected to a computer system requires a device driver
Drivers essentially act as a ‘translator’ for the signals between OS and hardware.
User Interface
A user interface allows the user to interact with a computer system
GUI - most common - designed to be easy for everyday use - visual and interactive - optimised for specific input methods
A command line interface is text baded
Command line interface is less resource heavy
Command line interface are not suitable for everyday users but are more efficient and powerful for advanced users
Handling Filed and Disk Management
Computers store files
File extensions tells the computer which software should be used to open the file
OS is responsible for file management- organises data into a usable hierarchical structure - deals with movement, editing and deletion of data.
OS manages hard disk- splits physical disk into storage sectors and keeps track of free space.
OS also organises and maintains the hard disk with utility software like defragmentation software
Compression
The process of making the size of a file smaller.
Lossy Compression
Permanently removing data from the file to decrease file size.
Lossless Compression
Temporarily removing data from a file to decrease file size.
Summary
There are two main types of software: systems software and applications software.
Systems software controls the operations of hardware.