Operating Systems 1.2

Question 1

4 main components of an os

Answer 1

• kernel
• device drivers
• User interface
• System utilities

Question 2

Operating system -state 4 points

Answer 2

• set of programs that controls the hardware of a computer
• means of communication between the user and the computer
• deals with loading/running of applications
• manages the transfer of data/files to/from peripheral devices

Question 3

Peripheral devices

Answer 3

Connected to a computer internally/externally attached

I.e speakers , monitor

Question 4

Software application importance

Answer 4

• Allows users to carry out tasks

- Software needs to communicate with hardware

Question 5

Application software meaning

Answer 5

Programs on a computer that users use

- ie word

Question 6

Function of os = accepting data

Answer 6

• accepts data from input devices

- transfers it to the computers memory

Question 7

Function of os = checking output devices

Answer 7

• confirms that any output is sent to the correct output device
• I.e words are displayed on a monitor

Question 8

Function of os = managing data

Answer 8

• manages transfer of data
• between ram and hard drive
• I.e saving documents

Question 9

Function of os = allocating memory space to data

Answer 9

• decides where to store data

- in the next available space of hard drive

Question 10

Function of os = loading applications

Answer 10

• loads programs into memory
• controls running of them
• ie opening a document on ram and editing it

Question 11

Function of os = human interface

Answer 11

• provides a human interface for user
• ie login screen is the first page you see when you turn a computer on
• eg homepage when you open a software

Question 12

Function of os = dealing with errors

Answer 12

• Deals with errors displayed by program
• inform user
• eg password incorrect, updates required

Question 13

Function of os = special facilities

Answer 13

-provides facilities for multi programming

Question 14

Function of os = System security

Answer 14

• manages security
• restricts access to prevent unauthorised access to system
• eg user ID and password

Question 15

Multi programming

Answer 15

Holds more than one program in memory

Question 16

Multi tasking

Answer 16

• doing more than one thing in memory
• swaps programs in/out depending on usage
• eg playing music while editing a document on word

Question 17

Multi user

Answer 17

• allows different users at different terminals in a network to share processing time on a central computer
• logging onto the same server = stores all info in the same place
• allows os to switch quickly between terminals = giving each one a time slice

Question 18

Time slice

Answer 18

Giving each terminal a small amount of processing time on a central computer

Question 19

The kernel

Answer 19

• manages computer memory through a piece of software called ‘memory manager’
• schedules tasks
• deals with data security

Question 20

Memory manager job inside kernel = 4 points

Answer 20

• allows more than one application to be open in RAM
• ensures applications stay separate/don’t interfere with each other
• gives each application a private memory space in ram
• responsible for moving programs within/between ram/vm

Question 21

Data security within the kernel

Answer 21

• responsible for user permissions/ access rights
• ensure user has correct permission to perform certain tasks
• eg delete files /edit files

Question 22

Scheduling tasks within the kernel

Answer 22

• sorts files in order of priority

- less priority files are used by the cpu later

Question 23

Device drivers

Answer 23

• piece of software that tells os how to communicate w piece of hardware
• is os specific
• is hardware specific

Question 24

User interface

Answer 24

• enables a user to interact with the computer

- eg = graphical, menu, command line interface

Question 25

GUI

Answer 25

-most common UI -provides easy and visual ways of interacting with os -uses images, icons, graphics #eg windows

Question 26

Command line interface

Answer 26

- user has to type commands in a particular way | - similar rules to programming languages

Question 27

System utilities

Answer 27

-collection of useful specialist software that performs specific tasks

Question 28

Compression utilities within system utilities

Answer 28

Reduces file size to increase space on hard drive

Question 29

Examples of system utilities

Answer 29

- compression utilities - System restore utilities - defragmentation utilities - backup utilities

Question 30

Defragmentation utilities

Answer 30

- cleans up hard drive - organises files so that similar ones are closer together - speeds up fetching as allocating becomes easier - increases performance if computer

Question 31

Backup utilities

Answer 31

Backs up data to keep safe