Operating Systems & Utility Programs Flashcards
All 12 cards in this deck
What is an operating system?
Software that manages the hardware and software resources in a computer system.
What are the steps an operating system takes to allocate memory to a program?
e.g. a user opens a word processor- Works out how much memory is needed — enough for the word processor and its documents.
- Allocates a free area of RAM to it, kept separate from other programs so they do not overwrite each other and several can run at once (multitasking).
- When the word processor is closed, its memory is freed for other programs.
What is a device driver?
Software that controls and communicates with a peripheral, containing the instructions on how to control that device.
Give three ways an operating system manages the security of a computer system.
Any three of: user accounts protected by usernames and passwords; access rights so users only reach the files and programs they are allowed to; logs of user activity.
True or false? When a user opens a saved document and prints it, the operating system uses memory management and input/output (I/O) device management.
True. It loads the document into main memory, and manages the printer through its device driver to send the data to be printed.
What is utility software?
Software that helps maintain the computer system by performing housekeeping/maintenance tasks to improve performance.
True or false? Utility software is a type of application software.
False. It is system software: it carries out maintenance tasks that the operating system may not.
How does an operating system manage the processor so that several programs can run at once?
It shares the processor's time between the programs, switching between them so quickly that they appear to run at the same time.
How does an operating system manage input/output (I/O) devices?
It communicates with each device through its device driver, loads the right driver for each connected device, and passes data between the devices and the CPU.
What five things does an operating system manage?
The processor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) devices, applications and security.
How does an operating system manage applications?
It loads applications into memory so they can run, gives each one the resources it needs, and handles installing, starting and closing them.
Why does a computer need an operating system?
Application software cannot run on the hardware by itself: the OS manages the hardware and resources for it, and gives the user a way to control the computer.