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Chapter 4

System software manages hardware and other software. The main types are operating systems, utility programs, and device drivers. Operating systems handle input/output, user communication, error handling, program loading and security. Utility programs provide functions like antivirus scanning, backup, file management and security. Application software allows users to perform tasks like spreadsheets, word processing, databases and media editing. An operating system provides an interface, manages files, devices, memory, multitasking and interrupts. Programming languages can be high-level or low-level, and translators like assemblers, interpreters and compilers are used to convert between languages and machine code.

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23 views7 pages

Chapter 4

System software manages hardware and other software. The main types are operating systems, utility programs, and device drivers. Operating systems handle input/output, user communication, error handling, program loading and security. Utility programs provide functions like antivirus scanning, backup, file management and security. Application software allows users to perform tasks like spreadsheets, word processing, databases and media editing. An operating system provides an interface, manages files, devices, memory, multitasking and interrupts. Programming languages can be high-level or low-level, and translators like assemblers, interpreters and compilers are used to convert between languages and machine code.

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Software

↓
System software
❖ system software manages the running of the hardware and other software
● Operating systems
○ input/output operations
○ users to communicate with the computer (e.g. Windows)
○ error handling to take place
○ the loading and running of programs to occur
○ managing of security

● Utility Programs
○ antivirus (virus checkers)
○ anti-spyware
○ back-up of files
○ disk repair and analysis
○ file management and compression
○ security
○ screensavers
○ disk defragmenter

● Device Drivers

Application software

❖ Application software allows the user to perform a task


● Spreadsheet
○ use of formulas to carry out calculations
○ ability to produce graphs
● Word processor
○ creating, editing, saving and manipulating text
○ copy and paste functions
● Database
○ ability to carry out queries
○ add, delete and modify data in a table
● Editing Software
○ rearranging, adding and/or removing sections of video clip
and/or audio clips
○ applying color correction, filters and other video enhancements

● The operating system cannot run unless there are instructions given
to it, these are provided by the firmware.
● The firmware cannot run unless it is told to run, this is done using the
bootstrap program

● An operating system (OS) is an example of system software

The OS has many different roles:


1. Providing an interface
● The OS allows the user to enter data, and outputs data through
interface
○ Graphical User Interface (GUI) has windows, icons,
menus and pointers (WIMP)
○ A command line interface requires the user to enter text
as commands.
○ A natural language interface allows the user to enter any
text commands, or speak commands
2. Managing files
● A user will use application software to create files. The OS
allows the creation of directories that the files can be stored
within.
3. Managing peripherals and drivers
● A computer cannot be used without input and output devices.
These are called peripherals
● A driver is software that translates data from the computer to
the peripheral, and vice-versa
4. Managing memory
● A computer uses memory to store data. This can be using
secondary or primary memory.
● The OS manages the movement of data to and from hardware,
primarily RAM.
● It also checks the processes being carried out
● makes sure that they have enough memory allocated to
perform their function.

5. Managing multitasking
● A single processor can only ever execute one instruction at a
time
● The processor does this
so fast that it appears to be doing several tasks at once
● The OS does this using interrupts.

6.Managing interrupts
● An interrupt is a signal sent to the processor to tell it that something
needs its attention.
Interrupts
● An interrupt is a signal to the processor to tell it that something needs
its attention. An interrupt can be software or hardware based.

● When the processor finishes its current fetch-decode-execute cycle


(or before the starting the next FDE cycle), it checks the interrupt
queue.
● It checks whether there is an interrupt with a higher priority than the
current task it is processing.
● If it is, it:
○ Stores the current process and fetches the interrupt.
○ Checks the source of the interrupt.
○ Calls the relevant interrupt service routine (ISR). This is a
sequence of instructions that handle the interrupt.
○ When finished the stored process is returned to memory or
another higher- priority interrupt is fetched.If it isn’t, it runs
another FDE cycle.

Types of programming language


● High-level Language-A high-level language uses human-language
style words. These could be English words that we recognise and use
day-to-day.
● A program that is written in a high-level language is considered
portable
● Low level Language-
○ Machine Code
■ machine code is non portable; you can write a program in
machine code and it may not run on a different computer.

○ Assembly code -
■ Assembly language is an in-between stage. It uses
mnemonics to represent code
■ EG:

Translators

1. Assembler- If you have a program written in assembly language, then


an assembler is used to convert the instructions into machine code
for the processor the code is being run on.
2. Interpreters and compilers-If you have written a program in a
high-level language then you can use an interpreter or a compiler to
translate the instructions
An interpreter:
•reads one line of the high-level language code
•checks that it is syntactically correct:
•if it is not, it stops and reports an error to the user
•If it is, it executes the statement and moves to the next.

A compiler:
● checks all the code, by going through one-line after the other.
● If there are any syntax errors, they are all reported to the user and the
program is not executed.
● If there are no errors, then an executable file is created
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
● This is a piece of software that includes an editor for you to enter and
amend your code.
○ Auto-completion; you start typing a command and it suggests
options for you to select the correct one.
○ Auto-correction; if you spell a command incorrect it changes it
to what you meant to type.
○ Prettyprint; this changes the colour of words, e.g. commands
and identifiers. This helps you spot key terms and whether you
have entered them correctly or not.
1. run-time environment; this is where the outputs from the executed
code is displayed

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