System Software & Application Software

● Software can be broken down in to two categories, system and application

software

What is system software?

● System software is software essential for the operation of the computer
system
● It gives users a platform to run applications and carry out tasks
● Examples of system software include:
○ The operating system
○ Utility software

Utility software
● Utility software is software designed to help maintain, enhance and
troubleshoot/repair a computer system
● Designed to perform a limited number of tasks
● Interacts with the computers hardware, for example, secondary storage
devices
● Some utility software comes installed with the operating system
● Examples of utility software and their function are:
○ Defragmentation (maintain)
○ Compression (enhance)
○ Encryption (enhance)
○ Task manager (troubleshoot/repair)

What is application software?

● Application software (abbreviated 'apps') is software chosen by a user to help
them carry out a specific task
 ● Installed on top of system software and is user chosen to best suit induvial
requirements
● Common categories of application software include:
○ Productivity - get things done efficiently (word processors,
spreadsheets & presentation)
○ Communication - stay connected (email, browser, messaging)
○ Entertainment - Watch movies, play games or listen to music

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Do not use brand names when talking about software, it is ok to talk about software
categories or software types but brand names do not get awarded marks

e.g. word processors instead in Microsoft Word

What is an operating system?

● An operating system (OS) is software that manages computer hardware and
provides a platform for running applications
● It provides an interface between the user and the hardware in a computer
system
● It hides the complexities of the hardware from the user, for example:
○ A user does not need to know 'where' on secondary storage data is
kept, just that it is saved for when they want it again
● An operating systems main functions can be divided in to eight key areas
File Management
What is file management?
● File management is a process carried out by the operating system creating,
organising, manipulating and accessing files and folders on a computer
system
● The OS manages where data is stored in both primary and secondary storage
● File management gives the user the ability to:
○ Create files/folders
○ Name files/folders
○ Rename files/folders
○ Copy files/folders
○ Move files/folders
○ Delete files/folders
● The OS allows users to control who can access, modify and delete
files/folders (permissions)
● The OS provides a search facility to find specific files based on various criteria
Handling Interrupts
What is interrupt handling?
● Interrupt events require the immediate attention of the central processing unit
 ● In order to maintain the smooth running of the system, interrupts need to be
handled and processed in a timely manner
● For example, if a user clicks cancel on a file conversion process, a signal is
sent from the mouse, interrupts the processor, and the operating system will
trigger the cancellation routine
User Interface
What is a user interface?
● A user interface is how the user interacts with the operating system
● Examples of user interfaces include:
○ Command Line Interface (CLI)
○ Graphical User Interface (GUI)
○ Menu
○ Natural language (NLI)

What is a command line interface?

● A Command Line Interface (CLI) requires users to interact with the operating
system using text based commands
● CLIs are more commonly used by advanced users
● Examples of CLIs are MSDOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) and
Raspbian (for Raspberry Pi)

What is a graphical user interface?

● A Graphical User Interface (GUI) requires users to interact with the operating
system using visual elements such as windows, icons, menus & pointers
(WIMP)
● GUIs are optimised for mouse and touch gesture input
● Examples of GUIs are Windows, Android and MAC OS

What is a menu interface?

● A menu interface is successive menus presented to a user with a single
option at each stage
● Often performed with buttons or a keypad
● Examples include
 ○ Chip and pin machines
○ Vending machines
○ Entertainment streaming services

What is a natural language interface?

● A natural language interface (NLI) uses the spoken word to respond to
spoken or textual inputs from a user
● Examples include
○ Virtual assistants - Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri
○ Search engines
○ Smart home devices

Advantages and disadvantages of user interfaces

Interface Advantages Disadvantages

Command line ● ●
(CLI) Uses less system resources Requires users to
● Useful for automation of remember commands
tasks ● Typing errors are
● Commands are often faster common
to type than navigating ● Less intuitive than GUI
menus

Graphical ● ●
(GUI) Intuitive and user-friendly Uses more system
● Requires no previous resources
knowledge to use ● Can be slower to find
● Information is visual, and execute
making it easier to commands
understand ● Can be frustrating
when doing repetitive
tasks

Menu ● ●
Simplicity Limited flexibility
● Efficiency ● Accessibility issues

Natural ● ●
language Can be used by people with Not always reliable
(NLI) disabilities ● Privacy concerns
● Intuitive

Peripheral Management & Device Drivers

What is peripheral management?
● Peripheral management is a process carried out by the operating system
managing the way peripherals (hardware) interact with software
● The OS allocates system resources to peripherals to ensure efficient
operation
● Peripheral management makes plug-and-play (PnP) functionality possible,
automatically detecting and configuring new peripherals without the need for
manually installing device drivers or power cycling the system

What is a device driver?

● A device driver is a piece of software used to control a piece of hardware
● Peripherals require device drivers in order to be used by the operating system
● The OS has generic device drivers built in which makes basic compatibility
possible and enables plug-and-play (PnP)
● In order for hardware to be used to its maximum capacity, often a separate
device driver must be downloaded from the manufacturer
● Device drivers are OS specific and are regularly updated
Memory Management & Multitasking
What is memory management?
● Memory management is a process carried out by the operating system
allocating main memory (RAM) between different programs that are open at
the same time
● The OS is responsible for copying programs and data from secondary to
primary storage as it is needed
● Programs and data require different amounts of RAM to operate efficiently
and the OS manages this process
● RAM is allocated based on priority and fairness, for example, system
applications (essential) may have a higher priority than user applications
● The OS dynamically manages the memory, adjusting allocation as needed to
maintain optimal system performance
● Memory management makes multitasking possible

What is multitasking?
● Multitasking is a process made possible by the OS simultaneously managing
system resources (memory, CPU etc) to give a user the perception of being
able to use multiple programs at the same time
● The OS splits tasks and allocates system resources based on a priority
● The CPU can only execute one instruction at a time, it can can execute
billions of them in one second.
● This makes it appear that multiple programs are running at the same time
Providing a Platform for Running Applications
● Operating systems provide a platform on which application software can run,
this is mainly by allowing software access to system resources
 ● For example, if a computer game has intensive graphics and online play, the
operating system will grant it access to the GPU and the network card

Organisation of application layer, operating system components, and input/output

Providing System Security
What is system security?
● Operating systems provide various security features such as password-
protected system accounts, a firewall, virus scanning and file encryption
● Password-protected system accounts are a very common feature in operating
systems
● System accounts can also be restricted from performing certain actions, e.g.
editing network settings, installing unapproved software, changing the account
settings of other users
User Management
What is user management?
 ● User management is a process carried out by the operating system enabling
different users to log onto a computer
● The OS is able to maintain settings for individual users, such as desktop
backgrounds, icons and colour schemes
● A system administrator is able to allocate different access rights for different
users on a network
Worked Example
Ella uses her computer to create artwork for a magazine

Ella makes use of system software.

One type of system software is the operating system.

Identify and describe two functions of an operating system [6]

How to answer this question

● Break down the 6 marks, 1 mark each for identifying a function of the
operating system. For each function you need to make 2 points about how
they work

Answer

● Memory management
○ Allocates memory to programs currently in use
○ Gets data from RAM
○ Stores data in RAM
● File management
○ Creating/editing/renaming files
○ Creating/editing/renaming folders
○ Movement of files/folders
Hardware, Firmware & the Operating System
How does application software, the operating system and
hardware communicate?
● Application software talks to the operating system, this allows it to interact
with the hardware
● The hardware processes and sends the information to the operating system
which talks directly to the applications software
● This process is repeated while application software is in use
 What is firmware?
● Firmware is embedded directly in to the hardware of a device, to make them
function
● When a computer is turned on, it has to explore the ROM for its initial boot-up
instructions, these are contained in a Bootstrap loader
● The initial process is handled by the basic input/output system (BIOS) which
is known as firmware
● Once start-up is complete, instructions are sent to RAM to be processed by
the operating system
● This layer ensures that hardware devices e.g. keyboard and mouse are
available and can be communicated directly by the operating system
● Firmware translates between the hardware and the software
Interrupts
What is an interrupt?
 ● An interrupt is a signal for the CPU to stop what it is currently doing and do
something else as a higher priority
● The CPU is in a continuous loop of carrying out the fetch-decode-execute
cycle, however there are occasions when this needs to be interrupted

How is an interrupt generated?

● An interrupt can be generated by hardware and software:
○ Hardware - this is caused by a hardware device such as a hardware
failure
○ Software - this occurs when an application stops or requests services
from the OS
● Interrupts are added to an area called the interrupt service routine
● The interrupt service routine holds instructions that will need to be fetched,
decoded and executed to complete the commands of the interrupt
● The contents of the registers within the CPU cannot be lost by an interrupt, so
contents are copied to a reserved area in RAM called a stack
● Contents are added to the top of the stack, which will save them for later
retrieval when the interrupt is complete
● The interrupt will be executed instead of the original instructions

What are examples of hardware interrupts?

● Hardware
○ power button may have been pressed
○ moving the mouse
○ clicking an icon to open a new program
○ keyboard presses e.g. ctrl, alt, delete

What are examples of software interrupts?

● Software
○ a program is not responding
○ division by zero
○ two processes trying to access the same memory location

Examiner Tips and Tricks

The main focus of interrupts is the importance of the interrupt service routine and the
role it plays in moving current instructions to the stack so that they can be interrupted
BUT continue again afterwards

Worked Example

Describe the purpose of an interrupt in a computer system

[4]

Answer
Four from:

● Used to attend to certain tasks/issues

● Used to make sure that vital tasks are dealt with immediately
● The interrupt/signal tells the CPU/processor (that its attention is
required)
● A signal that can be sent from a device (attached to the computer)
● A signal that can be sent from software (installed on the computer)
● The interrupt will cause the OS/current process to pause
● The OS/CPU/ISR will service/handle the interrupt
● They have different levels of priority
● After the interrupt is serviced, the (previous) process is continued
● It enables multi-tasking to be carried out on a computer
● A valid example of an interrupt e.g. ‘out of paper’ message for a printer