CHAPTER 2

HARDWARE AND
SOFTWARE
Cambridge International AS and A Level IT

1
SYLLABU
S
Hardware

● define the term hardware

● evaluate internal hardware devices (including: central processing unit (CPU),

motherboard, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),
graphics card, sound card, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD))

● evaluate external hardware devices (including: cloud, monitor, keyboard, mouse,

printer (laser, inkjet, dot matrix, plotter), speakers, camera (digital, video),
webcam, scanner, magnetic ink character reader (MICR), optical mark reader
(OMR), optical character reader (OCR), barcode reader, pen drive, portable hard
2
disk drive, blue-ray disk drive, memory
SYLLABU
S
Hardware

● explain the purpose of storage devices

● evaluate storage devices (including: magnetic tape drive, optical, hard disk
drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD))

● explain the purpose of input and output devices

● evaluate different input, storage or output devices for a given task

3
SYLLABU
S
System, application and user interface software

● define the term software

● evaluate types of software (system software and application software)
● explain the purpose of system software (including: compilers, linkers, device
drivers, operating systems and utilities, interpreters)
● evaluate application software (including: word processing, spreadsheet,
database management systems, control software, measuring software, applets
and apps, photo editing software, video editing software, graphics
manipulation software, communications software, web authoring software)

4
SYLLABU
S
System, application and user interface software

● evaluate application software for a given task

● evaluate the characteristics of different types of user interface (including:

command line interface, graphical user interface, dialogue interface, gesture
based interface)

● evaluate the use of colour, layout, font size, quantity of information and controls
when designing a user interface

● evaluate mental models and how they can be used when designing a user
interface 5
SYLLABU
S
Utility software

● define utility software

● describe the role of different utility software (including: anti-virus, back-up,

data compression, disk defragmentation, formatting, file-copying, deleting)

6
 HARDWAR
E
Hardware is categorised into input, output and storage
devices.

● Input devices allow data to be sent to a

computer (e.g.keyboard)
● Output devices allow the communication of
data/information from a computer(e.g. monitor).
● Storage devices store data on to a storage medium
so that it can be used at a later time.

7
HARDWAR
E

8
 INTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

● The ALU performs calculations and

logical operations.

● The CU runs the fetch - execute

cycle which fetches instructions
from memory and executes them.

● Input data is taken from input

devices (such as a keyboard) or
storage and processed by the CPU,
which produces output data that can
be stored or sent to an output device
(suchasamonitor). 9
 INTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

● CPUs usually consist of multiple cores.

● Each core is a separate processor, so a quad-
core CPU has four processors.
● Processors are measured by the number of
instructions they can process per
second(hertz).
● A 3GHz (gigahertz) processor can process
upto 3 billion instructions per second.
10
 INTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CENTRAL PROCESSING
UNIT

11
INTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
MOTHERBOARD

● The motherboard is a printed circuit board

(PCB) which connects the main components
of a computer.

● Some of these components may be an integral

part of the motherboard. Such components
can include Universal Serial Bus (USB)
ports, a network port and an integrated
graphics card.

● A motherboard will always include the main

bus which is used to transfer data between
hardware components. 12
 HARDWAR
E
MOTHERBOARD

● Other hardware components can be

connected directly to the motherboard,
including random access memory (RAM),
the CPU and expansion cards.

● Expansion cards offer additional

functionality, such as enhanced graphics
processing and additional USB ports.

13
 RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY -
RAM
● Random access memory (RAM) is memory that is used to store currently active
programs and data. The more RAM that is available to the computer, the more data
and programs can be used at the same time.

● This is particularly important in multitasking environments, when several programs

maybe open at the sametime.

● When the RAM becomes full, programs or data that are no longer active will be
removed to make space for new programs or data. If the RAM becomes full and
there are no inactive programs or data to remove, then an area of secondary
storage (e.g.hard disc drive (HDD) or solid state drive(SSD)) known as virtual
memory
to expandisthe
used
amount of memory available to the 14
 RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY -
RAM
● Virtual memory is very slow because secondary storage access times are
thousands of times slower than RAM access times.

● RAM is volatile, which means the content of the memory is lost if there is no power
to the RAM. When you are using a computer and experience a power cut, this is
why the data you are currently using is lost unless it has recently been saved to
secondary storage.

15
 READ ONLY MEMORY -
ROM
● Read only memory (ROM) is memory that, once it has
been written to, can no longer be changed. It is
permanent and it is non-volatile, which means that when
there is no power to the computer, the contents of the
ROM will be retained.

● This is because it is powered by a small long-life battery.

● ROM is also used in small devices such as

calculators where there is only one program or set of
instructions.
16
READ ONLY MEMORY -
ROM

17
TAS
K

18
 GRAPHICS
CARD
● A graphics card is also known as a video card, display
adapter or graphics adapter. It is a printed circuit board
that connects to one of the motherboard’s expansion slots.

● Its purpose is to generate the signals needed to display the

output image from the computer.

● Often the graphics adapter is integrated into the

motherboard and does not require a separate card.
However, by using a separate card, the graphics
performance can be improved as a separate processor can
be used for graphics (a graphics processing unit). 19
 GRAPHICS
CARD
● Graphics cards include a variety of options for output.
Standard video graphics array (VGA) output to a monitor
is achieved through the RGB port which transmits red,
green and blue signals to the monitor in an analogue
format.

● High definition display is achieved through a high-

definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port.

● Another option is Digital Video Interface(DVI) which

supports high resolution displays using digital signals.
20
 SOUND
CARD
● The purpose of a sound card is to generate the signals needed to
output sound from the computer to a speaker or set of speakers.

● It is often an integrated part of the motherboard and will include

a single output for audio (greensocket), a single input for a
microphone (red socket) and a single input for line level
devices(bluesocket).

● If higher quality or surround sound is required, then it is usually

necessary to have a separate sound card which connects to one
of the motherboard’s expansion slots. This will enable multiple
outputs for front, rear, centre and sub-woofer speakers. 21
SOUND
CARD

22
 HARD DISK
DRIVE
● Hard disk drives are magnetic media that store and retrieve digital
data. Its architecture is rigid rapidly rotating disks, or platters, held
in place by spindles.
● The platters are not magnetic but are coated with magnetic
material.
● Magnetic heads on actuator arms move over the platter surface to
read and write binary data bits by detecting changes in
magnetization on the platter.
● This is random access storage that does not require sequential
blocks to work. Disks are of course non-volatile and will not lose
23
stored data when the drive powers off.
 HARD DISK
DRIVE
● Modern HDDs spin from a low consumer speed of 4200 revolutions per minute
(rpm) to enterprise-grade 15K rpm.

● HDDs usually have two motors: one for the spindle to spin the disks and the
motor that positions the arms and read/write heads.

24
HARD DISK
DRIVE

25
HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
High capacity and performance are primary HDD characteristics,
with reliability a close second.

Capacity
● The industry measures capacity in powers of 1000, so a 1TB drive stores 1000GB.
Not all this room is available for user data storage thanks to the file system and
computer OS, and on most disks reserved space for RAID operations or other
recovery options. The OS will report available storage correctly to the user.
● Commercial available HDD capacity varies wildly from a few hundred GBs to
12TB for enterprise drives.
26
 HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
Performance is calculated by three measurements: average access time, average
latency, and average data rate.
● Access time is the time it takes for the disk drive to move the heads to a track to read or
write the data. Access time includes the actual seek time (how long it takes the heads to
get to the right track), rotational latency, and sufficient time to complete command
processing.
● Rotational latency is the time it takes for the requested sector to move under the head.
Latency is calculated from seek time and the rpm of the spinning disk and is measured in
milliseconds. Typical rotational speeds range from 6.25 ms at 4800 rpm to 2 ms at 15K
rpm.
● Transfer rate is how fast the data is transmitted to and from the read/write heads. It’s
27
usually described in as megabytes per second
 HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
Reliability

● HDD reliability does not directly correlate to HDD failures. Many external factors can cause a disk
failure, including power loss, wildfire or floods, magnetic interference, malware, dropping a drive (it
happens), or environmental contamination that causes a head crash.
● HDD reliability is concerned with internal threats to the HDD, including equipment failures, data
errors, and head crashes.

28
 HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
● The hard disk drive consists of two main parts: the device that is the electronics which store the
data, and the disk that is the medium on to which the data is stored.
● The device (or drive) includes a read-write head which sit sat the end of an access arm and
magnetises sectors on the disk (platter).
● There is usually more than one platter and therefore there will be several read-write heads for each
side of each platter.

29
 HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
● Each platter will have tracks and each track will be split into sectors.The tracks that are in the
same position on each platter form a cylinder.
● Wherever possible, a computer will attempt to store data on a single cylinder as this requires the
least access arm movement and the access arm is the slowest part of the hard disk.

30
 HARD DISK DRIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
● Data stored on a hard disk is non-volatile.This means that
when the computer is turned off and there is no power then the
data will still be safely stored on the hard disc.

● Hard discs can be internally connected to

computer using the
a SerialDrive
Attachment (SATA) or Integrated Advanced
ElectronicsTechnology
(IDE)
cable.

31
DISCUSSION
POINT

32
 SOLID STATE DRIVE -
SSD
● A solid state drive(SSD) is another secondary storage device
that is non-volatile.
● However, there are no moving parts and the data is stored onto
flash memory.
● It is also not necessary to store data in the same cylinder in order
to maximise access speed as the data can be stored anywhere on
the flash memory and access speeds will not be affected.
● SSDs are also non-magnetic and so are
not
susceptible to damage from to close, strong magnetic fields.
33
 SOLID STATE DRIVE -
SSD
● They are used in higher performance computers.
● A frequent compromise between speed, capacity and price
is to have a smaller SSD to store the operating system
and software (for speed of access) and use a larger HDD
to store data.
● SSDs also require a lot less power than HDDs

and so are preferred in laptop and tablet

computers. 34
TAS
K

35
 EXTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CLOUD
● Cloud computing is a term that refers to anything where computing services are hosted over the
internet and not in the same physical location as the computer being used.
● Data is stored on banks of servers that are accessed remotely. The physical devices that store the
data are owned by a hosting company rather than the person or organisation using the data.

36
 EXTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CLOUD
● When data is stored in the cloud, the hosting company takes all responsibility for storing the data,
managing the data, securing the data and backing up the data, so that people or organisations no
longer have to be concerned with this.
● As the data is stored remotely, it also means that it can be accessed at any time in any place, so
people do not have to be sitting at a specific computer or within an organisation to access that data.

37
 EXTERNAL HARDWARE
DEVICES
CLOUD
● The downside is that it takes longer to access the data as access times are limited by the
bandwidth available to the hosting company and other users who maybe accessing data on the
same servers at the sametime.
● It can also be quite costly to store large amounts of data on cloud storage.
● Some cloud storage options allow synchronisation to a computer, so the cloud acts as a backup to
the data stored on the computer. It also means that when accessing the data from the allocated
computer, access times will be faster than accessing from cloud storage.

38
EXAMPL
E

39
 MONITO
R
● Although not an essential part of every computer system, a monitor is certainly an essential part of
most computer systems as it enables the user to visualise the output.
● It is connected to the computer using one of the ports on a graphics card. Monitor sizes are
measured diagonally and, apart from some very old ‘legacy’ monitors, they now have flat screens
which minimalise the amount of desk space that is used and they are light enough to be mounted on
a wall or a desk using a bracket or on a shelf.

40
 MONITO
R
● A monitor will be limited by its resolution. This is the number of
pixels it can display and is measured horizontally by vertically.
● For example, a high definition (HD) monitor can display 1920x1080
pixels. Some monitors also include a touch interface (known as a
touchscreen), which means that the user can select items by directly
interacting with the display on the screen.
● These are often integrated into tablet computers and mobile phones.

41
 KEYBOAR
D
● A keyboard consists of a number of buttons which are used to input text or to control parts of an
interface.
● Its main limitation is the number of keys available.
● With a Roman alphabet, this isn’t too much of a problem because the alphabet only contains 26
letters and ten digits.
● However, some alphabets, such as Arabic or Chinese contain many
more characters and so combinations of keys have to be used.

42
 KEYBOAR
D
● A keyboard can be connected to a computer using a USB port, by
wireless Bluetooth or by other wireless technology.
● Keyboards vary in style and shape, and ergonomic keyboards are available to
provide more comfort and protection for the user from repetitive strain injury(RSI).

43
 MOUS
E
● A mouse is a pointing device which allows objects to be selected and
manipulated on the screen.
● The mouse controls a pointer which is displayed on the screen.
● When the mouse is moved, the pointer moves and objects such as
menu scan be selected on the screen using one of the mousebuttons.
● Like a keyboard, a mouse can be connected using a USB port, by
wireless Bluetooth or by other wireless technology.

44
 PRINTE
R
● A printer produces a hard copy (printout) from a computer
usually on to paper.
● A simplex printer can print on a single side of paper, where as a
printer with a duplex unit can print on both sides of each sheet
of paper.
● Some printers include additional functions such as a scanner.

45
 LASER
PRINTER
● A laser printer negatively charges a cylindrical drum which then attracts electrically charged toner
(powdered ink). The toner is then heated so that it melts onto the paper.

46
 INKJET
PRINTER
● Cartridges full of ink in four different colours (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) are used to ‘squirt’ ink
onto the paper to form the required printout.

47
 DOT MATRIX
● PRINTER
Before laser and inkjet printers, dot matrix printers were commonplace.
● They are a type of impact printer which means that the printout is
achieved by hitting the paper and the operation is very noisy.
● This is done by a set of pins being driven onto a ribbon which then
transfers its ink to the paper.
● The main advantage of dot matrix printers is that they can print on
duplicate and triplicate paper (carbon copies) due to the impact.
● They are also very robust printers and so last for a long time.

48
 PLOTTE
R
● In the 1990s, a plotter used to ‘plot’ lines on to large sheets of paper
by moving the paper backwards and forwards and drawing using
pens to create vector drawings.
● Today, plotters are inkjet printers designed to be used with large
sheets of paper, typically A2, A1 and AO. If only black and white
printouts are required, then light-emitting diode (LED) plotters are
much faster and have cheaper running costs than inkjet plotters.

49
 3D
PRINTER
● A 3D Printer is a manufacturing tool used to create three-
dimensional artifacts that have been designed on a
computer.
● 3D printers have a wide range of shapes, sizes, and types,
but in essence they are all computer controlled additive
manufacturing machines.
● Similar to how paper printers lay down ink in one layer to
create an image, 3D printers lay down or cure material
layer by layer to create a three-dimensional object.
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PRINTER

51
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PRINTER

52
SPEAKER
S
● Speakers are used to provide sound output from a computer. These can be as
simple as a pair of stereo speakers or full surround sound.

53
CAMER
A
● A camera can be used to capture still or moving images
(movies). When connected to the computer, the images or
movies can be transferred from the camera to the
computer’s storage.
● The images can then be viewed on screen, manipulated
and shared.
● A digital still camera is optimised for capturing still
images but usually has the capability of capturing
movies too, where as a digital video camera is optimised
for capturing movies but can also capture still images.
54
WEBCA
M
● A webcam is a camera that is connected to the computer for
the purpose of capturing still or moving images while
using the computer.
● It will not be as high quality as a dedicated digital camera
or digital video camera. It will usually have an integrated
microphone for capturing sound.
● Its main purpose is for users to engage in online video chat
or video conferences. They can also be used as security
cameras.
55
SCANNE
R
● A scanner is used to capture two dimensional(2D) documents in the form of
an image.
● They perform a similar function to a digital camera but are specifically
designed to take close-up images of 2D documents.
● Flat-bed scanners can capture a full-colour image and save the image as a
file on the computer’s storage. If the image contains lots of text, then it is
possible to run optical character recognition(OCR) to recognise the text.
● Some flat-bed scanners include an automatic document feeder (ADF) that
enables documents with multiple pages to be scanned in one operation. 57
OPTICAL CARD
READER
● An optical character reader (OCR) is a device that enables
characters on a document to be identified and understood
by the computer as letters, numbers, characters and
words.
● This isn’t really a device in itself, but is a scanner
combined with software that performs optical character
recognition (also OCR).
● The picture of the document is analysed and characters
are recognised by the software and turned into a
document so that the text can be searched or edited.

57
MAGNETIC INK CARD
READER
● Magnetic ink is used to print numbers at the bottom
of checks. The numbers are printed using the
MICRE-13B or CMC-7font.
● The ink contains iron oxide which means that it is
easily detected when using a magnetic ink
character reader(MICR) and the characters can
be understood.
● It is important that mistakes aren’t made and so
MICR provides a much better level of accuracy
than OCR.
58
OPTICAL MARK
READER
● An optical mark reader (OMR) detects the marks a multiple
choice document such as a multiple choice answer paper for an
examination.
● A scanner-like device is used to reflect a beam of light onto the
marked sheet and detect where the marks have been made.
● Software is then used to translate the position of the mark to the
information that it represents.
● OMR devices are only really suitable for multiple choice
responses as they cannot interpret letters that form words.
59
BAR CODE
READER
● A barcode reader is used to detect the width of lines and gaps that
form a barcode.
● A laser beam is shone onto the barcode and a photodiode is used to
measure the amount of light that is reflected back. Blacklines
will not reflect any light but white gaps will.
● A barcode represents letters and numbers which usually identify
something, such as a book or other product. The barcode scanner
usually includes its own hard coded circuitry so that it can send
the letters and numbers directly to the computer without the need
for additional software.
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DISCUSSION
POINT

61
PEN
DRIVE
● A pen drive is a nickname for a USB flash drive. It is a small data storage
device about the size of a thumb which stores data on flash memory and
includes an integrated USB interface.
● The USB interface means that the flash drive is recognisable on all computers
with a USB port and therefore data can be transported easily between computers.
● Flash memory is very fast and so the limiting factor is the speed of the USB port.
As a flash drive does not have any moving parts it is safe to transport, although
its size means that it can be easily lost. It also does not rely on magnetising and
therefore is not susceptible to damage if it comes in contact with a strong
magnetic field.
62
PORTABLE HARD DISK
DRIVE
● Hard disk drives were introduced earlier in this chapter. As well as an
internal HDD, it is possible to have an external HDD.
● An external HDD can be connected to the computer using a USB or
External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment eSATA) port.
● An external HDD can store a lot more data than a USB flash drive, but it
is more susceptible to damage due to it having moving parts and
its
vulnerability to strong magnetic
fields. 63
BLU-RAY DISC
DRIVE
● A Blu-ray disc is an optical storage medium. It is the same size and
shape as a compact disc(CD) and digital versatile disc(DVD).
● The Blu-ray disc was introduced because it can store HDvideo
and therefore a whole film can be stored on the Blu-ray disc.
● A single layer Blu-ray disc can store 25GB of data and a dual-layer Blu-
ray disc can store 50GB of data.
● This compares to a DVD which can store 4.7GB of data and a CD which
can store 700MB of data (or 80 minutes of 65
DISCUSSIO
N

65
DISCUSSIO
N

66
MEMORY
CARD
● A memory card is flash memory on a small card.
● They are typically used in digital cameras, digital video cameras
and mobile phones.
● They take up very little space so are well suited to fitting into a small
device, as well as being portable so that data can be transferred to a
computer.
● There are many different formats of cards, but most devices favour
Secure Digital(SD) and micro SDcards. MicroSD cards are only
15x11x0.1mm in size.
67
SECONDARY STORAGE
DEVICES

68
REASONS FOR USING SECONDARY STORAGE
DEVICES
● When creating a document, a user is likely to want to make changes to
that document in the future and therefore it is necessary to save it to
secondary storage.
● The user may want somebody else to edit or read the document and so it
will be saved to secondary storage to allow the person to do that.
● Users are likely to want to keep documents for archive purposes so they
can be referred to in the future.
● When using a database, each new record or change to a record will be
saved to the database in secondary storage.
69
REASONS FOR USING SECONDARY STORAGE
DEVICES
● The user may want to backup the data so that a spare copy is available.
● Each program will be stored on secondary storage ready to be loaded into
RAM when the program is opened.
● The computer will use secondary storage to save a virtual memory file
which extends the amount of RAM available, albeit making the virtual
part of the memory very slow.

70
MAGNETIC TAPE
DRIVE
● Magnetic tape is used for backing up and archiving data.
● Data is stored serially which means one item after another.
● The tape is wound through the tape drive and as it winds through data is
written to it.
● The low cost and high capacity of tapes makes them ideal for backing
up and archiving data because the data is simply stored in a sequential
manner.

71
MAGNETIC TAPE
DRIVE
● When retrieving data, it does take a while to find the data that is required
because the tape has to be wound to the exact position where the data is
stored.
● This makes it unsuitable for everyday use. Backups and archives are not
intended for everyday use.
● If data does need to be restored from backup, it may take a while but it is
at least available when needed.
● If the whole of a computer’s secondary storage needs to be restored, then
this can be done by reading the tape 73
MAGNETIC TAPE
DRIVE
● Tapes are ideal for backing up the
whole of secondary storage for a
computer or server because they
can hold several terabytes(TB) of
data.
● In 2014, Sony developed a tape
capable of storing 185 TB of data.

73
TAS
K
●

74
TAS
K
●

75
TAS
K
●

76
TAS
K
●

77
OPTICA
L
● Optical storage was introduced earlier in this chapter under the heading Blu-
ray.

● In 2015, there were three main types of optical storage.

78
COMPARISON BETWEEN MAGNETIC TAPE & OPTICAL
DRIVE
● Optical storage has been a popular medium to distribute software due to the low cost of each
disc, the fact that read-only versions of each disc exist and the low cost of posting them.
● Using recordable and rewritable versions of optical discs makes them suitable for
backups and archives.
● It is quicker to restore a single file from an optical disc backup rather than a tape backup
because the file can be accessed directly rather than having to read through a whole
tape.
● This also makes optical discs more suitable for archived data because files can be
found quickly.
● The capacity of optical discs is much less than tapes, which means they are only suitable
79
for backing up a selection of files rather than the whole of secondary storage.
TAS
K
●

80
TAS
K
●

81
COMPARISON STORAGE
DEVICES
●

82
COMPARISON STORAGE
DEVICES
●

83
TAS
K
●

84
INPUT AND OUTPUT
DEVICES
● Input devices allow data to be sent to
a computer (e.g. keyboard).
● Output devices allow the communication
of data/information from a
computer(e.g.monitor).
● When data is input into a computer, it is
processed and then either output from the
computer or stored for later use.
● Data that has been stored can also be
processed and then output from the
86
computer.
EXAMPL
E MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWERING &
PROCESSING

86
EXAMPL
E

87
EXAMPLE -
SOLUTION

88
TAS
K

89
TAS
K

90
QUESTION
S

91
SYSTEM, APPLICATION AND USER
INTERFACE

92
SYSTEM
SOFTWARE

● Programs that are designed to maintain or operate the computer system are known
as system software.

● The software that operates the computer hardware is known as the operating
system.

● Programs that are used to maintain a computer system (e.g.anti-malware

software) are known as utility software.

93
OPERATING
SYSTEMS

94
OPERATING
SYSTEMS
An operating system manages hardware by carrying out tasks such as:
● Allocating memory to software
● Sending data and instructions to output devices
● Responding to input devices such as when a key is pressed
● Opening and closing files on storage devices
● Giving each running task a fair share of processor time sending error messages
or status messages to applications or users
● Dealing with user logons and security.
95
TAS
K
●

Mac OS X – Mohave, Catalina, Big Sur

Unix OS
Linux – Ubuntu, Redhat

Android - Google

IOS, Ipad OS

Kernel - these are the core files or programs in an OS

96
 DEVICE
DRIVERS
● While the operating system can manage
the general instructions to deal with
hardware such as displaying graphics on
a screen, it requires the use of device
drivers to deal with specific makes and
models of hardware.

● A device driver is the software that comes

with an external hardware component and
sends customised instructions to that
specific component.
97
 DEVICE
DRIVERS
● By using common device drivers,
software applications are able to issue
generic commands such as ‘print’ to the
operating system without having to
know the different instructions required
for every different make and model of
external hardware components.

98
 UTILITIE
S
● Utilities are part of system software. They are designed to perform functions
which maintain the computer system.

99
 COMPILER
S

● A compiler translates a program written in a high-level programming language

in to machine code which a computer can understand.

● The file containing the machine code is known as an executable file because it
can be executed by the processor.

● It can also be referred to as the object file. The original high-level programming
language file is known as the source file.
100
COMPILER
S

● When a program is compiled, the whole source code is translated into the
executable file at once and can then be distributed to resellers, customers and
individual computers.

● As it is in an executable format, it can only run on operating systems for which the
compiler has translated it.

● For example, programs that have been compiled for Windows will not work on
Linux unless they are compiled again for Linux. The same situation exists with
102
mobile phone and tablet operating
INTERPRETER
S

● Interpreters also translate a program written in a high level programming

language into machine code, but use a different method, instead of
translating the whole source code at once, it is translated one line at a time.

● This can be less efficient than a compiler because it takes time to do the
translating as the program is being executed and also because statements
within programming loops (e.g. FOR, REPEAT, WHILE) have to be
analysed each time round.

103
INTERPRETER
S
● Interpreters are often used to translate
macros or application-based script
languages (e.g. Visual Basic for
Applications), which can be particularly
useful when a document needs to be
opened on a variety of operating systems.

● Interpreters are also used when testing

programs so that parts of the program can be
executed without having to compile the
whole program. 104
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPILER &
INTERPRETER

104
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPILER &
INTERPRETER

105
106
LINKER
S

● Computer programs often consist of several modules (parts) of

programming code.

● Each module carries out a specified task with in the program.

● Each module will have been compiled into a separate object file.

● The function of a linker(also known as a link editor)is to combine the object

files together to form a single executable file. 108
LINKER
S
● In addition to the modules used,the program may make reference to a
common library.

● A common library contains code for common tasks that can be used in more
than one program, such as mathematical functions, memory management,
progress bars /output. The linker is able to link modules from a library file
into the executable file,too.

● Not all modules are always needed and a linker is able to select which
modules will form part of the executable file.
108
LINKER
S
●

109
APPLICATION
SOFTWARE
● Programs that are intended for productivity or to carry out at ask for the user are
known as application software.

● Examples include word processor, games, web browser and graphics software.

● On a mobile phone or tablet, this type of software is usually referred to as an

app.

110
WORD
PROCESSING
● The function of a word processor is to primarily process
words.

● It is therefore appropriate for tasks such as:

○ Writing a letter
○ Producing a report
○ Producing course work
○ Creating a menu
○ Mail merging
○ Writing a book

111
WORD
PROCESSING
Features of word processing software include:

Tables, Headers and footers, Footnotes and

endnotes, Sections, Formatting text,
Styles
Spellchecker, Bullets and automatic
numbering, Automatic contents page,

Tracking changes, Frames for images,

Text alignment

112
EXAMPL
E

113
TAS
K

114
SPREADSHEE
T● Spreadsheet software is used mainly for performing calculations and
modelling.

● Spreadsheets are often used for financial and statistical information.

● Spreadsheets work on the basis of input-process-output whereby data is

input, then formulae and functions process that data to generate an output.

● When input data changes, the output data automatically changes because
the formulae and functions are automatically recalculated.

● This allows users to experiment with values and ask 'What-if questions such
as' What will happen if we try to sell another 10000 cars this month?’ 116
● Spreadsheets contain cells which form the intersection of rows and
DATABASE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM

117
DATABASE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
A DBMS can provide features including:

● Data entry screens/forms for inputting data

● Filters and queries for selecting data that meets specified criteria

● Reports for displaying information in an easily readable format

● Graphs for analysing data

● Security features so that users can only access the parts of the database
they have been authorised to access

● Relationships to link related 118

GRAPHICS MANIPULATION
SOFTWARE
The features included in graphics manipulation software vary depending upon
the complexity of the software.

Features for both bitmap and graphics manipulation software can include:

● Drawing shapes
● Changing the canvas size
● Resizing the image
● Adding layers
● Adding text to an image
● Selecting a colour based on picking an existing colour
118
GRAPHICS MANIPULATION
SOFTWARE
Feature for bitmap graphics manipulation software can
include:

● Filling an area with a colour

● Moving part of the image
● Resizing part of the image
● Erasing parts of an image
● Cloning parts of an image
● Softening (blurring) and sharpening an image

119
GRAPHICS MANIPULATION
SOFTWARE
Features for vector graphics manipulation software can include:

● Filling a shape with colour

● Changing features of the border of a shape such as thickness and
colour
● Combining shapes together into a group
● Moving a shape or group of shapes
● Resizing a shape or group of shapes
● Aligning objects

120
TAS
K

121
PHOTO EDITING
SOFTWARE

122
PHOTO EDITING
SOFTWARE
Features of photo editing software include:

● Cropping parts of the photo

● Adjusting the brightness or contrast
● Resizing the canvas
● Removing red eye
● Changing the colour balance
● Cloning parts of the photo
● Identifying common areas of an image(e.g.background) using a'magic wand'tool
● Applying effects such as black and white or sepia
● Softening (blurring) and sharpening a photo

Photo editing software requires a large amount of RAM and complex operations can use up a lot
of
processing time. 124
VIDEO EDITING
SOFTWARE

124
 VIDEO EDITING
SOFTWARE
Features of video editing software include:

● Importing or capturing raw video

● Clipping the beginning and end of a video
● Clipping sections within a video
● Adding titles to the beginning or credits at the end
● Overlaying videos with text or images
● Speeding up or slowing down footage
● Rotating footage using more than one video track
● Transitioning between clips(e.g.fade) add backing music, narration or other
sound
● Using picture-in-picture to show two video clips at once 125
 VIDEO EDITING
SOFTWARE
Video editing software does have some down sides and these
include:

● Using up a lot of processing time

● Requiring a large amount of RAM
● Importing raw video files can take a long time
● Encoding the final video takes a very long time

126
 COMMUNICATIONS
SOFTWARE
●

127
 COMMUNICATIONS
SOFTWARE
● Instant messaging software allows a user to communicate with another user
by sending text-based messages which are instantly sent and received.
● This can be a slow form of communication because of the need for typing, but
some people prefer it to having a real conversation.
● Audio conferencing allows users to speak and listen to each other in a similar way
to a telephone call.
● The main difference is that more than two people can be included in the
conference. This is usually achieved with voice over internet protocol (VOIP).
128
 COMMUNICATIONS
SOFTWARE
● A popular example is Skype.
● Making conference calls over the internet is usually free of charge but it does
require every participant to be logged on at the same time.
● During an audio conference it can be difficult to know whose turn it is to speak.
● Video conferencing expands upon audio conferencing by including real-time video
of the people involved in the conference.
● Email clients provide users with a larger range of features than web mail and
enable emails to be read and composed while offline.
● This can be useful when no fixed internet connection is available and 3G/4G
130
coverage is poor or non-existent.
 FEATURES OF EMAIL
CLIENTS ● Using more than one email account at once
● Address book of contacts
● Ability to send and receive ● Adding attachments to messages
emails
● Digital signatures and encrypted messages
● Signatures
● Integration with a calendar
● Prioritising of emails
● Inviting contacts to a meeting in the
● Delaying delivery of emails calendar and receiving responses.
● Delivery and read receipts
● Rules that can be applied to email messages (e.g.moving messages that
contain a specific subject to a specific folder)
130
 WEB AUTHORING
SOFTWARE
●

131
 WEB AUTHORING
SOFTWARE
● There are now many online content management systems and other tools that are
used to create and update websites, but some web developers sometimes prefer to
use offline web authoring software such as Dreamweaver.

● Web authoring software can be very complex to use because of the vast number of
configurations available for web pages, which is why using an online tool like
www.wix.com enables people with little experience of websites to create a site
quickly, although it can be difficult to customise it to exact requirements.

● Web authoring software gives the most flexibility and websites can be configured
133
exactly as required.
FEATURES OF WEB AUTHORING
SOFTWARE
● common navigation bar
● ability to publish individual files or sites to a web server , preview of web pages
● viewing and editing in either what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) view or
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code view or a mixture of both
● adding basic HTML features such as tables, horizontal lines and headings
● management of a webpage’s metadata
● designing templates that can be applied to all pages
● interactive features such as interactive buttons
● forms and form fields, validation of form fields 133
CONTROL AND MEASURING
SOFTWARE
●

134
CONTROL AND MEASURING
SOFTWARE
●

135
CONTROL AND MEASURING
SOFTWARE
Control and measuring software is used in a wide variety of situations including
automated features of cars (e.g. automatic windscreen wipers), science
experiments, weather stations, pollution management and traffic lights.

136
CONTROL AND MEASURING
SOFTWARE
Measuring software will measure values from sensors
including:
● Pressure (amount of pressure applied)
● Moisture
● Temperature
● Windspeed
● Distance (measured by lasers)
● pH(acid/alkaline)levels

Control software will control devices such as:

● Lights
● Motors (e.g.to make windscreen wipers move)
138
● Speakers/sirens
APP
S
● An app is another name for a program. It is a piece of software that can run on a
desktop computer, over the internet, on a tablet computer or on a mobile phone.
● The most common reference to ‘apps’ is when referring to software that is
designed to work on mobile devices such as tablets or mobile phones.
● In this case, apps are optimised to work with touch screen interfaces and smaller
screens.
● They will provide essential features that can be carried out using the limited
interface of mobile devices, but often lack more complex features due to the
need for more processing power or accurate input devices such as a mouse and
139
keyboard.
APPLET
S
● An applet is a small program that is designed to
carry out a specific task. An applet cannot run
on its own but must be executed from within
another piece of software.
● Applets are often known as add-ins, add-ons or
extensions. They can carry out additional tasks
that the original software is not capable of
doing or they can simplify tasks within the
original software.

139
TAS
K

140
Example

141
TAS
K

142
143
144
145
146
DIFFERENT TYPES OF USER
INTERFACE
● An interface is the boundary between
two systems.

● A user interface is the boundary between

the user and the computer system.

● A user interface represents the communication

between a user and the computer system.

● This communication can take many forms.

147
COMMAND LINE
INTERFACE
● A command line interface (CLI) allows a user to enter text commands to which
the computer system will respond.
● The computer system will respond by producing results in a text format.
● CLIs use very little memory so they are useful in old systems or for
maintenance of very small systems/devices (e.g.engine management
systems).
● They are also useful for technical users who need to carry out complex
operations which cannot be performed using more user-friendly interfaces.
● However, CLIs can be difficult to learn and use because users have to learn
and remember all the commands, and errors are easily made when entering
commands. 149
those
DOS
COMMANDSCMD
● DATE DIR – directory – folder
● TIME cd c:
● DIR Dir
● CLS

149
GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
(GUI)
● The most common type of interface that we use is a graphical
user interface (GUI).
● GUIs are found on desktop computers, tablet computers, mobile
phones, televisions, set-top boxes, photocopiers and some in-
car entertainment systems.

150
GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
(GUI)

GUIs can include some or all of

the elements

The acronym WIMP is commonly

used to remember these elements.

151
GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
(GUI)
● Complex GUIs require a lot of memory to operate, but simpler GUIs can
be used where memory is limited.
● Although CLIs don’t require much memory, simple GUIs can be
used instead of a CLI in small systems such as embedded
systems.
● It is common place to find simple web-based GUIs for the maintenance
of devices such as routers, switches and printers.
● GUIs are intuitive to use which means they are easy to learn because
commands are represented by pictures and menus provide options that
can be selected.
153
● However, they can
carry out unusual be restrictive for some technical users who need to
DIALOGUE
INTERFACE
● A dialogue interface refers to using the spoken word to communicate with
a computer system.

● A user can give commands using their voice and the computer system
can respond by carrying out an action or with further information
using a synthesised voice.

● Dialogue interfaces are very popular with mobile devices, including

mobile phones and in-car entertainment systems.

● The main problem with this type of interface is the computer system’s ability
154
to recognise the spoken word.
GESTURE - BASED
INTERFACE
● Gesture-based interfaces will recognise human motion.

● This could include tracking eyes and lips, identifying hand signals or
monitoring whole body movement.

● There are many applications of gesture-based interfaces, including

gaming, which have led to the development of other gesture-based
interfaces.

● Gestures can be an essential form of interaction for some disabled users

who cannot use conventional input devices.
155
Important Features of User Interface
Design
● Colour - Text must be legible. This means using a light font on a dark background or
a dark font on a light background.

● Layout - Careful consideration should be given to the layout of information, icons

and inputs on a screen. Similar information, icons or inputs should be grouped
together.

● Font size - The standard size of font for reading is 11 or 12 points which is legible
for most users.

● Quality of information - If too much information is provided to a user, then this can
cause information overload and may mean that much of it is ignored.
● Controls - Controls are used on form. 156
CONTROL
S

156
CONTROL
S

157
CONTROL
S

158
Badly Designed Input Screen

159
MENTAL
MODELS

160
QUESTION
S

161
UTILITY
SOFTWARE

162
UTILITY
SOFTWARE

163
ANTI-VIRUS
● Anti-virus software is sometimes referred to as anti-malware software as it
deals with other threats such as adware and spyware as well as viruses.
● It has two main functions. The first is an anti-virus monitor that is
continually monitoring the system for viruses and malware.
● If the anti-virus monitor detects any unusual behaviour or tell-tale signs of
viruses or malware then it will prevent them from being executed so they
cannot cause damage to files or programs.
● The second function is to check for viruses or malware that may already be on
a system. This is usually known as scanning the system.
164
BACKU
P
● Backup utilities create a second copy of data
and programs that are in storage.
● A backup utility can be executed by the user, in
which case the backup takes place when the user
asks it to, or it can be scheduled to execute at a
predetermined time so that the backup takes place
automatically.
● The user is usually able to select which folders
and files will be backed up and can usually
decide where the backup will be stored.
165
DATA
COMPRESSION
● Data compression utilities will reduce the original
size of files so that they use up less storage space.
● This can be achieved on a file-by-file basis or for
a set of files or even a set of folders.
● It will be slower to open the compressed file, but as
it is smaller it will use up less storage and can be
transferred from one location to another more
quickly.

166
DISC
DEFRAGMENTATION
● As a hard disc gets used, files are kept together in storage on the same cylinder
or adjacent cylinders.
● As files grow in size, they use up more space on the disc and this may no longer
be on the same or adjacent cylinder.
● The problem with this is that when opening the file, the access arm of the hard
disc drive has to keep moving to different locations which makes opening the
file a slow process.
● When files are deleted, gaps are left on the disc. When all the cylinders have
been used, the only space to store files is within the gaps. If the gaps are not
big enough, then files have to be split across gaps, meaning that they become
167
defragmented
DISC
DEFRAGMENTATION
●

168
DISC
DEFRAGMENTATION
● A defragmentation utility will reorganise all the files so that each file is
contiguous (kept together).
● It will do this by moving fragmented parts of files and small files to free space
on the disc and creating space on whole cylinders or adjacent cylinders.
● It will then move the defragmented files to a place where the whole file is kept
together.
● This can significantly improve the performance of a computer system,
especially if program files have become fragmented and can be defragmented.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtRIOUZuI2c
169
FORMATTIN
G
● When a disc is prepared for first time use, it needs to be formatted.
● Formatting is the process of organising the tracks on the disc into sectors. Each
sector is where data will be stored.
● A used disc can also be formatted, in which case all data will be lost and the
tracks prepared again as if the disc was being used for the first time.

170
FILE
COPYING
● Files can be copied using features within an operating system’s own interface.
However, this can be slow and options are limited.
● File-copying utilities enable users to have more control over which files are
copied and how they are copied.
● For example, a user may only want to copy word processing documents that are
within a series of folders and they may want all the files to be copied to a single
folder on the destination storage.
● It is also possible to synchronise files across multiple storage locations or even
multiple computer systems, so that when a change is made to a file in one
location, it will then be updated in all other 172
DELETIN
G
● Some files become locked by an operating system and it becomes
almost impossible to delete them.
● Deleting utilities can overcome this problem by deleting locked files and
folders.
● When files are deleted using normal deletion methods, the data is still on the
disc although the user can’t see it.
● Therefore another function of deleting utilities is being able to delete files
permanently so that they cannot be restored or accessed.
● Some deletion utilities will remove temporary files that are no longer needed by
the
whencomputer system,
a program or files
has been that are or
uninstalled noalonger used but haven’t been deleted 173
user profile
QUESTION
S

173
CUSTOM-WRITTEN VS OFF-THE_SHELF
SOFTWARE

174
CUSTOM-WRITTEN VS OFF-THE_SHELF
SOFTWARE
● When a client requires a software solution that will carry out a specific purpose
that is unique to their organisation, they will ask for the software to be written
for them. This is known as custom-written software because it is customised to
the needs of the client and will meet the requirements of the client.

● When software already exists and is purchased online or from a shop, it is

known as off-the-shelf software. The software will have been written for a
general purpose that is likely to be useful to a large market. Anybody can
purchase the software for a specified price.
175
CUSTOM-WRITTEN VS OFF-THE_SHELF
SOFTWARE

176
CUSTOM-WRITTEN VS OFF-THE_SHELF
SOFTWARE

177
QUESTION
S

178
COMPILERS AND
INTERPRETERS

179
COMPILER AND INTERPRETER
DIFFERENCES

180
QUESTION
S

181
REVIEW
QUESTIONS

182
REVIEW
QUESTIONS

183