SYSTEMS

SOFTWARE
What’s inside…

 What is Systems Software?

 Three Basic Types

What is Systems Software?

 It enables the applications software to

interact with the computer & helps the
computer manage its internal & external
resources.
Three Basic Types of Systems
Software

 Operating Systems

 Utility Programs

 Language Translator
Diagram
User

Applications Software

Systems Software

External Utility Operating Language

Programs System Translators

Hardware
(Computer plus Peripheral Devices)
OPERATING
SYSTEM
Operating System
 It consists of the master system of
programs called supervisor, that manage
the basic operations of the computer.

 These programs reside in RAM while the

computer is on & provide resource
management services of many kinds,
handling such matters as running &
storing programs & storing & processing
Operating System
 It allows the user to concentrate in his own
tasks or applications rather than on the
complexities of managing the computer.

 It interprets the commands the user gives

to run programs & allows him to interact
with the programs while they are running.
Booting
 It is the process of loading an operating system into a
computer’s main memory from diskette or hard disk.
 The OS begins to operate as soon as the user turns on
or “boots” the computer.
 Loading is accomplished by an program called bootstrap
loader or boot routine that is stored permanently in the
computer’s electronic circuitry.

 System Prompt - indicates the OS has been loaded into

main memory & asks (“prompts”) the user to enter a
command.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output
System)
 It manages the essential peripherals such as keyboard,
screen, disk drives, and parallel & serial ports.
 It manages some internal services such as time & date.
 This is the part of the OS that tests the computer upon
booting via an autostart program.
 After running the autostart program, it loads the rest of
the OS & turns over to it.
 It is usually stored on a ROM chip or a flash memory
chip.
User Interface
 It is the part of the OS that allows the user to
communicate or interact with it.

 Three Types of User Interface

 Command-Driven
 Menu-Driven
 Graphical User
Command-Driven Interface
 It requires the user to enter a command by
typing in codes or words.

 Example is DIR for directory…

This command instructs the computer to
display a directory list of all file names
on a disk.
Menu-Driven Interface
 It allows the user to choose a command from a menu.

 The menu offers options to choose from.

Graphical User Interface
 It uses images to represent options. Some of
these images take the form of icons.

 Icons are small pictorial figures that represent

tasks, functions or programs.

 Windows is another feature of GUI.

 GUI uses the mouse.

Ways on How OS Manages
Tasks
 Multitasking

 Multiprogramming

 Time-sharing

 Multiprocessing
Multitasking

 It is the execution of two or more

programs by one user concurrently, not
simultaneously, on the same computer
with one central processor.
Multiprogramming

 It is the execution of two or more

programs on a multi-user operating
system.
Time-Sharing
 It is a single computer’s processing of the
tasks of several users at different stations
in round-robin fashion.

 It is used when several users are linked by

a communications network to a single
computer.
Multiprocessing

 It is a processing done by two or more

computers or processors linked together
to perform work simultaneously, that is, at
precisely the same time.
EXTERNAL
UTILITY
PROGRAMS
What are External Utility
Programs?
 These are special programs that provide specific
useful services not performed or performed less
well by other systems software programs.

 Examples
 backup of files for storage
 recovery of damaged files

 virus protection

 data compression

 memory management
Some Specific Utility Tasks
 Screen Saver - it is a utility that supposedly prevents a
monitor’s display screen from being
etched by unchanging image.

 Data Recovery - it is used to undelete a file or

information that has been accidentally
deleted.

 Backup - creating a duplicate copy of the information on

the hard disk.
Some Specific Utility Tasks
 Virus Protection
 Virus - consists of hidden programming instructions that
are buried within an application or systems
program. They copy themselves to other
programs causing havoc.
 Antivirus Software - a utility program that scans hard
disks, diskettes, & the microcomputer’s
memory to detect viruses.
 File Defragmentatiojn - defragment the scattered files &
speed up the drive’s operation.
 Fragmentation - the scattering of portion of files about
the disk in non-adjacent areas,
thus greatly slowing access
to the files.
Some Specific Utility Tasks
 Data Compression - removes redundant elements, gaps,
& unnecessary data from a
computer’s storage space so
less space is required to store
or transmit data.
 Memory Management - programs that determine how to
efficiently control & allocate
memory resources. These are
activated by drivers.
 Driver - a series of program instructions that
standardizes the format of data transmitted
between a computer & a peripheral
device.
LANGUAGE
TRANSLATOR
What is Language Translator?
 It is a software that translates a program written by a
programmer in a language.

 For example in C, a word processing applications

program, into machine language 0s and 1s, which the
computer can understand.

 All system software & applications software must be

turned into machine language for execution by the
computer.
END