1.5 System Software

“The process of the operating system deciding what should be in memory at any given time. Responsible for loading data and programs into and out of memory when required.”

• Defragmentation software

• Memory management

• Device Driver

• Utility software

“Allows a user to interact with a computer – e.g., input devices and software.”

• User interface

• Abstraction

• Defragmentation software

• Multitasking

“Running multiple applications simultaneously by giving each one a slice of processor time.”

• Device Driver

• Defragmentation software

• User management

• Multitasking

“The management of connected input/output devices such as a mouse, keyboard, webcam, speaker, scanner, printer, etc.”

• User interface

• Operating system

• Peripheral management

• Data compression software

“Specialised software that communicates with computer hardware to allow other programs to run. The most common operating systems are Windows, Linux, Unix, MacOS and iOS.”

• Multitasking

• Defragmentation software

• User management

• Operating system

“Turns plaintext data into unreadable ciphertext data using a key. Protects data from being read by hackers.”

• Defragmentation software

• Encryption software

• Device Driver

• Abstraction

“Translates operating system commands into hardware-specific commands – e.g., a printer driver tells the printer how to print a document.”

• Encryption software

• File management

• File management

• Device Driver

“A program that performs a specific task relating to the operation of the computer – e.g., backup, virus scan, compression, defragmentation.”

• Utility software

• User interface

• Data compression software

• Defragmentation software

“Files being deleted over time creates gaps on a hard disk. New files fill the gaps but may need more space than the gap provides, resulting in file fragments being spread across the disk. Defragmentation puts file fragments and free space back together in contiguous space, improving access speeds.”

• Peripheral management

• File management

• Defragmentation software

• Multitasking

“Reduces the size of a file so it takes up less disk space and is quicker to download over the internet. Compressed files must be extracted before they can be read.”

• Encryption software

• Multitasking

• File management

• Data compression software