6.1 Hardware & Software

Define what hardware is.

Hardware describes the electrical or electro mechanical parts of a computer system

Define what software is.

Software comprises all of the programs that make the computer function

Define system software

Programs that allow the hardware to run properly and allow the user to communicate with the computer

What is the operating system?

the software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals.

What is utility software?

A collection of tools, each of which does a specific job. It helps to configure the system, analyse how it is working and optimise it to improve its efficiency.

What are libraries?

Library programs are a collection of ready-compiled programs, grouped in software libraries, which can be loaded and run when required.

What are translators?

a piece of software that handles the translation of source code into a form that can be executed by a processor

What are the types of translators and their functions?

- Assemblers: convert from assembly language to machine code
- Compilers: converts from high level to object code
- Interpreters: translates high level into an intermediate form which is then executed

List the stages of the compilation process.

1) Lexical
2) Syntax
3) Semantic
4) Code generation
5) Optimisation

What is the difference between interpreters and compilers?

- Compilers translate the code all at once and return errors at the end of the process
- Interpreters translate the code line by line and return errors as it works through the program which is extremely useful during development
- once the program is compiled, it won't need to be translated again when running it whereas interpreters have to tranlsate the source code evry time the program is run making it slower

What are the responsibilities of the OS?

- managing hardware to allocate processors, memories and I/O devices among competing processes
- providing a platform for applications to run on
- resource management

What is bytecode?

An unrunnable and portable intermediate form compiled from the source code.