GCSE Computer Science 1.5 Utility Software

What are operating systems? Why are they so important?

Operating systems are a type of software that manage and control the computer; they have several main functions. Without an operating system, a computer wouldn’t be usable and there wouldn’t be any interface between the user input and the hardware output.

What is the GUI?

The graphical user interface is a visual way for users to interact with their electronic devices; they use graphical elements, like WIMP, to do this.

Command-line interface

Command line interfaces are less visual and the user types in text-based commands to interact with their electronic device.

Memory management

The OS allocate sections of the computers memory to different applications, keeping track of what part of RAM are in use.

Multitasking

This is the ability of the OS to run more than one program at the same time. It achieves this by switching rapidly between tasks, giving each program a small slice of the processor’s time.

Peripheral management

The OS manages peripherals, which are devices connected to the computer. The OS sends signals to the appropriate peripherals when data needs to be sent or received..

Device drivers

A driver is a small program that acts as a translator between the OS and the hardware peripheral device; each type of hardware needs its own specific driver.

User management

Many systems allow multiple users to have separate accounts. The OS is responsible for creating and managing these accounts, as well as setting usernames and passwords, managing login processes and assigning different levels of access to different users. The OS also ensures that users can only access their own files and that personal data is kept private.

File management

This includes controlling how data is stored, organised and retrieved on a computer; the OS allows users to move, copy, delete or rename files. The OS also keeps track of where each file is stored on the desk and ensures that the data is saved correctly, and cannot be overwritten unless told so.

Why is utility software needed?

It is needed to perform additional housekeeping task that may not be carried out by an OS. It’s usually pre-installed on many computers.

Encryption software

This is used to convert data in plain text into cipher text, using complex algorithms. This cipher text can only be decrypted by a key, given to authorised users.

Defragmentation

Used to reorganise files stored on a hard disk, so that they take up fewer separate spaces. This speeds up file access, by removing the movement of the read/write head on the surface of the disk. This is only used for magnetic HDDs and not SSDs, because HDDs have moving parts, whilst SSDs don’t.

Data Compression

Reduces the size of the files, so that they take up less storage space and can be transmitted more quickly.