Computer Systems - Software

What is software?

The programmed instructions that the hardware runs

What is application software?

Software to perform a task or solve a problem for the user

What is general purpose application software?

Software designed for a wide range of purposes and users

What is special purpose application software?

Software designed for one specific task

What is bespoke software?

Software specifically designed and written for one company, business or person

What are the advantages of general and special purpose application software over bespoke software?

-Quicker as it's already available for purchase

Lots of support and documents

-Relatively cheap as the development costs are shared by all purchasers

-More reliable and bug-free as normally well-tested

-Lots of support and documentation on it

What are the advantages of bespoke software over general and special purpose software?

-Does exactly what the user wants it to

-Designed to work with the desired software and hardware

-There may be no suitable product currently on the market

-No unnecessary functions or features

-No unnecessary functions or features

What is system software?

Software which performs tasks needed to operate the hardware and handle more technical aspects of a computer system in place of the user

What are operating systems?

Programs which control the operation of the hardware and software and act as the interface between the user and the hardware to hide the complexities of the hardware from the user

What are some of the tasks that operating systems perform in resource management?

-Scheduling tasks to allow for multitasking

-Memory management

-Peripheral management using device drivers

-Virtual memory and paging

-File management and transfer

-Interrupt handling

-Memory management

-Peripheral management using device drivers

-Virtual memory and paging

-File management and transfer

-Interrupt Handling

What are utility programs?

Programs designed to configure, optimise the performance of or maintain your computer system

What are translator programs?

Programs used to convert a program from one programming language to another (such as source code into machine code)

What are library programs?

Collections of resources such as pre-written code, subprograms or documentation which programmers can have their programs use for efficient software development