1.2.2 Applications Generation OCR A Level Computer Science

What is system software

Software that manages and controls the computer's hardware, and that provides a platform for application software. Includes the OS, utilities, translators, etc.

What is utility software

Software designed to maintain and optimise the performance of the computer.

What is application software

Software that the user downloads that is not needed for the computer to run but the user needs for their own tasks.

What is general-purpose application software

Software that is designed to do many common tasks rather than one specific task, and can be used for many different purposes.

What is special-purpose (bespoke) application software

Software designed to do one single specific task or set of tasks.

What is the difference between off-the-shelf and bespoke software

Off-the-shelf software is designed for a large number of users and can be bought quickly and is generally cheaper than bespoke software, which is designed for one or a few specific users but takes longer to develop and is more expensive. Bespoke software is more customisable than off-the-shelf.

What type of software is a web browser

Application software

What type of software are device drivers

System software

What type of software are games (like Minecraft or Roblox)

Application software

What type of software are word processors

Application software

What type of software is compression software

System (utility) software

What is compression software used for

It is used to share and compress (reduce the file size) of files using lossy and lossless compression.

What is lossy compression

A data compression method that reduces file size by removing data that is unnecessary or imperceptible to humans (like pitches humans can't hear in an audio file), resulting in much smaller files but a slight decrease in quality.

What is lossless compression

A data compression method that works by finding and simplifying repeating patterns in the data without losing any of the original data.

What is disk defragmentation

A utility program that reorganises the data in a HDD so that files which have been stored all over the disk physically can be combined into a series of sequential blocks, making it easier for the computer to store new files efficiently.

What do automatic backup utilities do

Allow a user to automatically save, backup and update their files/application software.

What is the difference between open-source and closed-source software

In open-source software, the source code is available for the user to see, modify and redistribute, whereas closed-source software hides the source code. This makes open-source software more customisable and cheaper, but closed-source software offers better security and normally has fewer errors.

What are the three most common types of translators a computer uses

Interpreters, compilers and assemblers.

What is an assembler

A translator designed to translate assembly language into machine code that can be executed directly by the computer.

What is a compiler

A translator that turns high-level language into machine code, producing an executable file that can be run at any time without needing to be retranslated. It does not check for errors.

What is an interpreter

A translator that translates and runs each line of source code one by one, running each translated line before looking at the next line. It will stop translating and running when it encounters a syntax or runtime error.

What are linkers

Programs that take object files and the libraries they use, combining them to create one executable file.

What are loaders

Utility software that places the programs and libraries needed to run a program into RAM.

What are libraries

Pre-compiled functions/sections of code that programmers can use to optimise their code.