operating systems

What does CMOS stand for

complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

what does OS stand for

Operating system

what is an operating system

software that provides an environment in which applications can run and provides an interface between hardware and human oeprators 

what does HCI stand for 

human computer interface 

what does GUI stand for

graphical user interface

what does CLI stand for

command line interface

what is an icon 

small picture or symbol used to represent, for example, an application on a screen 

what does WIMP stand fo

windows, icons, menu, pointing device

what is post-WIMP

interfaces that go beyond WIMP and use touch screen technology rather than a pointing device

what is a pinching and rotating

actions by fingers on a touch screen to carry out tasks such as move, enlarge, reduce, etc.

what is memory management 

part of the OS that controls the main memory 

what is memory optimisation

functions of memory management that determines how memory is allocated and deallocated

what is memory organisatiion

function of memory management that determines how much memory is allocated to an application

what is security management 

part of the OS that ensures the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data

what is contiguous

items next to each other

what is vertual memory systems

memory management that makes use of hardware and software to enable a computer to compensate for shortage of actual physical memory

what si memory protecton 

function of memory management that ensures two cometing application cannot use same memory locations at the same time 

what is process management

part of the OS that involves allocation of resources and permits the sharing and exchange of data

what is hardware management

part of the OS that controls all I/O devices connected to a computer

what is device driver 

software that communicates with the OS and translates data into a format understood by the device 

what is a utility program

parts of the operating system which carry out certain functions

what is a disk formatter

utiility that prepares a disck to allow data to be stored and retrieved

what is a bad sector 

a faulty sector on an HDD which can be soft or hard

what is an antivirus software

software that quarantines and deletes files or programs infected by a virus.

what is a heuristic checking

checking of software for behaviour that could indicate a possible virus

what is quarantine 

file or program identified as being infected by a virus which has been isolated by antivirus software before it si deleted at a later stage 

what is a false positive

a file or program identified by a virus checker as being infected but the user knows this cannot be correct

what is disk defragmenter

utility that reorganises the sectors on a hard disk so that files can be stored in contiguous data block

what is a disk content analysis software 

utility that checks disk drivers for empty space and disk usage by reviewing files and folders 

what is disk compression

software that compresses data before storage on an HDD

whait is a back-up utility

software that makes copies of files on another portable storage device

what is a program library 

library on a computer where programs and routines are stored which can be freely accessed by other software developers for use in their own programs 

what is a library program

a program stored in a library for future use by other programmers

what is a library routine

a tested and ready-to-use routine available in the development system of a programming language that can be incorporated in a program 

what does DLL stand for

dynamic link file

what is a DLL 

a library routine that can be linekd to another program only at the run time stage