Operating Systems and Software
beginner22 min read
The difference between system and application software, the functions of an operating system - process, memory, file, device and user management - types of OS, and how files, folders and common extensions organise data.
What you will be able to do
- Separate system software from application software and place the OS, compilers and utilities.
- List the core functions an operating system performs.
- Describe common types of operating system by how they schedule work.
- Explain files, folders, paths and what a file extension indicates.
What is inside this lesson
- 1System software and application software
- 2What an operating system is
- 3Functions of an operating system
- 4Types of operating system
- 5Files, folders and extensions
- 6Common confusions
- 7Quick revision
- 8Worked example: which software layer
- 9Practice
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System software and application software
- System software runs and manages the computer itself. It includes the operating system, device drivers, utility programs (antivirus, disk cleanup, backup, compression), and language processors - the compiler and interpreter that turn source code into instructions the machine can run, and the assembler for assembly language.
- Application software is what a user runs to do a task: word processors, spreadsheets, presentation tools, browsers, media players, accounting packages.
System software sits between the hardware and the applications; applications call the operating system, which controls the hardware.
The lesson itself is for members
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