COMPUTER SCIENCE REVIEW QUESTIONS – SOFTWARE

Software
1. Define software
Set of instructions that’s tells computers what to do
2. Name the 2 types of software
• System and application software
3. Name 3 features of system software and application software
• System:
i. Provides a human computer interface
ii. Controls the allocation and usage of hardware resources
iii. Required to allow hardware software to run without problems
iv. Provides a platform on which other software's can run
v. Set of programs to control and manage the operation of computer hardware
• Application:
i. Used to perform various applications on a computer
ii. Allows a user to perform specific tasks using the computers resources
iii. Maybe a single program or a suits of programs
iv. User can execute the software as and when they require
4. Name 3 examples of system software and application software
• application:
i. word processor
ii. spreadsheets
iii. database
iv. control and measuring software
v. apps
vi. photo editing software
vii. video editing software
viii. graphics manipulation software
• system:
i. compilers
ii. linkers
iii. device drivers
iv. operating systems
v. utilities
5. Give 4 examples of utility software
• Virus checkers
• Defragmentation software's
• Disk contents analysis and repair
• File compression and file management
• Backup software
• Security
• Screensaver

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6. Explain how hardware, firmware and OS is needed to run an application software

Applications are run on the operating system
The operating system is run on the firmware
The bootloader (firmware) is run on the hardware

7. Name 3 features of anti-virus software's

• They check software or files before they are run or loaded on a computer
• Anti-virus software compares a possible virus against a database of known viruses
• They carry out heuristic checking – this is the checking of software for types of
behavior that could indicate a possible virus not yet on the database
• Any possible files or programs which are infected are put into quarantine which
i. Allows the virus to be automatically deleted
ii. Allows the user to make the decision about deletion
• Antivirus software needs to be kept up to date since new viruses are constantly
being discovered
• Full system checks need to be carried out once a week since some viruses lie
dormant and would only be picked up by this full system scan

8. What is defragmentation?
• Files being stored in contiguous sectors (next to each other), this would be more
advantageous as HDD head movements are reduced

9. How are files stored in contiguous sectors?

• A disk defragmenter will rearrange the blocks of data to store files wherever
possible

10. What does the operating system backup utility do?

• Allow a schedule for backing up files to be made
• Only carry out a back-up procedure if there have been any changes made to a file

11. What are screensavers used for?

• Virus scans
• Distributed computing applications

12. What are device drivers?

• Software that communicates with the operating system and translate data into a
format understood by a hardware peripheral device.

13. Explain the use of descriptors in device drivers

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It acts as the root of the descriptor tree and contains basic device information. The
unique numbers, idVendor and idProduct, identify the connected device. The Windows
operating system uses these numbers to determine which device driver must be loaded.

14. Explain the role of descriptor when a new device is plugged into the USB port of a
computer for the first time
As soon as a device is plugged into a USB port (for example, a memory stick, printer or
camera), the operating system looks for the appropriate device driver. The descriptors will
hold all the information’s about the device. If it is connected for the first time it checks for
the unique serial number and loads the device driver.
15. State what is meant by firmware
Firmware is software that provides basic machine instructions that allow the hardware to
function and communicate with other software running on a device.

16. Give two examples of firmware used in computers

BIOS(basic input/output systems ) used during the booting process
CD disk writer , a router (gets an update that improves its performance and stability.)

17. What are the functions of operating systems?

• Human Computer Interface (HCI)
• Multitasking
• Platform for running application software
• Management of user accounts
• Managing files
• Hardware peripheral management
• Memory management
• Interrupt handling routines
• Security (manages log on, passwords)
•
18. Fill in the blank: The human computer interface is in the form of a command line interface
or a graphical user interface

19. Explain the difference between graphical user interface and command line interface
The main difference between GUI and CLI is that the Graphical User Interface (GUI)
allows the user to interact with the system using graphical elements such as windows, icons,
menus while the Command Line Interface (CLI) allows the user to interact with the system
using commands.

20. 2 advantages and disadvantages of command line interface

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• Advantages:
• The user is in direct communication with the computer
• The user is not restricted to a number of predetermined options
• It is possible to alter computer configuration settings
• Uses a small amount of computer memory
• Disadvantages:
• The user needs to learn to learn a number of commands to carry out basic operations
• All commands need to be typed in which takes time and can be error prone
• Each command must be typed in using the correct format, spelling, and so on

21. Name 2 advantages and disadvantages of graphical user interface

• Advantages:
i. The user doesn’t need to learn any commands
ii. It is more user friendly; icons are used to represent application
iii. Simpler to use a pointing device such as mouse as applications can be
chosen simply by touching an icon
• Disadvantages
i. This type of interface uses up considerably more computer memory than a
CLI interface
ii. The user is limited to the icons provided on the screen
iii. Needs an operating system, such as windows, to operate, which uses up
considerable memory

22. Name 2 functions of memory management

• Manages the primary memory (RAM) and allows data to be moved between RAM
and HDD/SSD during the execution of programs
• Keeps track of all the memory locations
• Carries out memory protection to ensure that two competing applications cannot
use the same memory locations at the same time.

23. What is the main function of security management

• To ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data

24. Features of security management

• by carrying out operating system updates as and when they become available
• ensuring that anti-virus software (and other security software) is always up to date,
preserving the integrity, security and privacy of data
• by communicating with, for example, a firewall to check all traffic to and from the
computer

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• by making use of privileges to prevent users entering ‘private areas’ on a computer

that permits multi-user activity (this is done by setting up user accounts and making
use of passwords and user IDs); this helps to ensure the privacy of data
• by maintaining access rights for all users
• by offering the ability for the recovery of data (and system restore) when it has been
lost or corrupted
• By helping to prevent illegal intrusion into the computer system (also ensuring the
privacy of data).

25. What are the functions of hardware management

• Communicates with all input and output devices using device drivers
• Uses a device driver to take data from a file and translates it to a format that can be
understood by the input/output device
• Ensures each hardware resource has a priority so that they can be used and released
as required
• Manages input/output devices by controlling queues and buffers

26. What are the main tasks of file management?

• File naming conventions which can be used
• Performing specific tasks
• Maintaining the directory structures
• Ensuring access control mechanisms are maintained
• Ensuring memory allocations for a file by reading it from the HDD/SSD and
loading it into memory
27. Explain what multitasking is?
• Multitasking is allowing the computer to carry out multiple tasks at a time
• To make sure that the multitasking is carried out properly,
i. Resources are allocated to a process for a specific time limit
ii. The process can be interrupted while it is running
iii. The process is given a priority so it can have resources according to its
priority

28. What does the management of user accounts allow the users to do?
• Customize their screen layout and other settings
• Use separate folders and files and to manage these themselves
• Allow an administrator to create and delete user accounts, along with restricting
user account activity

29. What are the series of events that are to occur when a computer is starting up?
• Booting up (part of the operating system needs to be loaded into RAM)

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• The start-up of the computer’s motherboard is handled by the basic input/output

system (BIOS)
• The BIOS tells the computer where the storage device that holds the operating
system that is needed and executes it.

30. Explain what EEPROM is!

• BIOS program is stored on an EEPROM (Electrically erasable programmable ROM)
• EEPROM is a flash memory chip which retains data when the computer is shut
down
• The data in it can be rewritten, updated and deleted by the user

31. What is an interrupt?

• An interrupt is a signal sent from a device or software to the microprocessor, which
then causes the microprocessor to be temporarily stop what it is doing to service
the interrupt
32. What are the two types of interrupts
Software and hardware interrupt

33. Give an example for software and hardware interrupt

• Software interrupts include division by zero and two processes trying to access
the same memory location
• Hardware interrupts include pressing a key on the keyboard and moving the
mouse

34. What are the different ways interrupts can be caused?

• A timing signals
• An input/output device (disk drive or printer requiring more data)
• A hardware fault (paper jam in printer)
• User interactions
• Software issues that cause an interrupt

35. Explain uses of interrupt

• Increases the efficiency of CPU
• Gives priority to more vital tasks
• Allows to multitask

36. Define interrupt handler

Interrupt Handler is a process that runs when an interrupt is generated by hardware or
software. The interrupt handler is also known as Interrupt Service Routine (ISR). ISR
handles the request and sends it to the CPU. When the ISR is complete, the process gets
resumed.

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37. Explain how buffers and interrupts are used when printing document

38. Define ISR

Interrupt service routine is a software that handles interrupt requests

39. Define buffer?

• A buffer is a temporary memory area that stores data temporarily, buffer is usually
used when the hardware devices cannot process at the same speed as the processor.
40. Explain high-level language
High- level languages are languages that are user oriented and system independent that are
designed user friendly and easy to understand. It requires an interpreter or an assembler to
convert it to machine language to be understood by the computer. Eg: VB, C,C++, C#

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41. Explain low level language

A low-level language is machine-oriented. Low-level programs are expressed in terms of
the machine operations that must be performed to carry out a task. Eg: machine language,
assembly language.

42. Describe advantages and disadvantages of high-level and low-level languages

43. State some uses of assembly languages

» to make use of special hardware
» to make use of special machine-dependent instructions
» to write code that doesn’t take up much space in primary memory
» to write code that performs a task very quickly.

44. What is assembly language code referred as

Mnemonic code

45. Explain the difference between interpreters, assemblers and compilers

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46. Describe the purpose of assembler

a computer program that translates programming code written in assembly language into
machine code.

47. Describe the purpose of compiler

a computer program that translates a source program written in a high-level language to
machine code

48. Describe the purpose of interpreter

a computer program that analyses and executes a program written in a high-level language
line by line
49. State when is it appropriate to use a compiler
When the program is complete and ready to use

50. State when is it appropriate to use an interpreter

During the program development stage/ to edit the programs

51. List some advantages and disadvantages of interpreters and compilers

52. Define IDE

Integrated development environment is A suite of programs used to write and test a
computer program written in a high-level language.

53. Provide some examples of IDE

NetBeans , Visual Studio , Notepad++
54. Explain the features of IDE
• Code editors: allows a program to be written and edited without the need to
use a separate text editor
• Translator: this can be a compiler and/or an interpreter, to enable the program to be
executed. The interpreter is often used for developing the program and the compiler to
produce the final version of the program to be used.
• A runtime environment with a debugger: allows the programmer to step through the
program a line at a time (single stepping) or to set a breakpoint to stop the execution of the
program at a certain point in the source code. This also allows to check for logical errors

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• Error diagnostics: finds possible errors as the program code is being typed, alerts the
programmer at the time and provides a suggested correction. Many errors can therefore be
found and corrected during program writing and editing before the program is run.
• Auto completion: Using the auto-completer decreases the amount of typing needed to
write code, and reduces the incidence of typos in symbol names.
• Auto documenter – prettyprinting: an auto-documenter to explain the function and
purpose of programming code. Most code editors colour code the words in the program
and lay out the program in a meaningful way – this is called prettyprinting.

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