System Software

System Software

1. Multitasking

   • If the processor is given a small time slice for each tasks then it can execute each task at the same time
   • Resources such as memory and the processor are being shared between the tasks, instead of running them all at once

2. The User Interface

   • The user can interact with the operating system with different types of interfaces
   • With a command line interface, it is text based. E.g DOS, Raspbian
   • Graphical user interfaces contains windows, icons, menus, pointers. They are visual. E.g. Windows 10, Android, Mac OS

3. Peripherals Management

   • Operating systems manage the way in which hardware interacts with software
   • A peripheral is a piece of hardware that is not directly connected to the CPU, such as: keyboard and mouse

4. Drivers

   • Drivers are a piece of software that is used to control a piece of hardware
   • Drivers allow a peripheral device to be connected to a computer and it to be used by an operating system
     • You could get drivers for graphic cards, mouse, sound card and network interface cards
       • Drivers are OS specific and are regularly updated by companies

5. File Management

6. Memory Management

   • The Operating System allocates memory between the different programs that are open at the same time
   • The purpose of the Operating System is to know where memory data is being held