📍 Nature of applications Date: @November 15, 2021 Topic: Nature of Applications - System/Utility software: Recall What is system software? Example of System Software: Function: What are Utility programs? What are the 6 types of utility software? Software that manages computer resources and is needed to run the computer's hardware and applications. Ensures consistent high performance. Operating System - Lies between the applications software and computer hardware Resource management - manages all the hardware, eg: CPU, clock, memory, peripherals Provides a user interface to allow the user to perform tasks such as running application software, changing computer settings, ect. Designed to optimise computer performance by keeping it running safely, efficiently, and providing tools to manage files and applications Defragmentation Backup software Compression Anti-virus Updating software File repair software What is a Disk Defragmenter? Nature of applications Disk Defragmenter - Re-organises files on the hard disk so fragments of files and space are put back together. The 1 distance the read-write header moves while reading a file is thus reduced, increasing the access speeds of files. What is backup software? What is compression software? SSD's shouldn't be de-fragmented as there are no moving parts so this would be a waste of time and this would lower its lifespan. Software that copies files (backups) onto a separate media or an off-site cloud. Can be automatic, manual, or scheduled. Allows user to specify setting of where, when and what files to backup. Can be full back-ups or incremental backups. Software that reduces the size of a file. Most commonly used when sending files over the internet, where download speeds are slow or when there is an upload limit on the file. What is antivirus software? Depending on the algorithm used, data is either lost (lossy) so quality of sound, video or image is reduced, or it can be arranged differently in binary to take up less space in a ZIP file but must be extracted first (lossless). This retains all the data of the original file. What is updating Software? What is file repair software? Software on the computer that checks the hard-drive, emails and downloads for malware and removes them. Software that makes sure that other software are up to date. Regularly checks the internet for updates and downloads and installs if there are newer versions. Important with anti-malware software as this needs to be kept updated as new threats are developed. Important for applications for updating bug-fixes. Software that checks corrupted/damaged files and repairs them by resolving their issues. Can be built into applications or separately purchased. Nature of applications 2 📌 SUMMARY: System software is software that manages the computer's resources effectively. These can include the operating system and utility software Nature of applications 3