Edexcel GCSE Computer Science
4.4.1: know what an operating system is and how it manages files, processes, hardware and the user interface
4.4.1: know what an operating system is and how it manages files, processes, hardware and the user interface
| Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|
| Application software | programs that the user installs and runs to get work done or have fun |
| Hardware | the physical devices that the OS has to be able to control and manage access for each process |
| Memory | Storage space that the operating system has to be able to allocate and access for programs to store data and instructions |
| Operating system | software that manages files, memory, processes, hardware and provides a user interface to control systems software and application software |
| Processes | Instructions and data for individual programs that are loaded from secondary storage into main memory. The OS needs to be able to start, stop and manage resources for each program. |
| Systems software | programs that the operating system provides in order to share processor, memory and hardware resources between processes |
| User interface | the software that allows the user to control programs (using a mouse/keyboard) and allows the program to display information back to the user |
| Utility software | programs that the operating system provides to manage files, change settings and optimise performance |
