Chapter 5 System Software

Chapter 5  System Software

Introduction

l  Computers and computer applications are ubiquitous in our lives so much so that we expect them to “be there when we need them”.

l  We often give little thought to the processes and programs running behind the scenes to keep our computers functioning effectively.

l  These kinds of programs and processes (i.e. operating systems, utility programs, device drivers, etc…) fall under the topic of system software and are covered in this chapter.

System Software

System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software.^[1][2]

The most basic types of system software are:

• The computer BIOS and device firmware, which provide basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected to or built into the computer.
• The operating system (prominent examples being Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux), which allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a display device. It also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application software.

• Utility software, which helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer.

Four types of programs:

1. Operating system: An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages computer hardware resources^[1] and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software.

2. Utilities: perform specific tasks related to managing computer resources

3. Device drivers: a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device.

4. Language translators: convert the programming instructions written by programmers into a language that computers understand and process.

Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).^[2] Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984. As of October 2009, Windows had approximately 91% of the market share of the client operating systems for usage on the Internet.^[3][4][5] The most recent client version of Windows is Windows 7; the most recent server version is Windows Server 2008 R2; the most recent mobile OS version is Windows Phone 7.

 

Mac OS

Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface. The original form of what Apple would later name the "Mac OS" was the integral and unnamed system software first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh, usually referred to simply as the System software.

Virtualization

Virtualization, in computing, is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system, a storage device or network resources