Question 1

Question 1Define hardware and software.

Accepted Answer

Hardware refers to the physical parts of the computer that we can see and touch. Software refers to the instructions or programs that tell the hardware what to do.

Question 2

Question 2What is a System software? Into how many categories can it be classified?

Accepted Answer

System software is a collection of one or more programs that controls and manages the overall operation and performance of a computer system. It can be classified into the following categories: Operating System, Language Processors, Device Drivers, and Utility Software.

Question 3

Question 3Explain why we need an Operating system.

Accepted Answer

Operating system acts as the central coordinator between hardware and software. It fills the communication gap between the hardware and the user. An operating system encompasses all operations such as What to do?, When to do?, How to do? For example, when a button is pressed on a hardware, this information is passed to the operating system which takes care of the final outcome by handling What to do?, When to do? and How to do it?

Question 4

Question 4Explain any two functions of an Operating system.

Accepted Answer

Two functions of an Operating system are:Processor Management — The OS (Operating System) ensures that each process/application receives enough time from the processor to function properly. It also tries to utilize as many processor cycles as possible for the real time work.Memory Storage and Management — The OS (Operating System) manages the sharing of internal memory among the multiple applications. It also ensures that one process should not consume the memory allocated to another process. An OS has to make efficient utilisation of different types of memory (RAM, Cache, etc.) within the system, so as to ensure proper execution of every process.

Question 5

Question 5What are the advantages of GUI over CUI?

Accepted Answer

GUI (Graphical User Interface)CUI (Character User Interface)GUI interface is much attractive and appealing.CUI interface is relatively less appealing.GUI is easier to learn and more user-friendly due to the presence of various graphical elements like icons, menu, buttons, etc.CUI is a text based interface and hence is not as user friendly as GUI.With GUI, a user does not have to learn complicated commands.A user is required to memorize many commands to operate and control a CUI.GUI users have Windows that allow a user to work, view, control, and manipulate multiple programs and folders at the same time.CUI does not offer the same ease and ability to work with multiple programs at once on one screen.GUI supports the use of both a mouse and keyboard to control and navigate through your system.CUI supports the use of a keyboard only.In GUI, the user mostly gets immediate visual feedback of the action he is doing. For example, the user can see immediately that a file is successfully moved from one directory to another.In CUI, there is no obvious feedback. If we consider the same example, one or more additional commands will have to be issued to confirm the file transfer action.In GUI multiple tasks can run simultaneously at a time.Only one task can be executed at a particular point of time in CUI.

Question 6

Question 6Write short notes on the following:i. Multi-user operating system

Accepted Answer

Multi-user operating system allows more than one user to use the same computer at the same time or at different times. Some Operating Systems, which fall in this category are: Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Linux, Unix. Windows 2000 was the first version of Windows, which allowed creation of several user accounts on a single machine.ii. Multi-threading operating systemThese operating systems allow different parts of a software program to run simultaneously. The feature of multi-threading can delay the execution response of certain processes. For example, if a Game server is hosted on LAN, then all players connecting to that server will utilise different parts of the same game at the same time. All resources will be utilised from the server machine, which can be a performance degrading factor. The common examples of such operating systems are: Windows NT/2000, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Unix, Linux, etc.iii. Real time operating systemRTOS (Real time operating system) is designed to handle real life scenarios and problems. Such operating systems have the capability to prioritise the processes, minimise execution time, and work independently with no interdependencies. Real time operating system is used when the time span required to react to an input is rigid and time bound. Even a microsecond of delay will cause the system to fail. Examples are: Air traffic control, Robots, Weapon systems, and Industrial control systems.There are two types of Real Time Operating Systems:Hard Real-time systems — These systems guarantee that critical tasks are completed in time.Soft Real-time systems — These systems are less restrictive. Examples are: Undersea exploration, Planetary rovers, and Virtual reality.iv. Distributed operating systemDistributed operating system runs on a set of computers that are located in different geographical areas, interconnected by a network. It controls these interconnected systems and makes them appear as a single computer. It allows all the linked machines to access data and software, and the process takes over the common network from different computers, irrespective of their location on the globe.

Operating System and Graphical User Interface - Role and Functions