Answer Chapter 2

Definition of User Interface

1.    Define what is user interface?

Answer

A link between the user and the computer.

Importance of User Interface

2.    What are the importance user interface?

Answer

a.    To assist users interacting with a software

b.    To control how a user enters data and instructions

c.    To control how information is displayed

Types of User Interface

3.    List five types of user interface.

Answer

a.    Command Line Interface

b.    Menu Interface

c.    Graphical User Interface (GUI)

d.    Voice-Actuated Interface

e.    Web-Form Interface

4.    Explain five types of user interface in operating system.

Answer

a.    Command Line Interface

·   User responds to a visual prompt by typing in a command on a specified line, receives a response back from the system, and then enters another command and so forth.

b.    Menu Interface

·   Use menu to communicate with the computer. It presents various options to the user in the form of a list.

c.    Graphical User Interface (GUI)

·   User interacts with menus and visual images such as windows, icon, menu and pointer.

d.    Voice-Actuated Interface

·   Which accept input and provide output by generating voice/audio/sound prompt.

e.    Web Form Interface

·   Web form interfaces are onscreen forms displaying fields containing data items or parameters that need to be communicated to the user.

Command Line Interface (CLI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI)

5.    Explain five differences between Command Line Interface (CLI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) from the aspects of:

a.    Ease of use

b.    Control

c.    Multitasking

d.    Appearance

e.    Speed

Answer

Aspect	Command Line Interface	Graphical User Interface
Ease of use	Because of the memorization and familiarity needed to operate a command line interface.	Although new users may have a difficult at time learning to use the mouse to operate and use a GUI most users pick up this interface much easier when compared to a command line interface.
Control	Users have much more control of their file system.	Need to specific tasks may need to resort to a command line to complete a particular task.
Multitasking	Do not offer the same ease and ability to view multiple things at once on one screen.	Users have windows that enable a user to easily view, control and manipulate multiple things at once.
Appearance	Do not change their appearance.	Change often-mostly with every major release version
Speed	Need to use their keyboard to navigate and often only need to execute a few lines to perform a task	Easier to use because of the mouse, however using a mouse/or keyboard to navigate and control.

Advantages and Disadvantages of CLI

6.    Give advantages and disadvantages of Command Line Interface.

Answer

Advantages	Disadvantages
Much faster than any types if interface	It can be confusing for someone who has never used a CLI
Need much less memory (RAM)	Command have to be typed precisely
Does not use as much CPU processing times as others	It user mistype an instruction, it is often necessary to start from scratch again
A low resolution. Cheaper monitor can be used	There are a large number of command which need to learn.
A CLI does not require Windows to run	User can’t just guess what the instruction might be and user can’t just “have to go”.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Menu Interface

7.    Give four advantages and disadvantages of Menu Interface.

Answer

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easy to use	Poor designed menu interface maybe slow to use
There no commands to learn or remember.	It can be irritating if there are too many screen to work through-users bored if it takes too long.
Step by step option are given so that user doesn’t have to remember anything	User of the can’t go to the exact place they want right at the start
Don’t have to be visual, they can spoken-good for telephones of for visually impaired people	Poor designed it might to be hard to read. Example writing too small and colours clash

Advantages and Disadvantages of Graphical User Interface (GUI)

8.    Give four advantages and disadvantages of Graphical User Interface.

Answer

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easy to use especially for beginner	Take up a much larger amount of hard disk space than other interfaces
Easy to explore	Need significantly more memory (RAM) to run than other interface types
User don’t have to learn complicated commands	Use more processing power than other types of interface
Fast, full screen interaction is possible with immediate access to anywhere on the screen	Can be slow for experience programmers to use. These people often find CLI much faster to use

Advantages and Disadvantages of Voice-Actuated Interface

9.    Give three advantages and disadvantages of Voice-Actuated Interface

Answer

Advantages	Disadvantages
The user does not need to be trained in how to use the interface	Reliability remain an issue-the interface can only respond to commands that have been programmed
More flexibility than a dialogue interface	Highly complex to program
Suitable for physically handicapped people	Not widely available as other forms of interface are often are unsuitable

Advantages and Characteristics of Menu Interface

10.  List six advantages of using Menu interface and explain five characteristics of Graphical User Interface (GUI) of operating system.

Answer

Six advantages of using Menu interface

a.    Less cluttered screen

b.    Eliminate menu options which do not interest a user.

c.    Allow users to move quickly through the program

d.    User need not remember command names as they are always presented with a list of valid minimal.

e.    User errors are trapped by the interface

f.     Context-dependent help can be provided. The user’s context is indicated by the current menu selection.

Five characteristics of Graphical User Interface (GUI)

a.    Windows – Multiple windows allow different information to be displayed simultaneously on the user’s screen.

b.    Icons – Icons different types of information. On some system, icons represent files, on other, icons represent processes.

c.    Menus – Command are selected from a menu rather than typed in a command language

d.    Pointing – A pointing device such as a mouse is used for selecting choices from a menu of indicating items of interest in a window.

e.    Graphics – Graphical elements can be mixed with text on the same display.

Distinguish Between Web-Form Interface and GUI

11.  Distinguish between Web-Form Interface and Graphical User Interface.

Answer

Web-Form Interface	Graphical User Interface
Accept input and provide output by generating web pages which are transmitted via the internet and viewed by the user using a web browser program.	The interface that allows users interacts with menus and visual images such as icons and buttons.

Input Output Control System (IOSC)

12.  Define the following IOCS.

a.    Logical input/output

b.    Physical input/output

Answer

a.    Logical input/output

Logical I/O is a programmatic request for data satisfied by a memory (block, buffer) access.

b.    Physical input/output

Physical I/O is an actual fetch of data from a storage device such as a disk.

13.  Give three functions of IOCS.

Answer

a.    Implement efficient organization and access of data in files

b.    Ensure the efficiency of operation of I/O devices

c.    Ensure the efficiency of access to records in a file

14.  Give three different between Logical I/O and Physical I/O of operating system.

Answer

Logical I/O	Physical I/O
Programmatic request for data satisfied by a memory access.	An actual fetch of data from a storage devices such as a disk.
Perform file processing in application program	Perform input output at the I/O device level.
Concerned related to efficient access to records in a file.	Concerned to device throughput.
Uses buffering technique and blocking of records to reduce, and possibly eliminate waiting times involved in accessing a record in file.	Uses scheduling policies to enhance throughput of disks.

Directory Management

15.  What is Directory Management?

Answer

An organizational unit or a container, used to organize folders and files into a hierarchical structure.

16.  What the purpose of Directory Management

Answer

To manage the directory in operating system.

17.  List three types of directory management

Answer

a.    Single-Level Directory.

b.    Two-Level Directory.

c.    Hierarchical Directory.

18.  Compare the differences between disk space and directory management.

Answer

Disk space management	Directory management.
It is performing certain actions on the drives or partitions make them available or unavailable to Windows and configure them to be used by Windows in certain ways.	It is method of managing hierarchical of directories and files.

Terminologies

19.  List the terminologies of operating system.

Answer

a.    Multitasking

b.    Pre-emptive multitasking

c.    Cooperative multitasking

d.    Single Core

e.    Multi Core

f.     Multithreading

Boot Process

20.  Define a boot process in operating system.

Answer

Booting is a process that loads and hence start the operating system. It start from the point when user switches on the power button.

21.  Explain two types of boot process.

Answer

Warm Boot – Is the process of restarting a computer that already is powered on.

Cold Boot – Is the process of restarting a computer when turning on a computer that has been powered off completely.

22.  List seven common steps in windows boot process.

Answer

a.    The power supply send a signal to the components in the system unit.

b.    The processor finds ROM chips that contain the BIOS (Basic Input Output System).

c.    The BIOS performs the POST (power on self-test), which checks components such as mouse, keyboard and adapter cards.

d.    The results of the POST are compared with data in a CMOS chip.

e.    The BIOS looks for the system file in drive A (floppy disk drive), sometimes a CD or DVD drive and the drive C (hard disk).

f.     The system file and the kernel of the operating system load into memory (RAM) from storage (hard disk).

g.    The operating system loads configuration information, may request user information and display the desktop on the screen.

*Alternatively follow the steps show in figure below.