Is a small program code which is installed into the computer to enable the application software to communicate with hardware?
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Utility software helps to manage, maintain and control computer resources. Operating systems typically contain the necessary tools for this, but separate utility programs can provide improved functionality. Utility software is often somewhat technical and targeted at users with a solid knowledge of computers. If you use a computer mostly for e-mail, some Internet browsing and typing up a report, you may not have much need for these utilities. However, if you are an avid computer user, these utilities can help make sure your computer stays in tip-top shape. Examples of utility programs are antivirus software, backup software and disk tools. Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail. Antivirus software, as the name suggests, helps to protect a computer system from viruses and other harmful programs. A computer virus is a computer program that can cause damage to a computer's software, hardware or data. It is referred to as a virus because it has the capability to replicate itself and hide inside other computer files. One of the most common ways to get a virus is to download a file from the Internet. Antivirus software scans your online activity to make sure you are not downloading infected files. New viruses are coming out all the time, so antivirus software needs to be updated very frequently. Backup software helps in the creation of a backup of the files on your computer. Most computer systems use a hard disk drive for storage. While these are generally very robust, they can fail or crash, resulting in costly data loss. Backup software helps you copy the most important files to another storage device, such as an external hard disk. You can also make an exact copy of your hard disk. Increasingly, backup software uses cloud storage to create backups. This typically means you pay a fee to use the storage space of a third party and use their backup software to manage which files are going to be backed up. Disk tools include a range of different tools to manage hard disk drives and other storage devices. This includes utilities to scan the hard disks for any potential problems, disk cleaners to remove any unnecessary files, and disk defragmenters to re-organize file fragments on a hard disk drive to increase performance. Disk tools are important because a failure of a hard disk drive can have disastrous consequences. Keeping disks running efficiently is an important part of overall computer maintenance. Device DriversA device driver is a computer program that controls a particular device that is connected to your computer. Typical devices are keyboards, printers, scanners, digital cameras and external storage devices. Each of these need a driver in order to work properly. Device drivers act as a translator between the operating system of the computer and the device connected to it. For many types of devices, the necessary drivers are built into the operating system. When you plug in a device, the operating system starts looking for the right driver, installs it and you are ready to start using the device. This is referred to as plug-and-play and is much preferred over having to manually install the correct drivers. There are so many different devices, however, that not all of them are built into the operating system. As an alternative, the operating system can look online to find the right driver to install. Many hardware devices, however, come with the necessary drivers. For example, if you buy a printer, it may come with a CD that typically will include the correct driver. The advantage of this is that the hardware manufacturer can make sure you have the right driver for the printer. What software enables the application software to interact with the computer hardware?Operating system (OS) – a software that controls and coordinates the computer hardware devices and runs other software and applications on a computer.
Which system software supports a communication link in between hardware device and computer system?More commonly known as a driver, a device driver or hardware driver is a group of files that enable one or more hardware devices to communicate with the computer's operating system.
Which hardware support the execution of application programs and enables it to communicate and operate with computer hardware?CPU. The CPU is the brain of the computer that processes and executes digital instructions from various programs; its clock speed determines the computer's performance and efficiency in processing data.
What is the software that communicates with computer hardware on the most basic level?System software can be separated into two different categories, operating systems and utility software. Also known as an "OS," this is the software that communicates with computer hardware on the most basic level.
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