5 · System Software
5.1 Operating Systems — why an OS is needed, key management tasks, utility software, program libraries. 5.2 Language Translators — assemblers, compilers and interpreters, benefits and drawbacks, partial compilation, IDE features.
🧩 Jigsaw
109 concepts mapped to the syllabus
🎯 Pack
107 question/answer pairs
| 9618 tested | 9608 only | Untested | From SME | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jigsaw | 47 | 32 | 21 | 9 |
| Pack | 47 | 31 | 21 | 8 |
What to know about this topic
IDE features (5.2.4) is 9618-only — and the most examined bullet here
The 9608 Legend has no IDE questions at all. 9618 has asked it eleven times since 2021, more than any other bullet in the chapter. Treat 5.2.4 as guaranteed, not an afterthought.
The second-largest body of 9608 material
32 entries — including an 8-mark sequencing question on what happens when a file is read from the hard disk (
9608_w16_qp_12_sc_3), which has no 9618 equivalent and is the longest single question in either series for this topic.
The distractors in the utility questions
A translator, an IDE, graphics software and a spreadsheet are not utility programs. That tick-table is 9608’s, and the distractors are the whole question.
Source material
- 9618 — Operating Systems · 9618 — Language Translators
- 9608 — Operating Systems · 9608 — Language Translators
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