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Course 3 – Operating Systems and You: Becoming A Power User

Week 3: Package and Software Management

Coursera Study Guide

TABLE OF CONTENT

In the third week of this course, we’ll learn about package and software management in Windows and Linux OS. It’s important to know how package installs work and how devices and drivers are managed within these operating systems. We will also learn about different packaging and file compression methods. By the end of this module, you will know how to create, update, and remove software by using the Windows GUI, Windows CLI and Linux shell.

Learning Objectives

  • Differentiate between different packaging and file compression methods.
  • Understand how Windows and Linux package installs work.
  • Understand how devices and drivers are managed in Windows and Linux.

PRACTICE QUIZ:  SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION

1. What’s the difference between an EXE file and an MSI file? Check all that apply. 

  • An MSI file is an executable that can give you complete control over how your application should be installed.
  • An EXE file is an executable that may have an MSI file as one its resources. (CORRECT)
  • MSI files are used by the Windows Installer to control how your application is installed. (CORRECT)

Great work! An executable or EXE file can “wrap” an MSI file, which is used by the Windows Installer to guide the installation process of an application.

2. When would you want to use an MSI file to guide the installation of a program, as opposed to an EXE?

  • When you want the Windows Installer to perform bookkeeping and setup for your application, at the cost of following the rules the Installer requires. (CORRECT)
  • When you want complete, custom control over how the application is installed.
  • When you want to be able to install your application on Linux as well as Windows.

You got it! Using the Microsoft Installation Package format to guide a program’s setup is a good way to get a lot of functionality out of the box. It does mean you’ll need to follow the rules and format the Windows Installer requires.

3. If you’re performing an installation from the command line in Windows, what’s the best method of checking out the options that the installation package provides? Check all that apply.

  • Consult the documentation for the application to see what options they provide. (CORRECT)
  • Decide you don’t want to install the application from the command line and use the GUI instead.
  • Try to use the /?, /h, or /help flags when running the package to see if they provide any helpful output. (CORRECT)

Right on! Often the /?, /h and /help switches will give you some insight into what options the installer provides. Alternatively, you can check the documentation for the software to get the same information.

4. What’s the difference between apt and dpkg? Check all that apply.

  • dpkg is used as a standalone Debian package command. (CORRECT)
  • dpkg installs package dependencies.
  • apt installs package dependencies. (CORRECT)
  • apt is used as a package manager. (CORRECT)

Great job! The dpkg command is used as a standalone package installer, while the apt command is used as a package manager that installs package dependencies.

5. Which of the following file extensions are considered archives in Windows? Check all that apply.

  • .tar (CORRECT)
  • .exe
  • .zip (CORRECT)
  • .rar (CORRECT)

You nailed it! The .tar, .zip and .rar file extensions are used as archives. The .exe file extension is a Windows executable file.

6. What’s the PowerShell commandlet you can use to extract and compress archives right from the commandline?

  •  tar
  • Compress-Archive (CORRECT)
  • 7Zip

Wohoo! The Compress-Archive commandlet in PowerShell can help you work with Archives from the command line.

7. What’s the purpose of a DLL in Windows?

  • To take up space on your hard drive
  • To guide the installation of a package via the Windows Installer
  • To share a package of useful code among programs (CORRECT)

Nice job! A DLL, or Dynamic Linked Library, is loaded when a program is run, and provides useful code for the program.

8. Most shared libraries in Windows are managed by which of the following?

  • Side-by-side assemblies, or SxS (CORRECT)
  • Dynamic Linked Libraries, or DLLs
  • Left-and-right appendages, or LRAs

Awesome work! The SxS system is used in Windows to manage shared libraries. Most of these shared libraries are stored in the C:\Windows\WinSxS folder.

9. What’s the correct commandlet to use in order to find a software package in the available package sources from the PowerShell command line?

  • Get-PackageSource
  • Register-PackageSource
  • Find-Package (CORRECT)

Great work! The Find-Package commandlet is the way to go if you want to locate a particular package and its dependencies.

10. What’s the file extension of a debian package?

  • .rpm
  • .pkg
  • .dmg
  • .deb (CORRECT)

Nice job! A file with a .deb file extension is a debian file.

PRACTICE QUIZ:  PACKAGE MANAGERS

1. Which of the following PowerShell commands will install the package “awesomesoftware” from the Chocolatey software source?

  • Install-Package -Name awesomesoftware -Source chocolatey (CORRECT)
  • Install-Package -Name chocolatey -Source awesomesoftware
  • Install-Package -Name awesomesoftware -Source MicrosoftWindows

Nice job! This command will install a (fictional) package, using chocolatey as the software source.

2. Before you install software, which of the following commands should you run to get an updated version of your software?

  • apt install
  • apt update (CORRECT)
  • apt remove
  • apt search

Great job! Before you install any software, always make sure you’re pulling the latest software from your repositories with the apt update command.

3. In Ubuntu, where are repository sources listed?

  • /etc/repository_sources
  • /etc/apt/sources.list (CORRECT)
  • /etc/resolv.conf
  • /var/syslog

Wohoo! Repository sources are found in the /etc/apt/sources.list file.

PRACTICE QUIZ: WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE BACKGROUND?

1. Which of the following tools allows you to create or edit MSI files? 

  • Process monitor
  • Orca (CORRECT)
  • Setup.exe

You nailed it! The Orca tool, that’s part of the Windows SDK, will let you work with MSI files.

PRACTICE QUIZ: DEVICE SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT

1. Which of the following is the piece of information that Windows will use to search for the right driver for a new piece of hardware connected to a Windows computer?

  • PnP code
  • Hardware ID (CORRECT)
  • Drive Identification Number, or DiD

Nice job! The Hardware ID will be used by the operating system to search for the appropriate driver for the newly connected hardware device.

2. In Linux, in the /dev directory, devices that start with sd can be associated with what type of device? Check all that apply.

  • Speakers
  • Hard drives (CORRECT)
  • USB drives (CORRECT)
  • Memory sticks (CORRECT)

Great work! The /dev/sd* devices are associated with mass storage devices.

3. Which of the following correctly describes a “Security Patch?” 

  • A piece of software that’s meant to fix up a security hole. (CORRECT)
  • A piece of fabric that’s meant to patch a broken cable.
  • An entirely new, more secure, version of an operating system.

Awesome! That’s the purpose of a security patch!

4. What command can you use to see the version of the kernel on your Linux system?

  • uname -r (CORRECT)
  • dpkg -l
  • apt
  • 7z

Yep! The uname -r command shows you the kernel version on your Linux system.