Chapter 1 Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is a computer?
An electronic device that operates under control from instructions in its memory.
What came about in generation one of computers? (1951-1958)
Vacuum tubes
Excess usage of electricity
ENIAC - Trajectory computer
UNIVAC - First commercially available computer
What came about in the 2nd generation of computers? (1959-1963)
Transistors, meaning less heat
More reliable computers
What came about in the 3rd generation of computers? (1964-1970)
Integrated circuits and higher speed
What came about in the 4th generation of computers? ( 1971-present)
Microprocessors
Personal Computers
Apple II
IBM PC
WWW
ARPANET
Computers being cheaper, smaller, and better in general
What does the 5th generation of computers entail? (Future)
Artificial Intelligence
What are the main components of a computer?
Input devices, output devices, CPU, memory, and auxiliary storage devices
What contains the electronic units of the computer that process data?
System Unit
What enables a computer to send and receive data to and from one or more computers?
Communications Device
Name some advantages of using computers:
Speed
Reliability
Consistency
Storage
Communications
Name some disadvantages of computers:
Violation of privacy
Public safety
Impact on labor force
Health risks
Impact on environment
What is an operating system an example of?
Systems Software
What are examples of Programming Environments?
Editers
Linkers
Compilers
Interpreters
Debuggers
What are some examples of application software?
Paint, Microsoft One Drive,
What are some attributes of human computers?
-Calculations are made with minimal aid
-Uses repetitious calculations
-Used algorithms
-Examples include recipes, directions, numeric calculations
What are some attributes of electronic computers?
-They have history of development
-They’re very dumb and can do only what they’re told
-Good at remembering data
-Quick at processing data
How do computers do the right thing?
They use language of humans, language of computers, data representation, and instruction representation
What is an algorithm?
A set of step by step instructions that are sequential
What is an algorithm that has been translated?
A program
What is binary?
Machine language
What do you call an assembly language?
Mmemonic
What are “Human Numbers?”
Decimal, or base 10
What is the base for binary?
Base 2
What is the definition of Computer Science?
The study of algorithms.