Chapters 1-3 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Computers originated from what in the early 1900’s?
Telephone switches
When decade were the first computers built?
1940’s
When did the industrial age begin? Describe this time period.
Late 1700’s. Transformed civilization towards manufacturing goods, leading to mass migration to cities, creation of strong nations, world wars, doubling of lifespans and thus dramatic world population growth.
When did the information age begin? Describe this time period.
1990’s. Human activity shifting from traditional industry to creating/managing/using computerized information.
Describe the sales record of computers from 1940s to 2000s
1940s and 1950s only few existed for gov’t and business
1950s computer chip invented
1960s and 1970s increase in business purcheses
1980s home use purchases
2000s appeaering in form of tablets, smartphones, etc
Describe ASCII
Developed in 1963, uses 7 bits per code and has codes for 128 characters
what were the top two jobs of 2014?
software developers and computer systems analyst
Explain how virtual memory works
The operating system creates a special file on the hard drive called a swap file. It’s totally controlled by operating system and is used as virtual memory. This allows you to load more programs and upload more data files. Anything that won’t fit in RAM can fit in this special file
What is the downside to virtual memory?
The more that is swapped between RAM and hard drive (swap files) the slower the computer becomes. Essentially the more RAM you have the better. The less the hard drive is accessed the better.
What is thrashing mode?
computer becomes unusable; illusion that nothing is happening like mouse not moving/will not move for a long while
Order RAM, Cache, CPU, and Storage Devices from fastest to slowest.
CPU, Cache, RAM, Storage Devices
Why does a CPU run a program from memory, coping the program and other needed data into memory after running it?
Because accessing a drive is slower than accessing memory
Describe memory
expensive; smaller than a drive; only fit a part of the program and data.
Order computers from fastest to slowest.
Supercomputer, Mainfraimes, Mid-range computers,
PC’s, and Mobiles
What is the most common computer input device?
keyboard
what are two main problems with keyboards?
they are slow and error-prone
What is an integrated circuit (IC)?
also called a chip, a fingernail-sized device where transistor circuits appear on.
What is a server farm?
a collection of thousands of servers, typically located in large buildings specially equipped to provide electrical power, cooling, physical security, and accessibility for repairs.
What is a graphics processor?
a special CPU chip whose hardware is specially designed for fast graphics and video processing.
What is the first mainstream high-level language?
Fortran (Formula Translation)
What program converts a high-level language to assembly/machine language?
compiler
Describe ARPANET
Came online 1969. 4 computers, military network, de-centralized network (originally to survive a nuclear attack)
Describe NSFNet
1980s, funded by the US National Science Foundation as a further network “backbone” creation, connecting universities and government research labs, mostly for email and file transfers.
What two things merged in the 1980s to make up the Internet?
ARPANET and NSFNet
