First Quiz Flashcards
(30 cards)
Who was Blaise Pascal
Invented Pascaline
First “digital calc”
Worked based on gears like car odometer
Who was John Napier
Invented Napier’s rods
Used as calculators
Slide rule
Who was Charles Babbage
Created difference engine
Laid theory of removable memory
Early theory of programming
Who was Herman Hollerith
Created census counting machine
Implemented Babbage’s ideas
Founded IBM
Describe first generation computers
Primary input was punch cards
Used valves as on/off switch
Very little memory
Programmed in machine language, then assembly
Describe 2nd gen computers
Introduced transistors
Core memory and disk storage
Use of high level programming
-Fortran, COBOL
Describe 3rd gen comps
Use integrated circuits Terminals replaced punch cards IBM introduced compatible family of computers Operating systems developed Now pervaded most areas of business
Describe 4th gen comps
Use of microprocessors PCs developed by IBM VLSI (very large scale of integration) chips used Secondary storage reached Gb
Describe 5th gen comps
Next generation of comps AI controlled computers Voice recognition Quantum computers Goal is to allow comps to learn and self organize
What is Moore’s Law
Density of silicon chips will double every year
Mostly accurate
Describe the end of Moore’s Law
Chips can’t physically hold any more transistors before the would melt from the heat produced
What are the five forms of computers
1: Mainframe
2: Minicomputers
3: Microcomputer
4: Internet
5: Pervasive computing
What are mainframe comps
All hardware centralized
Users access via dumb terminals
What are minicomputers
Same as mainframe just smaller/faster
What are microcomputer
Personal Computers
Connection to mainframe by network only
What is Internet
Enables computer interaction on global scale.
Uses global standard protocols
What is pervasive computing
Making computers mobile
I.e. laptops, cell phone etc.
What are the two tasks of the CPU
Math and Information Flow Management
What’s the address bus
One way outgoing path the computer uses to request information from rest of system
What’s the data bus
Two way path that carries data from system to CPU
What’s RAM
Random Access Memory
Working memory
Go download moar
What’s the I/O bus
Connects chipset with internal/external
I.e hard drive, flash, optical disks
What’s the BIOS ROM
Basic Input/Output System Read Only Memory
Boots computer
What’s the clock
Timing pulse to system
GHz of chips
