LS Flashcards
(24 cards)
Hardware
The collection of physical components attached to or forming part of the computer system
Software
The collection of nonphysical parts of the system (OS, Application Program, Data)
Interdependency between H and S
Hardware needs software to tell it what to do and software needs hardware to perform its tasks.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
It is a component that performs tasks at a high speed commonly called a processor
Consists of:
Arithmetic logic unit ALU
Control unit CU
Registers
Operating System
A collection of many programs that manages the hardware that allows the user to run software applications
Desktop OS
Supports hardware functions and acts as an interface between application programs and the computer hardware. (Windows, Linux, Mac OS)
Mobile OS
Designed to run on mobile devices by using limited resources of the mobile more efficiently (Android, iOS, KitKat, Oreo)
Embedded OS
It is a specialised OS for use in the computers built into larger systems and it is typically more compact than desktop OS (Linux, iOS)
Application Software
It carries out tasks for computer users, such as allowing them to create documents etc
Stand alone or Desktop application
It runs on a computer without any need to interact with any other software (Microsoft Word)
Network application
It is designed to run on multiple devices that are connected via a network, usually the internet
Synchronization
The process where the data on the desktop and mobile device is consistent
The motherboard
It is the large printed circuit board that houses the essential electronic components of a device.
Arithmetic Logic Unit
This is an electronic circuit, made up of combinations of logic gates that perform simple arithmetic on integer binary numbers.
Control Unit
This component is the co-ordinator of program instructions sent to by the processor
Registers
Small holding places that store processed instructions by the CPU.
RAM
It is the primary storage and is non volatile ( the content within this device is constantly changing ).
DRAM - constantly refreshing.
ROM
It is a non - volatile memory chip that can be used to permanently store data in computers and other electronic devices.
EEPROM - robotics controller used to change data to perform a different task.
Firmware
A set of instructions programmed on a hardware device.
BIOS
It is a non-volatile firmware used to initialize hardware when the computer starts up.
Hybrid drive
It is when an HDD is joined with a high speed flash memory using SSD technology on the same drive. Benefits efficiency and cost
Scanner
An input device that analyses an image and converts it into a file.
Biometrics
A way of uniquely recognising humans based on their physical characteristics such as fingerprints or retina scans.
Sensor
It is a device that converts a real life property into data that a computer can process by converting a physical.parameter into an electronic signal.
E.g. Accelerometer
