Midterm 1 (terms from quiz) Flashcards
(17 cards)
Binary
Computers use binary (digits 0 and 1) to store data
Bit
a unit of information expressed as 0 or 1 in binary notation. Smallest unit of data in the computer
Byte
a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits
Hardware
collection of physical parts of a computer system.
Main Memory (RAM)
RAM, standing for Random Access Memory. It is constructed from integrated circuits and needs to have electrical power in order to maintain its information. When the power is lost, the information is lost too (Volatile). IT can be directly accessed by the CPU.
Secondary memory
the slowest and cheapest form of memory. IT cannot be processed directly by the CPU. It must first be copied into primary storage (also known as RAM)
Software
the programs and other operating information used by a computer
Operating system
the software that supports a computer’s basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherlals.
Application software
a program or group of programs designed for end users. These programs are divided into two classses: system software and application software
Network
a number of interconnected computers, machines, or operations
Machine code
a computer programming language consisting of binary (base 2) or hexadecimal (base 16) instructions that a computer can respond to directly
Assembly language
low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers and other programmable devices.
- just one level higher than machine code(language)
- consist of simple codes
- each statement in assembly language corresponds directly to a machine code
Assembler
the software that converts an assembly program into machine code
High-level language
programming language such as C, FORTRAN, or Pascal that enables a programmer to write programs that are more or less independent of a particular type of computer. Such language is considered high-level because they are closer to human languages and further from machine languages
Compilers
transforms source code into machine code by taking the whole code. Java, C, C++ use this.
Interpreter
transforms source code into machine code by taking a program line by line. Python and Ruby use this.
Kernal
most basic level of operating system of a computer, responsible for resource allocation, file management, and security.
