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AQA Computer Science Alevel > (P2) Fundamentals of Computer Systems > Flashcards

(P2) Fundamentals of Computer Systems Flashcards

1
Q

What is hardware?
Include examples.

A

Hardware is the physical components of a computer system. It includes both internal components like a hard drive and external components like a speaker.

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2
Q

What is software?
Include examples.

A

Software is non-physical computer programs, which are a set of instructions that tell the computer what to do. Examples include: system software and application software

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3
Q

What is the relationship between hardware and software?

A

They work together to produce a useful output and form a computer system. The most powerful hardware is useless unless it has software to run on it. The most useful software is useless unless it has hardware to run on.

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4
Q

Describe the difference between application software and system software.
Include examples.

A

Application software: Performs user-oriented tasks, e.g. word processor.
System software: Used in the management of a computer system, e.g. providing a virtual machine.

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5
Q

What are the three categories that software falls into?

A

System software, application software and utilities.

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6
Q

List 5 types of application software.

A

Desktop publishing
Multimedia software
Database management software
Graphic manipulation software
Presentation software

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7
Q

List 7 features of an operating system.

A

Managing the processor.
Managing the memory.
Handling external peripherals.
Utility programs.
Networking.
Security.
Providing a user interface.

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8
Q

Give two examples of how an operating system manages the processor.

A

Deciding which process to execute next.
Handling interrupts during the running process.

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9
Q

Give three examples of how the operating system manages memory.

A

Loading programs.
Reusing memory when programs close.
Using virtual memory to compensate for a lack of RAM.

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10
Q

Give two examples of how the operating system handles peripherals

A

Dealing with input/output requests.
Using device drivers to communicate with hardware.

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11
Q

Give eight examples of the operating system’s utility programs.

A

File manager.
Anti-virus.
Defragmenter.
Encryption.
File compression.
Installers.
Clipboard manager.
System monitor.

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12
Q

Give an example of the operating system providing networking.

A

Interfacing with other computers via cable and Wi-Fi.

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13
Q

Give two examples of how the operating system provides security.

A

Handling logins with username and passwords.
Preventing access to unauthorised files.

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14
Q

Give three examples of the operating system providing a user interface.

A

Virtual machine.
Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers.
Touch gestures.

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15
Q

Describe what utilities are.

A

Utility programs are used for completing housekeeping and maintainence tasks in a computer.

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16
Q

Defintion of interpreter.

A

Takes one line of code, translates it and then runs it right away.

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17
Q

Defintion of a compiler.

A

Takes source code and translates it all into object code before allowing it to run.

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18
Q

Definition of an assembler.

A

Translates a program written in assembly language into machine code.

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19
Q

What is the purpose of antivirus programs?

A

Helps to detect and remove malicious programs, which have often been designed to harm a computer in some way

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20
Q

What is the purpose of disk defragmenters?

A

Over time, files can become split up and spread apart, making retrieval of files slower. This software helps to consolidate the parts of the files back together.

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21
Q

What is the purpose of compression utilities?

A

Reduces the amount of space that information takes up on a storage device.

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22
Q

What is the purpose of file managers?

A

Allows folder and files to be created, moved, copied, deleted and renamed.

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23
Q

What is the purpose of backup utilities?

A

Provides a way to recover data when the original gets lost, deleted or corrupted.

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24
Q

What are the four factors that affect the popularity of a software?

A

Speed, cost, hardware and memory requirement.

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25
List the four layer of a computer system in order.
User, application, operating system, and hardware.
26
Does the user ever interact with the operating system?
No, the operating system provides a user interface, but the user is interacting with applications and utilities.
27
Describe a function of the operating system. (User)
Provides a user interface by using a virtual machine to hide complexities from the user.
28
Describe a function of the operating system. (Process)
Process management, in which the operating system decides which process to carry out.
29
Describe a function of the operating system. (Memory)
Memory management, in which the operating system moves data in and out of RAM.
30
Describe a function of the operating system. (I/O)
Manages I/O devices, in which the operating system manages communication between processes and I/O devices.
31
Describe a function of the operating system. (Disk)
Disk defragmention, in which the operating system determines where on a device to save a file.
32
What are three types of translators?
Interpreter, compiler and assembler.
33
State three features of procedural programming.
Statements grouped together in self-contained blocks are called procedures and functions. Procedures have their own variable inaccessible from outside the procedure. The logic of the program is expressed in a series of procedural calls.
34
State three features of object-orientated peogramming.
Programmers can design self-contained objects. Each object contains both methods and the data being processed. Objects can be easily reused and inherited without having to rewrite.
35
State three features of assembly programming.
Has a one-to-one relationship with machine code. Use mnemonics to represent specifix set of machine code. Specific to a processor.
36
Give three examples of procedural programming?
Pascal, Visual Basic and Python.
37
Give three examples of object-orientated programming.
C++, Delphi, Java.
38
Another name for one-to-one languages.
Assembly code.
39
What was the first coding language made?
Fortran.
40
List seven key features of procedural programming.
Shared libraries. Pre-defined functions. Local variables. Global variables. Parameter passing. Modularity. Procedures.
41
Defintion of modularity.
The concept of separating the functionality of a program into individual, interchangeable blocks, each designed to carry out a single task.
42
Why is modularity important?
Allows for easier maintenance, testing and debugging of code.
43
What is a pre-defined function?
A pre-written function within a programming language.
44
Why are pre-defined functions important?
Saves programmers time.
45
What are local variables?
A variable that can only be accessed within the specific module it was written in.
46
What is a global variable?
A variable that can be viewed throughout the entire program and used by all modules. Defined outside any subroutines.
47
What is parameter passing?
Allows variable values to be passed into procedures and functions for use in those blocks of code.
48
What is a procedure?
When a program contains procedures, it follows each one systematically. The program does what it is told in the order set by the programmer.
49
What are programming libraries?
A collection of pre-built code, routines, sub-routines, classes, and values that can be used at any time by the program and its users.
50
Explain why a compiler is used to produced the final version of a computer system.
Source code cannot be accessed by users. Users do not need programming environment. Program will executed quicker.
51
Explain why programs written ina scripting language for web browser purposes are interpreted rather than compiled.
Can't know what type of processor a user will have. Programs using an interpreter can execute on a computer with any type of processor.
52
What are the four pillars of object-orientated programming?
Encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism and abstraction.
53
Another name for intermediate code.
Bytecode.
54
Describe the role of a translator.
Translators translate high-level languages into machine code.
55
Describe a situation in which you would use a compiler.
When the program needs to be executed multiple times and execution time is crucial.
56
Describe a situation in which you would use an interpreter.
Situations where the program needs to be executed on different platforms without recompiling it for each platform.
57
What is the symbol for AND?
A dot.
58
What is the symbol for OR?
+
59
What is the symbol for NOT?
A line.
60
What is a half adder?
Made up of an AND and XOR gate. Two inputs and two outputs. Two inputs are what you are adding together. Two outputs are the result and carry-on.
61
In a half adder, which gate does the digit come out from?
XOR.
62
In a half adder, which gate does the carry come out from?
AND gate.
63
What is a full adder?
Two half adders connected together. Three inputs and two outputs. Inputs are the two values added together with the carry-on. Outputs are digit and carry-on.
64
Why are extra OR gates needed when connecting half adders?
To take the carry-on from the half adder circuit to become the carry-on in the next half adder.
65
What is a D type flip flop?
Digital circuit that can be used as a memory unit for storing the value of a single bit.
66
Describe a D type flip flop.
It has two inputs: Control input and clock pulse. Everytime the clock is at the start of a clock pulse, the output is set to whatever the current value of D is.
67
Describe how a D type flip flop works.
When the pulse is at a rising edge, the output will be set to whatever D is.
68
List the four steps to De Morgan's law.
Change OR to AND (or vice versa). NOT the terms on either side. NOT everything that has changed. Cancel double negatations.
69
Another word for NOT.
Negation.
70
Another word for AND.
Conjunction.
71
Another word for OR.
Disjunction.
72
Defintion of operating system.
A set of programs managing the operation of the computer that is loaded into RAM every time the computer is turned on.
73
What is resource management?
The collective efficient management of the available hardware and software to optimise the performance of the computer system.
74
What is scheduling?
Allocating processor time to each application to ensure processor time is used efficiently when multitasking.
75
What is an assembly language?
A low-level programming language consisting of a set of mnemonic instructions that directly correspond to the processor architecture's machine code instruction set.
76
What is a high-level language?
Program that is easy for humans to read. It has a one-to-many relationship.
77
What is a low-level language?
Programming language that is closer to a computer's instruction set. It has a one-to-one relationship. Assembly and machine code are examples of low-level languages.
78
What is machine code?
A low-level language written in binary that is directly understood by the CPU.
79
What is bytecode?
An intermediate instruction set used to write the final output of some compilerd, since it can be executed on any computer by a virtual machine.
80
Give 2 examples of something that is both hardware and software.
Wireless keyboard. Wireless router.
81
What are the three categories of system software?
Utilities. Translators. Libraries.
82
What are interrupts?
Interrupts are signals sent to the processor when an important event occurs.
83
True or false: Compilers are platform specific.
True.
84
State a difference between a compiler and interpreter. (Previous)
Compiler: Checks source for errors line by line before translating. Interpreter: Translation begins immediately.
85
State a difference between a compiler and interpreter. (Code)
Compiler: The entire source code is translated at once. Interpreter: Each line is checked for errors, and then translated sequentially.
86
State a difference between a compiler and interpreter. (Source code)
Compiler: No need for source code or compiler to be present when the translated code is executed. Interpreter: Both source code and intepreter must be present when the program is executed.
87
State a difference between a compiler and interpreter. (Protection)
Compiler: Protects the source code from extraction. Interpreter: Offers little protection of source code.
88
How is intermediate code translated into machine code?
Virtual machine.
89
Describe a clock signal.
Generated by the computer and alternates between 0s and 1s at a set frequency.
90
Desrcibe the role of libraries.
Contain useful functions that are frequently used by a program.
91
Explain the general purpose of a D type flip flop.
Circuit that can be used to store the value of a single binary digit.
92
What is the clock pulse in a D type flip flop used for?
To synchronise the gates output at a particular time.
93
Name 3 advantages of assembly code.
Same efficiency of execution as machine code due to its one-to-one nature. Can produce precise, locally optimised, and efficient code. Direct access to system level features without the need to go through a software interface.
94
Give 3 disadvantages of assembly code.
Machine dependant. Code produced is very difficult to port. Finding programmers capable of writing efficiently im assembly is hard.
95
Describe how a compiler works.
The compiler takes the source code plus any libraries and translates it into intermediate code. A virtual machine then translates the intermediate code into machine code.
96
What is a linker?
A linker is a utility program that takes the object files, produced by the assembler and compiler to join them into a single executable file.
97
What is a loader?
A loader is a component of the operating system that is accountable for loading programs and libraries.
98
What is the role of a word processor?
Writing text based documents.
99
What is the role of desktop publishing?
Making more creative paper based products.
100
What is the role of spreadsheet software?
Used for numerical calculations and financial modelling.
101
What is the role of database management software?
Sorting, storing and managing large collections of related data.
102
Describe the disadvantages of machine code.
Very long and difficult for humans to understand. Prone to errors and difficult to debug.

AQA Computer Science Alevel (9 decks)

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