1. Definitions Flashcards
personal computer (PC)
A computer designed for use by an individual, usually incorporating a graphics display, a keyboard, and a mouse.
server
A computer used for running larger programs for multiple users, often simultaneously, and typically accessed only via a network.
supercomputer
A class of computers with the highest performance and cost; they are configured as servers and typically cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
terabyte (TB), tebibyte (TiB)
Terabyte (TB) originally 1,099,511,627,776 (2^40) bytes, although communications and secondary storage systems developers started using the term to mean 1,000,000,000,000 (10^12) bytes. To reduce confusion, we now use the term tebibyte (TiB) for 2^40 bytes, defining terabyte (TB) to mean 10^12 bytes.
embedded computer
A computer inside another device used for running one predetermined application or collection of software.
Personal mobile devices (PMDs)
are small wireless devices to connect to the Internet; they rely on batteries for power, and software is installed by downloading apps. Conventional examples are smartphones and tablets.
Cloud Computing
refers to large collections of servers that provide services over the Internet; some providers rent dynamically varying numbers of servers as a utility.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
delivers software and data as a service over the Internet, usually via a thin program such as a browser that runs on local client devices, instead of binary code that must be installed, and runs wholly on that device. Examples include web search and social networking.
multicore microprocessor
A microprocessor containing multiple processors (“cores”) in a single integrated circuit.
acronym, RAM, CPU
acronym A word constructed by taking the initial letters of a string of words. For example: RAM is an acronym for Random Access Memory, and CPU is an acronym for Central Processing Unit.
systems software
Software that provides services that are commonly useful, including operating systems, compilers, loaders, and assemblers.
operating system
Supervising program that manages the resources of a computer for the benefit of the programs that run on that computer.
compiler
A program that translates high-level language statements into assembly language statements.
binary digit (aka bit)
One of the two numbers in base 2 (0 or 1) that are the components of information.
instruction
A command that computer hardware understands and obeys.
assembler
A program that translates a symbolic version of instructions into the binary version.
assembly language
A symbolic representation of machine instructions.
machine language
A binary representation of machine instructions.
high-level programming language
A portable language such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic that is composed of words and algebraic notation that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language.
input device
A mechanism through which the computer is fed information, such as a keyboard.
output device
A mechanism that conveys the result of a computation to a user, such as a display, or to another computer.
liquid crystal display (LCD)
A display technology using a thin layer of liquid polymers that can be used to transmit or block light according to whether a charge is applied.
active matrix display
A liquid crystal display using a transistor to control the transmission of light at each individual pixel.
pixel
The smallest individual picture element. Screens are composed of hundreds of thousands to millions of pixels, organized in a matrix.
integrated circuit (aka chip)
A device combining dozens to millions of transistors.
central processor unit (CPU)
Also called processor. The active part of the computer, which contains the datapath and control and which adds numbers, tests numbers, signals I/O devices to activate, and so on.