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Computing > 4. Computer Systems > Flashcards

4. Computer Systems Flashcards

1
Q

hardware

A

the physical parts of a computer system

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2
Q

software

A

programs that are ran using the hardware

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3
Q

application software

A

application software is software that performs end-user tasks (task that happen on a regular/daily basis)

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4
Q

system software

A

a computer program designed to run the computer’s hardware and applications

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5
Q

truth table

A

a table that shows the breakdown of logic by listing every possible outcome

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6
Q

draw a truth table for the AND gate

A

input, output
A B, X
0 0, 0
0 1, 0
1 0, 0
1 1, 1

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7
Q

draw a truth table for the OR gate

A

input, output
A B, X
0 0, 0
0 1, 1
1 0, 1
1 1, 1

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8
Q

draw a truth table for the NOT gate (only 1 input)

A

input, output
A, X
0, 1
1, 0

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9
Q

draw a truth table for the XOR gate

A

input, output
A B, X
0 0, 0
0 1, 1
1 0, 1
1 1, 0

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10
Q

logic circuit

A

a combination of logic gates together to create a circuit

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11
Q

what is the simple expression for AND? (not the diagram)

A

. (a fullstop)

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12
Q

what is the simple expression for OR? (not the diagram)

A

+ (a plus)

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13
Q

what is the simple expression for XOR? (not the diagram)

A

⊕ (idek what this is called)

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14
Q

what is the simple expression for NOT? (not the diagram)

A

overbar (a line above the letter, like Ā)

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15
Q

what does the OS handle the management of? (5)

A

processor(s)/cpu
memory
input/output (I/O) devices
applications
security.

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16
Q

What is an operating system and why do we need it?

A

Software that is loaded by the computer after the initial boot up. It’s necessary for a computer as it provides the user with the ability to interact with the computer screen.

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17
Q

low-level language

A

A language in which programs are written in a way that a computer can understand

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18
Q

high-level language

A

Language in which programs are written in stone closer to that of human language

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19
Q

give two examples of low-level languages

A

machine code, assembly language

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20
Q

give 2 examples of high-level languages

A

python, java

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21
Q

what is the difference between machine code and assembly language

A

Machine code is literally the 1s and 0s that’s a computer can understand, whereas assembly code is written using mnemonics to assign meaning to the 1s and 0s.

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22
Q

advantages of low-level language programming compared with high-level language programming (3)

A
  • Gives you complete control over your code and the machine that it is being executed on
  • Useful for systems designed with microprocessers
  • Code is run directly; there is no intermediate stage between the source code and a program execution
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23
Q

advantages of high-level language programming compared with low-level language programming (2)

A
  • Code is easy to understand for humans
  • Many tasks can be performed with one line of code
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24
Q

What are the three common types of program translator?

A

interpreter
compiler
assembler

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25
Q

How does an interpreter work?

A

It uses machine code subroutines to carry out the commands. They go through the code 1 line at a time, translate it and execute it. When an error is found the code stops.

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26
Q

How does a compiler work?

A

These translate the high-level code into machine code directly. The whole code is translated and then run.

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27
Q

How does an assembler work?

A

It translates code written in assembly language directly into machine code.

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28
Q

What is a translator?

A

A program that changes assembly language or high-level languages into machine code.

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29
Q

What are the five main components of a central processing unit (within the Von Neumann architecture)?

A

arithmetic logic unit
control unit
clock
register
bus

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30
Q

bus (cpu)

A

A bus is a collection of wires through which data/signals are transmitted from one component to another.

31
Q

Central processing unit (CPU)

A

The main unit responsible for the processing instructions given to a computer

32
Q

Memory

A

Hardware used to store data

33
Q

Graphics processing units (GPU)

A

The main unit responsible for rendering images, animations and videos

34
Q

Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)

A

The parts of the CPU that carries out all the arithmetic operations

35
Q

Control unit (CU)

A

The parts of the CPU that controls the flow of data inputted and outputted to the CPU as well as the fetch, decode, execute cycle.

36
Q

clock

A

The oscillator circuit in the CPU that is used to time the execution of instructions. (higher clock speed, higher efficiency)

37
Q

register

A

Registers are small amounts of high-speed memory contained within the CPU. They are used by the processor to store small amounts of data that are needed during processing

38
Q

how does a greater clock speed affect the performance of a CPU?

A

The greater the clock speed of the CPU, the more instructions it can process in a second, so the greater the performance or the CPU.

39
Q

How does the number of processor cores affect the performance of the CPU?

A

If the number of cores doubles, the number of instructions processed simultaneously doubles, doubling the rate of processing, doubling the CPU’s efficiency of performance.

40
Q

How does cache size affect the performance of a CPU?

A

If a CPU has a larger cache, it can store more commonly used instructions and data and has a greater range of them available for quick access, which increases the speed and performance of the CPU.

41
Q

What is the name of the cycle in which the CPU performs operations?

A

the fetch-execute cycle

42
Q

what is the first stage of the fetch-execute cycle?

A

fetch: the next instruction is fetched to the CPU from main memory

43
Q

what is the second stage of the fetch-execute cycle? i

A

decode: the instruction is decoded to work out what it is

44
Q

what is the third stage of the fetch-execute cycle?

A

execute: the instruction is executed (carried out). This may include reading/writing from/to main memory.

45
Q

What is RAM?

A

Random access memory (RAM) is volatile primary storage. Once the computer is switched off the data and instructions held in RAM are lost.

46
Q

What is ROM?

A

Read only memory (ROM) is non-volatile primary storage. It keeps its contents when the computer is turned off.

47
Q

Why is secondary storage required?

A

Secondary storage is needed to keep programs and data indefinitely. Secondary storage is non-volatile , long-term storage.

48
Q

What are the three types of secondary storage?

A
  • solid state
  • optical
  • magnetic
49
Q

How does magnetic storage work? + examples

A

Magnetic devices use magnetic fields to magnetise tiny individual sections of a metal spinning disk. Each tiny section represents one bit. A magnetised section represents a binary ‘1’ and a demagnetised section represents a binary ‘0’. These sections are so tiny that disks can contain terabytes (TB) of data

  • hard disk drives and tapes
50
Q

How does optical storage work? + examples

A

Optical devices use a laser to scan the surface of a spinning disc made from metal and plastic. The disc’s surface is divided into tracks, with each track containing many flat areas and hollows. The flat areas are known as lands and the hollows as pits.

When the laser shines on the disc’s surface, lands reflect the light back, whereas pits scatter the laser beam. A sensor looks for the reflected light. Reflected light (lands) represents a binary ‘1’, and no reflection (pits) represents a binary ‘0’.

  • CD’s, DVD’s and Blu-ray disks
51
Q

How does solid state storage work? + examples

A

Solid state devices use electrical circuits to store data indefinitely. They tend to have much faster access times than other types of device and, because they have no moving parts, are more durable.

  • solid state drives, USBs
52
Q

advantages of magnetic storage (3)

A

 Large storage capacity
 fairly Fast access to read and write data
 Fairly inexpensive to manufacture

53
Q

Explain the term cloud storage (and what secondary storage types are used) (2)

A

Cloud storage is storing data at a remote location using magnetic and/or solid state storage.

54
Q

advantages of cloud storage (3)

A

 Users do not need to purchase additional hardware to store data and software (cheap)
 Companies and individuals do not need to worry about running a backup of their data when it is stored in a cloud (does not need to be backed up)
 It is easy to access files and software from anywhere in the world as long as we have an Internet connection

55
Q

What is an embedded system?

A

a computer system that is designed to provide very limited (normally one to two) and specific functions.

56
Q

disadvantages of magnetic storage (2)

A

 Data can be lost or altered by magnetic field or mechanical problems
 Can suffer wear and tear due to moving parts

57
Q

advantages of optical storage (3)

A

 Disks are small and light making them very portable
 Disks are cheap to manufacture
 Disks are fairly durable, meaning that they are safe to store data on for long periods of time

58
Q

disadvantages of optical storage (3)

A

 The storage capacity of disks is relatively small compared to other storage devices
access times are long
 In some cases, such as Blu-ray, a special drive is required to read/write the data to and from a disk

59
Q

advantages of solid state storage (4)

A
  • Faster boot-up as they do not need to ‘warm up’ due to having no moving parts
     Can be made to be very compact in size
     Large storage capacity
     More robust than magnetic due to having no moving parts
60
Q

disadvantages of solid state storage (2)

A

Expensive to manufacture
 Have a limited numbers of times that data can be written to and read from, although this number can be thousands, possibly millions

61
Q

disadvantages of cloud storage (3)

A

 We are relying on the responsibility of another to keep our data safe and secure as we do not control these measures
 If we do not have an Internet connection, or have a poor one, we may not be able to access our data
 If the cloud servers fail, we may not be able to access our data until they are made available again

62
Q

examples of embedded systems (2)

A
  • washing machine
  • smoke detector
63
Q

pros of embedded systems (3)

A

 They allow the device to be programmed to automatically perform one or a small number of functions.
 They can reduce the size of the machinery or device. If a larger processor performing many functions is used, it would mean the device may need to be larger in size to accommodate this.
 They can reduce the cost of the machinery or device. If a larger processor performing many functions is used, most of the functionality would be wasted as only a small number of tasks are required. Therefore, by removing this wastage, the cost of manufacture can be reduced.

64
Q

where is the instruction fetched from in the fetch-execute cycle?

A

main memory

65
Q

The cost and the physical size of RAM and secondary storage are normally different.
Describe two other differences between RAM and secondary storage. (2)

A

any two from:
- RAM is volatile
- RAM has lower capacity
- contents of RAM can be read/written faster

66
Q

what material are magnetic storage disks made from?

A

metal

67
Q

what material are optical storage disks made from?

A

metal and plastic together

68
Q

describe the differences between a compiler and an interpreter (4)

A

any 4 from:
- compiler translates in one go
- interpreter translates line-by-line
- interpreter is slower
- compiler will only know about errors at the end of translation, unlike interpreter
- in interpreter, you can fix mistakes as the code is running, unlike compiler
- compiler has larger prep time but faster execution
- interpreter has shorter prep time but slower execution
- compiler produces object code whereas interpreter does not
- interpreted code is more portable
- once code is compiled, there is no need for source code - not the case with interpreted code

69
Q

two reasons why it’s is better to write in assembly language rather than machine code (2)

A

any two from:
- will make fewer mistakes
- easier to read
- easier to remember
- assembly language instructions can be given labels to help readability

70
Q

state two advantages of solid state storage compared to magnetic storage (2)

A
  • more portable
  • more robust
  • less power
  • smaller
  • quieter
  • lighter
71
Q

why does writing your own functions make your code more reliable?

A
  • can test in isolation (only have to test once)
  • easier to update (only have to update once)
  • easier for humans to understand
72
Q

describe two differences between a embedded system and a non-embedded system. (2)

A

ANY TWO FROM:
(embedded system has)
- less processing power
- less memory
- can only perform specific tasks
- has a higher proportion of ROM

73
Q

Explain how a firewall can be used to improve the security of a computer network. (2)

A

ANY TWO FROM:
- acts as a barrier
- inspects incoming + outgoing data packets
- to see if malicious
- to see if packets may be allowed

Computing (7 decks)

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