CH 2.12

Question 1

“What did J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly build that is widely accepted to be the world’s first operational electronic, general-purpose computer?”

Answer 1

“They built what is widely accepted to be the world’s first operational electronic, general-purpose computer called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator).”

Question 2

“What is the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator)?”

Answer 2

“The world’s first operational electronic, general-purpose computer built by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.”

Question 3

“What ideas did von Neumann help crystallize and propose in a memo?”

Answer 3

“He helped crystallize the ideas and wrote a memo proposing a stored-program computer called EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer).”

Question 4

“What is the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer)?”

Answer 4

“A stored-program computer proposed by von Neumann.”

Question 5

“What is the EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) and its significance?”

Answer 5

“EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) was the world’s first full-scale, operational, stored-program computer.”

Question 6

“What is the significance of the Mark-I built at the University of Manchester in 1948?”

Answer 6

“A small prototype built at the University of Manchester in 1948, which might be called the first operational stored-program machine.”

Question 7

“Who is John Atanasoff and what was his contribution to early computing?”

Answer 7

“A person who built a small-scale electronic computer in the early 1940s.”

Question 8

“Who is Konrad Zuse and what did he build in Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s?”

Answer 8

“A person who built a special-purpose machine in Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s.”

Question 9

“Who is Alan Turing and what was his role during World War II?”

Answer 9

“A person who was part of a team that built the Colossus in 1943 to decrypt intercepted German messages during World War II.”

Question 10

“What was the Colossus and its purpose during World War II?”

Answer 10

“A special-purpose electronic computer built by a team at Bletchley Park, including Alan Turing, during World War II.”

Question 11

“What did Howard Aiken build at Harvard?”

Answer 11

“He was building an electro-mechanical computer called the Mark-I at Harvard.”

Question 12

“What is the Harvard architecture and what does it describe?”

Answer 12

“A term coined to describe machines with distinct memories.”

Question 13

“What was the Whirlwind project begun at MIT in 1947 aimed at?”

Answer 13

“A project begun at MIT in 1947 aimed at applications in real-time radar signal processing.”

Question 14

“What company did Eckert and Mauchly form and what was their first machine?”

Answer 14

“They formed the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation.”

Question 15

“What is the BINAC and who built it?”

Answer 15

“The first machine built by Eckert and Mauchly for Northrop, shown in August 1949.”

Question 16

“What is the UNIVAC I and why is it significant?”

Answer 16

“The first successful commercial computer, originally delivered in June 1951.”

Question 17

“What is the IBM 701 and how many units were sold?”

Answer 17

“The first IBM computer, shipped in 1952, with eventually 19 units sold.”

Question 18

“What did Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) unveil as the first commercial minicomputer?”

Answer 18

“They unveiled the PDP-8, the first commercial minicomputer.”

Question 19

“What is the PDP-8 and why is it significant?”

Answer 19

“The first commercial minicomputer, unveiled by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).”

Question 20

“What is a minicomputer and what was its breakthrough in design?”

Answer 20

“A small machine that was a breakthrough in low-cost design, allowing DEC to offer a computer for under $20,000.”

Question 21

“What did Intel invent in 1971 that was groundbreaking?”

Answer 21

“The first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.”

Question 22

“What is a supercomputer and what is it used for?”

Answer 22

“An extremely fast computer targeted to perform a large number of computations typically needed by scientific applications.”

Question 23

“Who is Seymour Cray and why is he important in the field of computing?”

Answer 23

“A person often credited as the ‘father of supercomputing’ and regarded as a pioneer of supercomputing.”

Question 24

“What is the Cray-1 and why is it notable?”

Answer 24

“The first commercial vector supercomputer, announced in 1976.”

Question 25

“What did Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak create in 1977 that set standards for the personal computer industry?”

Answer 25

“The Apple IIe, which set standards for low cost, high volume, and high reliability that defined the personal computer industry.”

Question 26

“What is the Xerox Alto and what did it inspire?”

Answer 26

“A computer that inspired many of the architectural and software concepts that characterize the modern desktop machines.”

Question 27

“What was the ARPAnet and what was its significance in networking?”

Answer 27

“The wide area network that produced the first versions of Internet-style networking.”

Question 28

“What is the Whetstone synthetic program and why was it created?”

Answer 28

“A synthetic program created by measuring scientific programs written in Algol-60.”

Question 29

“What is the Dhrystone benchmark and where is it still used?”

Answer 29

“Another synthetic benchmark that is still used in some embedded computing circles.”

Question 30

“What are kernels in the context of benchmarks?”

Answer 30

“Small, time-intensive pieces from real programs that are extracted and then used as benchmarks.”

Question 31

“What are Livermore Loops and Linpack and why are they important?”

Answer 31

“The best-known examples of kernel benchmarks.”

Question 32

“What is SPEC (System Performance Evaluation Cooperative) and what does it do?”

Answer 32

“A cooperative effort funded and supported by a number of computer vendors to create standard sets of benchmarks for modern computer systems.”

Question 33

“What is the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC) and what inspired its creation?”

Answer 33

“A collection of kernels organized into suites that address different portions of the embedded industry, inspired by SPEC.”