Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is an algorithm?
A well-ordered collection of unambiguous and effectively computable operations that, when executed, produces a result and halts in a finite amount of time
Computer science is:
The study of algorithms, including:
- Their formal and mathematical properties
- Their hardware realizations
- Their linguistic realizations
- Their applications
Sequential operations
A sequential instruction carries out a single well-defined task. When that task is finished, the algorithm moves on to the next operation. Usually expressed as single declarative sentences
Conditional operations
“Question-asking” instructions of an algorithm. Starts with “if”
Iterative operations
Looping instructions of an algorithm
First commercial machine and when
UNIVAC I, 1951
First high-level programming language and when
FORTRAN, 1957
ACM stands for_______ and was established in ____
Association for Computing Machinery, 1947.
What is Al-Khowarizmi known for?
In 825AD, he wrote a book about the base 10 positional numbering system that had been developed in India.
Computing agent
In computer science terminology, the machine, robot, person, or thing carrying out the steps of an algorithm
Unambiguous operation
An operation that can be understood and carried out directly by the computing agent without further simplification or explanation
Primitive
When an operation is unambiguous. Algorithms are made up of primitives.
Effectively computable
The formal term for whether an operation is “doable”
Who invented logarithms and when?
John Napier, 1672
When was the slide rule developed?
1622
Who invented the first mechanical calculator, what was it called, and when?
Blaise Pascal, Pascaline, in 1672
Who invented the mechanical calculator which could add, subtract, multiply, and divide? What was it called? When?
Gottfried Leibniz, leibniz wheel, 1674
What are the two qualifications of a computer?
Memory and programmable
Who automated the weaving process, using what, and when?
Frenchman Joseph Jacquard, using the Jacquard Loom, in 1801
Who were the Luddites?
The Luddites, named after their leader Ned Ludd, formed in 1811 as a result of the new manufacturing technology. They burned down the factories of any attempting to use the new technology
Why was Jaquard’s Loom so important?
It was the first programmable device, and it hired how the knowledge of a human expert could be captured in machine-readable form and used to control a machine that accomplished the same task automatically
What was the Difference Engine, who created it, and when?
The difference engine could do addition, sub, mult, div to six significant digits, and could solve polynomial equations and other complex mathematical problems. Created by Charles Babbage in 1823
What was Babbage’s equivalent to the modern-day computer?
The Analytic Engine
Mill = arithmetic/logic unit
Store = memory
Operator = processor
Output unit = input/output
What is Herman Hollerith known for?
He created a keypunch machine to speed up the process of the 1890 census. He also founded the Computer Tabulating Recording Company to build and sell these machines. The Keypunch was the dominant form of data-processing during the first half of the 20th century, well into the 1950s and 1960s. His company changed its name to IBM in 1924
Who helped Babbage attempt to create the Analytic Engine?
Lady Lovelace
When was the birth of computers and what major event triggered it?
1940-50, WWII
Beginning in ____, the _____ and ___ jointly funded a project at Harvard University under _____________ to build a computing device called _____.
1931, us navy and IBM, Prof Howard Aiken, Mark I
What was the Mark I?
General purpose, electromechanical programmable computer that used a mix of relays, magnets, and gears to process and store data. The Mark I was the first computing device to use the base-2 binary numbering system
What does ENIAC stand for?
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
Why was the ENIAC developed?
To help the US army speed up the analyzation of trajectory for their artillery during WWII.
Who created the ENIAC?
J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly of U of Pennsylvania in 1943
Specs of the ENIAC?
18,000 vacuum tubes
100 ft long
10 feet high
30 tons
Could add two 10-digit numbers in 1/5000 of a second.
Could multiply two numbers in 1/300 second
What was the name of the machine that cracked the Nazi’s German Enigma code? Who build it?
The Colossus, Alan Turing in 1943 in England
Stored Program Computer
Von Neumann’s new concept for a computer that stored instructions which could be reprogrammed (1946)
What was the first commercial computer called?
UNIVAC I 1951
First generation of computing:
1950-1957
UNIVAC I, first computer built for sale, IMB 701
Vacuum tubes for processing and storage
Large, expensive, delicate
Required trained users and special environments
Used by military, univeristies, large corporations
Second gen computers:
1957-1965
Vacuum tube replaced by single transistor, memory constructed using tiny magnetic cores
FORTRAN, COBOL
Occuparion of programmer was born
Third gen computing:
1965-1975 Integrated circuit First minicomputer called PDP-1 by the digital equipment corp Desk-sized, not room-sized Birth or the software industry
Forth gen computing:
1975-1985 Microcomputer - Altair 8800, 1975 Complete computer system could be contained on a single circuit board that you could hold in your hand Desktop-sized Computer networks Electronic mail User friendly systems Embedded systems GUIs
How did Ed Roberts get his start? What (now) major company contacted him?
Roberts made the first microcomputer called the Altair 8800, intending to sell the new Intel 8080 as a kit for people to buy. It was incredibly popular, and eventually, a small software company called Microsoft contacted him to say they had a BASIC compiler that could run on his Altair, making it much easier to use
Fifth gen computers:
1985-present Parallel processors Smartphones, tablets, etc Hi-res graphics Wireless communication Massive storage Ubiquitous computing
Virtual machine/environment
Composed only of the resources that the user perceives rather than of all the hardware resources that actually exist
Dark ages were when to when
5th to 15th centuries
Lady Lovelace was a…
Countess
Lady Lovelace was known as first…
Computer programmer
Turing test:
A method by which to test artificial intelligence
Z1 used for…
would have been used in WWII if Konrad Zuse had completed it in time
Research group at the university of Pennsylvania built one of the first stored program computers…
Called EDVAC in 1951
