Chapter 1: Data Representation Flashcards
Definition of bit
the basic computing element that is either 0 or 1, an is formed from the words Binary digit (Bit)
Definition of binary number system
a number system based on 2 and can only use the values 0 and 1
Definition of hexadecimal number system
a number system based on the value 16 which uses denary digits 0 to 9 and letters A to F
Definition of error code
an error message generated by the computer
Definition of MAC address
standing for Media Access Control, this address (given in hexadecimal) uniquely identifies a device on the internet; it takes the form: NN-NN-NN-DD-DD-DD, where NN-NN-NN is the manufacturer code and DD-DD-DD is the device code NN-NN-NN-DD-DD-DD
Definition of IP address
Internet Protocol identified either as IPv4 or IPv6; it gives a unique address to each device connected to a network identifying their location
Definition of HTML
HyperText Mark-up Language is used in the design of web pages and to write, for example, http(s) protocols; in the context of this chapter, colours used in web pages are assigned a hexadecimal code based on red, green and blue colours
Definition of overflow error
the result of carrying out a calculation that produces a value that is too large for the computer’s allocated word size (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, and so on)
Definition of logical shift
an operation that shifts bits to the left or right in a register; any bits shifted out of a register (left or right) are replaced with zeroes
Definition of two’s complement
a method of representing negative numbers in binary; when applied to an 8-bit system, the left-most bit (most significant bit) is given the value -128
Definition of ASCII code
a character set for all the characters on a standard keyboard and control codes
Definition of character set
a list of characters that have been defined by computer hardware and software. The character set is necessary so that the computer can understand human characters
Definition of Unicode
a character set which represents all the languages of the world (the first 128 characters are the same as ASCII code)
Definition of sampling resolution
the number of bits used to represent sound amplitude in digital sound recording (also known as bit depth)
Definition of bit depth
the number of bits used to represent the smallest unit in a sound file
Definition of colour depth
the number of bits used to represent the colours of a pixel
Definition of sampling rate
the number of sound samples taken per second in digital sound recording
Definition of bitmap image
an image made up of pixels
Definition of pixel
derived from the term ‘picture element’, this is the smallest element used to make up an image on a display
Definition of image resolution
the number of pixels in the X-Y direction of an image, for example, 4096 x 3192 pixels
Definition of pixelated (image)
this is the result of zooming into a bitmap image; on zooming out the pixel density can be diminished to such a degree that the actual pixels themselves can be seen
Definition of pixel density
number of pixels per square inch
Definition of compression
reduction of the size of a file by removing repeated or redundant pieces of data; this can be lossy or lossless
Definition of bandwidth
The maximum rate of transfer of data across a network, measured in kilobits per second (kbps) or megabits per second (Mbps)