Chapter 3 Flashcards
Moore’s Law
performance of a chip doubles every 2.5 years –> uses chip-based technology
chip-based technology
integrated circulation of transistors
transistor
amplifies or switches electronic signals –> input is either switched on or off
6 waves of computing
- computers invented –> filled a whole room (large companies and authorities)
- Moore’s law became applicable –> computers have the size of refrigerator and become faster and cheaper
- almost every manager has a computer and the internet emerges –> majority of the people have a computer as data sharing around the world became possible
- user-friendly interfaces operated with a mouse
- simple mobile phones become popular
- now
Lecture timeline of waves
- Mainframe era: centralised data processing systems –> transistors are used (1 wave)
- introduction of minicomputers: decentralised computing (2 wave)
- personal computing era: first personal computer –> computers are used at home and at the office (3+4 wave)
- client-server era: client-server model is created
microprocessor
ensures the execution of programs –> brain of the computer that executes the commands
random access memory (RAM)
memory for which data disappears when it is turned of –> extremely fast as it is powered by chips and transistors
volatile memory
memory for which data disappears when it is turned of
flash/ SSD-disk
non-volatile memory –> robust and expensive
hard disk drive
non-volatile memory –> rotating magnetic disk!
optical data storage devices
have an optical reader that reads data from the disk
multicore processor
has two or more working cores –> two computers working simultaneously (people lifting a table)
supercomputers
among the fastest computers in the world
massively parallel processing
computers exists of many microprocessors that joint and simultaneously work to solve problems
grid computing
combining the computing power of many normal computers to joint carry out a task using specialised software
cluster computing
computers are linked together to do tasks together –> much more closely linked and by special software and network hardware –> servers can also work together
digital subscriber line
cable through which the telephone network enters houses