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Computer Science > Computers > Flashcards

Computers Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the components of the CPU?

A
  • Control Unit (CU)
  • Decoder
  • Clock
  • Cache
  • Registers
  • Buses
  • Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
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2
Q

What is the main function of the CPU?

A

Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle

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3
Q

What does the CU do?

A
  • Controls all other components

- Contains the decoder

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4
Q

What does the decoder do?

A

Interprets instructions and tell ALU what operations to carry out

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5
Q

What does the clock do?

A

Controls the rate at which program instructions are carried out (cycles)

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6
Q

What is cache?

A

Very fast RAM

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7
Q

What do the registers do?

A
  • Memory locations

- Some perform special functions in the FDE cycle

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8
Q

What do the buses do?

A

Carry electrical signals between:
- components in the CPU
AND
- the CPU and other components on the motherboard

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9
Q

What does the ALU do?

A

Performs arithmetic and logical operations

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10
Q

What registers are used in the FDE cycle? What do they do?

A

PAMM
- Program Counter: holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched

  • Accumulator: stores the result of calculations done by the CPU
  • Memory Data Register (MDR): a temporary store (buffer) for anything copied from memory
  • Memory Address Register (MAR): holds the address of the memory locations currently being read (fetched) or written to
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11
Q

What happens during the fetch process?

A
  • the CU sends a ‘read’ signal to the RAM on the CONTROL BUS
  • uses the ADDRESS BUS to send signals, specifying the required memory location in the RAM
  • contents are transferred TO the CPU along the DATA BUS
  • the CONTROL BUS manages the information flow between components
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12
Q

What buses are used during the fetch?

A

(CAD C)

  • Control Bus
  • Address Bus
  • Data Bus
  • Control Bus
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13
Q

What is cache memory?

A
  • Very fast memory (usually within the processor itself)
  • Speeds up processing by storing recently or frequently used instructions so they don’t have to be fetched from main memory (which is much slower)
  • As cache becomes larger, it becomes harder to find data so is slower so cache is split into different levels
  • Too expensive to replace RAM in personal computers
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14
Q

Why is secondary storage needed?

A
  • Stores programs and data PERMANENTLY

- Used to transfer stored data between computers

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15
Q

Average size of magnetic storage capacity?

A

1 terabyte

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16
Q

How is the data encoded in magnetic storage?

A

Encoded as opposing magnetic polarities on the surface of the disc by electromagnets in the read-write heads

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17
Q

How is magnetic storage read?

A

The discs spin and read-write heads move across the disc

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18
Q

How is digital data stored in optical storage?

A

By etching pits onto the surface of the disc

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19
Q

How is optical storage read?

A

When the light from a laser hits the:
- LANDS it is reflected back to a detector (1)
BUT
- PITS scatter the light away so no light is detected (0)

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20
Q

What is solid-state memory?

A

NAND flash memory

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21
Q

How is data stored in solid-state memory?

A
  • Consists of floating gate transistors (that don’t lose their state when power is switched off)
  • At first all transistors are charged (set to 1)
  • When a save operation begins, current is blocked to some transistors (setting them to 0)
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22
Q

What makes up an embedded system?

A
  • Processor
  • Memory
  • Input and Output Interfaces
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23
Q

What does the OS do?

A
  • Manages users’ interactions through the user interface
  • Manages peripheral devices
  • Controls computing processes
  • Allocates CPU and memory resources
24
Q

What is utility software?

A

Set of tools that can be used to analyse and optimise efficiency

25
Q

What is application software?

A

An END-USER PROGRAM:

- perform user-identified tasks e.g, word processing or photo editing

26
Q

What are the types of user interface?

A
  • CLI (Command Line Interface): user types in commands
  • GUI (Graphical User Interface): Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers (WIMP)
  • Menu interface: provides menus to go through
27
Q

Why are usernames and passwords used?

A
  • To allocate permissions for access to files and folders

- Authentication

28
Q

What are drivers?

A
  • Control ALL peripherals

- Carry out necessary translations to allow the CPU and devices to communicate properly

29
Q

What is encryption?

A

Scrambling of data into a form that cannot be understood by unauthorised users

30
Q

Why is encryption used?

A

To protect data from unauthorised users

31
Q

What is an incremental backup?

A

Only new or changed data are backed up to save time

32
Q

What is a full backup?

A

All of the data is backed up

33
Q

What is malware?

A

Software that has been designed to gain unauthorised access to a computer system in order to disrupt its functioning or collect information

34
Q

What is a virus?

A
  • A computer program hidden inside another program
  • Usually has a harmful effect e.g corrupting or deleting data on a disc
  • It can replicate itself and insert itself into other programs or files which can be passed on
35
Q

What is spyware?

A
  • Often comes packaged with other free software and the user does not know they’ve installed it
  • Spies on users by sending screenshots and key presses to the hacker’s computer (revealing details of passwords)
36
Q

What is anti-virus software?

A
  • Should check all files that are loaded onto a computer for viruses
  • Can be set to carry out routine scans and should be set to check for viruses in emails
37
Q

What is anti-spyware software?

A

Checks for and blocks spyware

38
Q

What is file repair?

A

Type of data recovery software that can repair corrupted files

39
Q

What is file conversion software?

A

Software that can convert one type of file format into another so that it can be used by another program

40
Q

What is a computer model?

A

Attempts to abstract the rules and mechanisms that control real-life systems and apply them in computer programs so that they can be used to SIMULATE the behaviour of those systems under different conditions

41
Q

What would we used computer models for?

A
  • Flight simulators
  • Weather forecasting
  • Traffic flow
  • Financial modelling
42
Q

Advantages of using computer models

A
  • Safety: ability to experiment without harming people or the environment
  • Financial: new products can be tested without having to build prototypes
  • Repetition: tests can be quickly repeated to ensure similar outcomes
  • Adjustments: changes to the rules and input data can be made quickly to see the outcomes
43
Q

Disadvantages of using computer models

A
  • The mathematical calculations may be too complex to model real-life situations
  • May be difficult to identify all the rules correctly
  • The models is not reality so the answers might be different to reality
  • The processing power needed to run the model may be greater than what is available
44
Q

What is a low-level language?

A
  • Consists of millions of 1s and 0s
  • Little of no abstraction
  • Very fast for the processor to carry out
  • Hard for humans to read
  • e.g. machine code
45
Q

What is assembly language?

A
  • A low-level language
  • Each instruction is directly equivalent to one in machine code
  • Mnemonics are used to replace the command represented as strings of 1s and 0s
  • e.g. ADD is used to replace the binary command to add two numbers together
46
Q

What is high-level language?

A
  • Programming languages that resemble human languages
  • Use key words such as ‘print’, ‘if’, ‘then’
  • Have to be translated into machine code in order to operate
  • e.g. Java or Python
47
Q

What are the uses of low-level languages?

A
  • Often used in the programs used by embedded systems (e.g. cameras, microwaves, TVs) as it can be used to directly control system hardware
  • Used to write device drivers and real-time systems where speed is essential
  • Assembly language is specific to each type of CPU: programs written for one type CANNOT be used on others
48
Q

What are the uses of high-level languages?

A
  • Most software is written in high-level languages
  • Less time consuming to write and quicker to test
  • Programs are portable from one machine to another
  • Most high-level languages can be used with different types of CPU
49
Q

What are the three types of translators?

A
  • Compiler
  • Interpreter
  • Assembler
50
Q

What does a compiler do?

A

Translates the source code into a standalone, machine code program that can then be executed by the processor

51
Q

PROS of compilers?

A
  • The translation is done once only and as a separate process
  • The program that is run is already translated into machine code so it can be executed more rapidly
  • Protects the software from competitors who would otherwise be able to see the source code
52
Q

CONS of compilers?

A
  • If it encounters any errors, it carries on trying to compile the program and reports the errors at the end
  • You cannot change the program without going back to the original source code, editing that and RE-COMPILING
53
Q

What does an interpreter do?

A
  • Translates the high-level code line by line into machine code
  • It is needed each time the program is run
54
Q

PROS of interpreters?

A
  • When an error is found, the interpreter reports it and stops and pinpoints the error to that the programmer knows where it has occurred
  • The code is NOT platform specific and can be run on different operating systems and platforms as long as there is an interpreter
  • The program can easily be editing as it always exists as source code
55
Q

CON of interpreters?

A
  • Every line has to be translated every time it is executed SO is slower
56
Q

What do assemblers do?

A
  • Translate the mnemonics of assembly language into machine code instructions

Computer Science (8 decks)

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