Computing Flashcards
What does ASCII stand for?
American standard code for information interchange
What is the purpose of the control unit?
Controls the order of execution and timing of instructions
What is the purpose of the ALU?
Preforms all calculations and carries out logical calculations
What is the purpose of the registers?
Temporary storage locations within the processor
What is addressability?
Each memory location is unique and will have a unique address that is used to access it
What does the address bus do?
Carries the address of the memory location from processor to memory and goes in one direction
What does the data bus do?
Carries the data to and from memory locations and processor and goes in both directions
What are examples of ways to reduce the energy usage of computer system?
Use energy efficient monitors, reduce brightness, use stand-by / power saving mode, avoid using screen savers
What is the purpose of a firewall?
A firewall protects against people trying to hack into your computer
How does a firewall work?
By packet filtering, by using IP blocking
Why is encryption used?
Data is encrypted to stop hackers from reading your information
What does an interpreter do?
Translates and executes a single line at a time, provides error feedback line by line
What does a compiler do?
Translates the whole code, only needs to be translated once, the program can then be ran at a later time
How is a vector graphic stored in a computer?
Stored as shapes with attributes that define the shape
What is meant by color depth?
The number of colors that can be represented in an image
How is text stored in a computer?
ASCII
How are decimal/ large number stored in a computer?
Stored a floating point representation which has a mantissa and exponent
What are some advantages of using a vector graphic?
Does not lose quality/become pixellated when zoomed in, less storage required and can separate objects from each other
What does RAM and ROM stand for?
RAM: Random access memory
ROM: Read-only memory
What are some advantages of using a bit mapped graphic?
Can edit each individual pixel and have more realistic images
What are some examples of control characters?
Return, backspace, escape and bell
