Fundamentals of Computer Systems Flashcards
Give four examples of input devices.
Joystick, keyboard, scanner, microphone.
Give three examples of output devices.
Display screen, printer, speakers.
What are four examples of general-purpose systems and what are they designed to do?
Desktops, laptops, tablet computers and smart phones are general-purpose systems designed to perform multiple tasks.
How are dedicated systems different from general-purpose systems? Give an example.
Dedicated systems are designed with a specific purpose and aren’t good for much else, such as a ticket machine at a train station.
What does a control system do and what is an important example of it?
A control system is a computer system that controls machinery (rather than processing and outputting data for us to use).
Industrial robots are an important application of control systems.
Define embedded systems.
Computer systems part of a larger system, usually also control systems.
Give two examples of embedded systems.
Traffic lights, systems in cars looking after individual things (like fuel flow).
Give three examples of devices that both input and output data.
Touchscreen, CD/DVD, camera.
Define a computer system.
A collection of hardware and software that work together to process data for a specific purpose.
What are four examples of general-purpose systems and what are they designed to do?
Desktops, laptops, tablet computers and smart phones are general-purpose systems designed to perform multiple tasks.
What are expert systems?
Expert systems are intelligent computer systems designed to do the same thing a human expert could do.
How many components do expert systems have and what are they?
3: a knowledge base, and inference engine and an interface.
How are dedicated systems different from general-purpose systems? Give an example.
Dedicated systems are designed with a specific purpose and aren’t good for much else, such as a ticket machine at a train station.
What does a control system do and what is an important example of it?
A control system is a computer system that controls machinery (rather than processing and outputting data for us to use).
Industrial robots are an important application of control systems.
Define embedded systems.
Computer systems part of a larger system, usually also control systems.
Give two examples of embedded systems.
Traffic lights, systems in cars looking after individual things (like fuel flow).
What are expert systems?
Expert systems are intelligent computer systems designed to do the same thing a human expert could do.
How many components do expert systems have and what are they?
3: a knowledge base, and inference engine and an interface.
Give three uses of expert systems.
Diagnosing diseases, finding faults in machinery, suggesting purchases to customers.
What do management information systems do?
Management information systems bring information together so that managers can make decisions.
Give two examples of management information systems.
Office Automation Systems, automating workflow and maximising data movement efficiency.
School Management Information Systems, dealing with school admin, teaching and learning.
What four things can happen if systems aren’t reliable?
Increased down time, expensive errors, loss of data and compromised privacy.
How can reliability of a program be improved before its release?
Testing to uncover errors.
Why is testing never 100% accurate?
Software is too complex and testing is both expensive and time-consuming.
What is data integrity?
Whether data is accurate and consistent throughout its existence.
How can we reduce the risk of malware (e.g. viruses) and software bugs compromising data integrity?
By controlling access to data, via security mechanisms.
How can we prevent data integrity from being compromised by human error when inputted?
Use validation rules to prevent the input of invalid data.
What are standards?
Conventions or rules, usually defined by a responsible organisation. There are many categories of standards.
How do standards affect learning new systems and why?
Leaning new systems is easier because they have similar characteristics.
How do standards bring costs down?
There is more competition, meaning companies have to lower the costs.
What are de facto standards?
Standards that have been used so often and so widely they have become the norm.
What are two examples of de facto standard?
Microsoft word, the qwerty keyboard.
What are de jure standards?
De facto standards that have become so universally accepted that they have to be adhered to, or communication is impossible.
What is an example of de jure standards?
How can we prevent data integrity being compromised by errors that occur when the data is transmitted?
Use error detection and correction software when transmitting data.
How can we reduce the risk of data integrity being compromised by external damaging forces (e.g. a fire) and external damaging forces?
Backing data up regularly
