fundamentals of computing Flashcards
Explain the concept of abstraction in programming
this is when you hide the complexity of a program by hiding unnecessary details from the user and showing only the necessary details.
The implementation of how the methods are worked on should be hidden within the class and not accessible outside of the class
What is the purpose of the operating system
Is a program that is used to manage computer hardware.
it can act as an intermediary between computer user and computer hardware
What is a compiler
Software we use to write computer code typically high level languages e.g c++ or Java and it converts it into lower level languages
What is a text editor
software/ programs used for writing code/ text etc
Name two categories of Memory
Primary memory
Secondary memory
What is primary memory
Primary memory is a type of computer memory which is accessed by the pre-processor, typically it stores data/info the comp. is working on.
difference between high level languages and low level languages is
H.L-
1)Programmer friendly
2)Low memory efficient
3) Debugging is easy
4)It is portable
5)It is easy to maintain
6)It needs a compiler/interpreter to translate it
7) Easy to understand
L.L-
1)Machine friendly
2) Not portable
3) Debugging is complex
4) Might be hard to maintain
5) High memory efficient
6) It needs an assembler for translation
7) Might be complex to understand
Difference between bit and byte
BIT-
smallest unit in a computer
represented in lowercase ‘b’
used in radio telecommunications
represented in either 0 or 1 form
BYTE - It can be understood as a collection of 8 bits but it is quite greater
it is used in storage media devices
it is represented in uppercase ‘B’
What is the role of the CPU?
It executes instructions.
It fetches information/instructions from the RAM, evaluates it then executes them
What is binary code
Base 2 number system whose patterns are ones and zeros
what is encryption
this is a form of cryptography where a plain text or file is converted into cipher, which can only be decoded by the receiver to whom the file was for
Two types of protocols
Stateless Protocols
Stateful protocols
What is Stateless protocol
A client sends a request to the server and the server sends back a response according to the current state.
Examples of stateless protocol
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol(HTTP), Domain Name System(DNS)
What is a stateful protocol
When a client sends a request to the server and the server doesn’t get the information it is sent again
types of stateful protocol
TCP
FCP - File Transfer Protocol
What is a string?
another way of saying text/ anything enclosed by quotation marks is known as a string
what is concatenation?
adding two strings together
what is a variable
something that can store information and can be manipulated/ referenced
What is an assembler
is a program that translates assembly code into machine code
Two types of assembler
self assembler - translates code to machine code in the same computer
cross assembler - translates machine code for another computer
Define the term stack in data structures
it refers to linear data structure in which it follows a particular order which an operations is performed can be LIFO(Last In First Out) or FILO(First In Last Out)
What is computer networking
Process of connecting computers to promote data exchange and enable communication between them
What are the building blocks of a computer network and explain what they are.
Node and Links.
Nodes are devices for data communication while links are wires or free space for wireless networks.
What is a protocol
a set of rules that govern how data is transmitted over a network
Types of protocols are?
TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol) - To send data from one computer to another
FTP - File transfer Protocol- sends file from local network to remote network
Role of a modem in computer networking
A modem(modulator/demodulator) converts analog signal form to digital signal form and vice versa
It connects to the internet through your internet service provider
what is a network, and what are the types of area network?
It allows computer or interconnected devices to communicate with each other over any medium.
WAN,LAN,PAN, MAN, VPN
Why do we hard code data
if the data rarely changes
if we haven’t written the code that obtains the data from the appropriate code
NB: hard coding is writing source code instead of getting it from externally
