Programs Flashcards
What is a program?
A program is a set of written instructions that direct the computer. Programs are really software
The programmer’s job is to do what?
- Write application and system programs
- Test and debug programs
- Maintain the programs
In order to do this job programmer’s need to have knowledge of?
Binary and different programming languages
In order to do this job programmer’s need to have knowledge of?
Binary and different programming languages
The programmer writes programs in special codes. What are these special codes called?
Computer languages
How many generations of computer languages are there?
There are five generations of computer languages.
What is the first generation or lowest computer language called?
It’s called machine language.
What is machine language/ first generation made of?
It is made of Binary. Only 0’s and 1’s
What are the advantages of machine language/ first generation?
The programs written in this language are executed quickly.
What are the disadvantages of machine language/ first generation?
- It’s time consuming to write
- It is easy to make mistakes when writing it as it’s only made up of 0’s and 1’s
- The programs are written for one type of computer will not work on another type of computer
What is the second generation language called?
It is called assembly language. It used short codes (add, mov, sub) to represent instructions
What are the advantages of assembly language/ second generation?
It is easier to write than machine language/ first generation.
What are the disadvantages of assembly language/ second generation
The programs are written for one type of computer will not work on another type of computer
What are third generation computer languages called?
They are called high - level languages. Each language was developed to solve a particular problem.
What are the advantages of high level languages?
- They are not machine dependent
- They use English like statements and are therefore easier to write.
What are some examples of high level languages?
Basic, Pascal, Cobol, Fortran
What were they developed to do?
Basic - To solve mathematical problems, today used to solve business problems
Pascal- To assist in teaching of programming concepts, can also be used to solve business problems
Cobol - To solve business problems
Fortran - To solve complex mathematical problems
What is the abbreviation for Fourth Generation languages?
4GLs
What are the advantages of 4GLs
They use English like statements and are therefore easier to write.
They’re user friendly, that is messages, prompts and icons appear on the screen to help you.
What are the two basic groups that programs are classified into?
Application Software and System Software
System programs - What are the two main types of system programs?
Utility Programs and operating System Programs
What do Utility Programs do?
Utility programs perform many routine tasks relating to the maintenance of your computer’s health.
What are some tasks that Utility programs perform?
- File management
- Disk management
- Memory Management
- Data Recovery
- Data Compression
What is an Operating Systems Software?
Operating systems software is a set of programs that are used to control the computer hardware and without it you could not make use of the computer
Name a Utility Program
Norton Antivirus
What is an Operating Systems Software?
Operating systems software is a set of programs that are used to control the computer hardware and without it you could not make use of the computer
