UNIT 1 Flashcards
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What is Information Technology?
Refers to both the hardware and software that are used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information
What are some IT jobs?
IT jobs include computer programming, network administration, computer engineering, Web development, technical support.
Brief History of Computer Hardware
Mainframes (1960s-1980s):
Minicomputers (1960s-1990s):
Personal Computers (1980s-present):
Mobile Devices (2000s-present):
Embedded Systems (2000s-present)
Brief History of Computer Software
Machine Code and Assembly Language (1940s-1950s): Low-level instructions for early computers.
Fortran (1957): Scientific and engineering calculations.
LISP (1958): Artificial intelligence research.
ALGOL (1958-60): Influential in subsequent language development.
COBOL (1959): Business data processing.
BASIC (1964): Beginner-friendly programming for education.
C (1972): Efficient and portable system programming.
Pascal (1970):Teaching programming and structured practices.
JavaScript (1995): Front-end web development.
Ruby (1995): Productivity in web development, Ruby on Rails.
PHP (1995):Server-side scripting for web development.
Java (1995): Cross-platform compatibility, web, and enterprise.
Python (1989): used in web and data science.
C++ (1983):
What is Computing?
Computing involves creating and managing hardware and software for diverse purposes, handling information, conducting scientific studies, enabling intelligent behavior in computer systems, developing communication and entertainment media, and collecting relevant information for specific purposes.
What is Computer Science?
The study of computers, including both hardware and software design.
What is Software Engineering?
Software engineering is the branch of computer science that deals with the design, development, testing, and maintenance of software applications.
What is Computer Engineering?
a field of study that combines computer science and electrical engineering to design, construct, implement, and maintain computer hardware and software
What is Information Systems?
An information system (IS) is a collection of components that work together to collect, store, process, and transmit data and digital information.
Types of Information Systems
Management information systems (Expert/decision support)- facilitates decision making process for managers
Enterprise collaboration system - system that enables collaboration by improving communication and sharing data
Transaction processing system- A system that helps to record any transactions made
Informal Information
s more casual, less authoritative, less formally presented, possibly less reliable than is formal information. A company chairman’s off-the-cuff comments over a cup of coffee with colleagues would be informal. A quick email to a friend giving them some advice would be informal.
What is DATA?
Include unprocessed, unorganised and discrete (in separate, unrelated chunks), qualitative (opinion- based, subjective) or quantitative (measurement-based, objective), detailed or sampled.
What is Information?
Information is a set of data that is processed in a meaningful way according to the given requirement. It is processed, structured, or presented in a given context to make it meaningful and useful.
Characteristics of Information?
Relevance
Availability
Lifespan
Shareability
Characteristics of Data
Unprocessed
Unorganised
Discrete
What is Formal Information?
is official and authoritative. It is meant to be taken seriously and is presented in a formal manner. It is usually more carefully prepared and verified than informal information, and its accuracy and reliability should also be higher. e.g. a company’s annual report to shareholders, a Principal’s message in a school magazine.
Information vs Knowledge?? hmmm
Information: Raw data that has been processed or organized in a meaningful way. It’s often considered as facts, details, or statistics.
Knowledge: Information that is not only processed but also understood and contextualized. It involves the ability to apply information to solve problems or make decisions.
Characteristics of Knowledge?
Knowledge is accurate as it conveys the true situation.
It is available in time to make the most appropriate and correct decisions.
It is portrayed in common, easy to understand formats.
It provides all the necessary data.
Information Processing cycle!?
input, processing, storage, output and communication/Feedback
What is Hardware?
Hardware refers to the physical elements that make up a computer or electronic system and everything else involved that is physically tangible. Meaning u can see it feel it and touch it.
What is Software?
Software, in its most general sense, is a set of instructions or programs instructing a computer to do specific tasks. Software is a generic term used to describe computer programs
What is Programming software?
Programming software is a set of tools to aid developers in writing programs
Types of software
Operating systems are a set of programs that monitor and co-ordinate software and hardware within a computer system. Operating systems are the most important programs and must be present in all computer systems for other programs to run. example: Linus, MacOS, Windows
Utilities are systems software that support the operating system in its housekeeping tasks to increase the efficiency of the computer system. Some of the functions performed by utility programs include.
example: image viewer, screensavers, antivirus, backup utility
since Computers understand only binary language. Translators are systems software that convert other programming language instructions to machine language.examples: assemblers, interpreters and compilers.
An embedded system is a combination of computer hardware and software designed for a specific function example: Smartphones, TVS, MRI’s (Medical equipment)
Application software is a type of computer program that helps users complete specific tasks, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
Types of Application software
Word Processing
Desktop Publishing/Canva/ Database Management/ Spreadsheet
What is Communication Tool?
A communication tool is a device that transmits a communication message to a receiving device. These messages can either be encrypted in order to maintain security for big businesses.
Types of Communication tools
There are three types of communication tools
Simplex– this is when a user only wants to present or share information and not receive replies
Half Duplex: Two way – the user and share information as well as receive responses from others. Refers to the transmission of data in just one direction at a time. For example, a walkie-talkie
Duplex– More than two ways
What is Transmission Media?
Describes the type of physical system used to carry a communication signal from one system to another. Examples of transmission media include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber optic cable.
Cable types
1.Twisted Pair– This is a convenient and cheap method of connecting computers and peripherals in a network. It is normally used for home networking or on small sites where distances between devices are small and there is no great need for speed.
2.Coaxial Cable- More expensive than twisted pair and is used to transmit voice, video and data. It is ideal for a medium sized network and for cable TV. They use thickly insulated copper wire and are capable of high-speed transmission.
3.Fibre-Optic Cable- Fibre-optic cables can transmit signals over much
longer distances than coaxial and twisted-pair cables. They can also carry information at vastly greater speeds and this makes services such as video conferencing possible.
What is Infrared transmissions
1.Infrared transmission- This type operates by using an infrared light beam to carry the data between devices.
What is a Microwave
2.Microwaves– These are radio waves which provide high speed transmission of analogue and digital signals. They are limited to line-of-sight (straight line - no obstructions)
What is a channel?
It’s the route that data takes between two points in a network. This route can be the actual cables, the signal traveling through them, or a specific part of the signal’s frequency.
The channel is the medium that carries the message. The channel might be wires, the air or space in the case of radio and television transmissions, or fibre-optic cable
What is the reciever?
In the communication process, the receiver is the listener, reader, or observer–that is, the individual (or the group of individuals) to whom a message is directed. Another name for receiver is audience or decoder.
What is Modulation?
Modulation is the process of converting data into radio waves by adding information to an electronic or optical carrier signal.
What is Bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be transferred between devices or over the internet in a given amount of time.
What is Root Cause Analysis?
Root Cause Analysis is a systematic process used to identify the underlying causes of a problem. It helps in digging deeper beyond the obvious symptoms and understanding the fundamental reasons contributing to the issue.
Telecommunicating vs Teleconferencing vs Videoconferencing
Telecommuting is working remotely, while teleconferencing is a conversation between two or more people over a connection. Videoconferencing is a specific type of teleconferencing that uses video and sound