Week 0 - Computer Science Flashcards
What is computer science on a fundamental level?
‘Computer Science’ is fundamentally problem solving.
Problem solving can be thought as the process of taking some input (a problem we want to solve) and generate some output (the solution to our problem).
What is ASCII?
There’s a standard mapping of numbers to letters called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), which also includes lowercase letters and punctuations.
It uses 8 bits.
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What is UNICODE?
Other characters, such as letters with accent marks, symbols, are part of a standard called Unicode, which uses more than 8 bits for each character, that ASCII uses.
When we receive an emoji, our computer is actually reveiving a number in binary that it then maps to the image of the emoji based on the Unicode standard.
Instead of a switch, what is used to represent 0s and 1s in modern day computers?
Transistors
What system maps numbers to letters in computers?
ASCII (8 bits)
What system do letters with accent marks and specials symbols use to map numbers to letters
Unicode (32 bits)
What system is most commonly used to map numbers to colors on a screen?
RGB (Stands for Red, Green and Blue. By controlling how much red green and blue is emitted, we can create every color humans can perceive.)
It is best to have a _______ algorithm rather than a linear one because it takes less time.
logarithmic
Algorithms need to not just be correct but well __________
designed
What is pseudocode?
A representation of an algorithm using precise English (or any other human language)
Algorithms should take as ____________ as possible to improve efficiency.
little steps
