Info 300 quiz 2
Compare and contrast today's common file systems on Windows & Linux: FAT/FAT32; NTFS; ext3; ISO9660. Where is each used? Which have multi-user security & which don't?
FAT -File Allocation Table, unused space on physical disk. 8 character limit for file name. Any OS. FAT32 -increases bits used for less slack-space, long file names. Any OS. NTFS -New Technology File Systems, files can be spread across several disks. Windows. Multi-user security. Ext3 -3rd Extended File System, changes are tracked. Linux. Multi-user security. ISO9660 -Standard for CD/DVD-rom, read file. Any OS.
List three secondary storage devices.
Hard drive, CD-ROM, USB drive
Name and give a practical application for four different printing technologies.
Impact -multi-part forms Laser -sharp edges and quick printing Dye Sublimation - photo printing Thermal -printing receipts
Describe the technologies introduced by Jacquard and Hollerith and how they were applied to data processing.
Jacquard -weaving industry, programmed the raising of each thread independently from the others Hollerith -punched cards, developed devices that could read the information that had been punched into the cards automatically, without human help. Led to IBM.
Some IT legacies include RS232/Serial components. Where are they likely to be found & how do they differ from Ethernet?
Laboratory equipment, gas pumps. Ethernet is faster and uses a terminal server.
Briefly describe machine, assembler, and application programming languages. What are uses for each? (Or, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th GL languages.)
Machine (1 GL) - binary, made up of elements of the instruction set for the CPU Assembler (2 GL)-provide abbreviations that correspond to the binary instructions in a processor Application (3-4 GL)-higher level languages used by application developers that compile and interpret.
Compare 'Machine Code' and 'Assembly Code'. Name three Assembly Languages.
Machine Code - set of instructions executed directly by the CPU Assembly Code - low level programming language. ARM, MIPS, x86
Name three devices for each of these media: Magnetic, Optical, & Electronic.
Magnetic - stripes on credit cards, routing numbers on checks, floppy disks Optical - barcode scanners, OMRs, DVDs Electronic - television, radio, phone
What is 'middleware'? Name two examples of middleware. Describe how middleware makes applications less 'platform dependent'.
Microsoft .NET Framework, Java Virtual Machine. Extra layers in traditional OS that make applications less 'platform dependent', because it enables applications to be used on all platforms.
Microsoft's .NET Framework and the Java Virtual Machine are examples of what type of software? What advantage do they offer developers?
Middleware. Less platform dependent, Java applications can be written once and deployed on any CPU.
Name two buses most prevalent in PCs and workstations today. One is on the mainboard, the other allows hot swapping peripherals.
North Bridge Bus South Bridge Bus
Describe: Operating System, CPU, & Platform. Name three platforms in common use today. If you know platforms not mentioned in class you're welcome to use them.
Operating System: software that communicates with the hardware and allows other programs to run CPU: central processing unit - processes basic and complex instructions Platform: the specific pair of operating system and CPU. Intel/Windows, AMD/Windows, Intel/Linux.
Describe Memory Management in a 'virtual memory' machine. Use and define these terms in your answer: Secondary Storage, Primary Storage/RAM, Swapping, Cache, Applications, Application Data, Garbage collection.
Provides functions for swapping RAM in & out of secondary storage so that there is virtual memory available for applications. Garbage collection identifies the application data that a program is not using, and puts it all in a separate cache to increase speed.
Describe RAM, ROM, EPROM, volatile, non-volatile, & 'flashing'.
RAM - random access memory, holds temporary data as the CPU needs it ROM - read-only memory, permanent memory that can hold data without power EPROM -Erase-able Programmable ROM that can be flashed with new data without removing from socket. Volatile -fast, but only provides temporary storage Non-volatile -slow, but will hold data permanently even without power
Compare RISC & CISC processors. What is the design objective of each?
RISC - emphasis on software, single-clock (reduced instruction only), Big endian (high order bit at the end) CISC - emphasis on hardware, includes multi clock (complex instruction), little endian (high order bit at beginning)
Describe RAID technology? What does it provide? What does it not provide?
Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Provides performance advantages. Doesn't provide backup.
A file with an even megabyte in a directory has roughly how many megabits when it is put over a DMA channel or network?
Roughly 8 million
Explain this: Today's printers are not purely output devices.
Scanning, faxing, 3d printing
What is SMART as it applies to many of today's disk drives?
Self-Monitoring And Reporting Technology -maintains the database, drive performance, and self-test.
What is SCSI? What devices are likely to be SCSI today? What is a benefit that SCSI provides?
Small Computer System Interface. Peripheral devices, server hard drives. Connects different types of devices.
Name 3 markets where Linux and other free unices have major share in number of units. Name a market where Linux and other free unices have not gained any significant share of the market.
Smartphones, Servers, Browsers Software applications
Describe SSD technology.
Solid-state disks are memory devices that mimic the signals of equivalent hard disk devices.
What is SMP?
Symmetrical Multi-Processing - two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory
What are ASCII, UTF-8, ISO-8859?
ASCII -8 bit, maximum 128 characters Unicode Transformation Format 8bit -backwards compatable with ASCII codes, encodes each unicode character as variable numbers of 1-4 octets. ISO-8859 -8bit character encoding, alphabetic language
Discuss these data representations: ASCII, EBCDIC, UniCode.
ASCII -8 bit, maximum 128 characters. EBCDIC - Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchanged Code, IBM, main frames, 8 bit, maximum 256 characters. UniCode - text of most world writing systems, Microsoft, maximum 256 characters.
What is 'Virtual Memory'?
An OS multi-tasking scheme in which process, memory, and disk management cooperate to run lots of processes through a limited number of CPUs and RAM.
Describe cache memory, its placement relative to the CPU, and explain why too much of it is not a good thing.
Cache Memory - the CPU stores recently accessed data in a smaller, faster memory that is closer to the CPU than RAM. Too much will go to the disk and will slow performance.
What's the difference between RAM & Cache memory?
Cache is closer to CPU, faster, more expensive. RAM has larger capacity.
Describe how data are written to disk to minimize head movement. Include these terms appropriately in your description: block, track, surface, head, cylinder.
a head writing on the surface of platters in a common block on a common track in a common cylinder.
What is Open Source software? What is its impact on the marketplace? Where is it commonly found? Where is it rare?
Computer software that allows users the rights to access its source code for studying, changing, and sharing with anyone for any purpose. Alternative to proprietary software. Developers Businesses that pay for software
Name three 'control characters' in ASCII & and tell what they control or signify.
Ctrl+c - copy Ctrl+v - paste Ctrl+f - find
In hard-disk technology, what is a Cylinder, what's a Head, and what's a Sector.
Cylinder - the common sector on a common track across each platter Head - prevents seek delay on each track Sector -the physical address, contains data
Briefly describe CHS and LBA disk addressing schemes.
Cylinder Head Sector - identifying individual sectors on a disk by their position on a track Logical Block Addressing -only one number is used to address data
Describe what's in the 'directory' and what's on the disk to organize data that spans more than one block.
file & directory names. Each block has a pointer to the next block.
What is a 'collating sequence'? What affects it?
how characters in character sets relate to each other when they are compared. Affected by the type of set(s) being used.
How do mid-range and mainframe computers differ from workstation or server class machines? Please give at least three specific design considerations and not an answer like 'they are bigger & faster'.
mid-range/mainframes have multiple busses, chassis, and channels. 64-bit words since the 80's many TB of RAM since the 90's
Describe a desktop machine's bus and a midrange computer's backplane. How are they similar? How are they different?
Desktop Machine Bus - connects RAM, hard drive, video card, etc. to the motherboard Backplane - extension of the motherboard
What is the function of DMA in a PC?
Direct Memory Access -bypassing cpu for faster processing
Describe Processor Management. Use and define these terms in your answer: processes, process queue, interrupts, CPU time, wait state, multi-processor, SMP.
to be determined...
Expect questions about data types. What data type is appropriate for: counters, money, engineering & economic calculation, a person's name, a short story or chapter, true/false, an MP3, a birthdate...
-integers -booleans -characters -floating-point numbers -alphanumeric strings
Explain three 'latencies' or delay in disk access.
1) Rotational latency- The time it takes for a block to rotate around to the head. 2) Access Time-The interval between the time data is requested by the system and the time the data is provided by the drive. 3) Seek Time- The amount of time it takes the head to find a block.
What are the max RAM sizes for 32 & 64-bit CPUs?
32 - 4 GB 64 - 16 EB
Describe what 'buffers' do and name four devices that use them.
A buffer holds data for a short amount of time before it is used to make downloading data more efficient. Networks, keyboards, mice, USB.
Why is tape still the number one medium for backing up data? What other options are gaining popularity among IS professionals?
Cheap, fast, and can continuously stream at max speed. Cloud, transaction logging.
Give a brief history of computing from the perspective of our vonNeumann architecture, starting from the 1800s. Describe the contributions of early inventors like Jacquard and Babbage to computing. Characterize computing equipment invented by Hollerith, and adopted by IBM which provided led to the 1st generation of digital computers. Describe ENIAC & its immediate successors, and then the remaining generations of computers through current technology. Use these terms appropriately in your answer and give an approximate year for their development: VLSI, Integrated Circuits, Transistors, Vacuum tubes, Loom, Tabulators, Punched Cards, Difference & Analytical Engines.
ENIAC - mid 20th century, EDVAC, EDSAC, IAS Very Large Scale Integration - 70's Integrated Circuits - mid 20th century Transistors - early 20th century Vacuum tubes - early 20th century Loom - early 1400s Tabulators - late 1800s punched cards - early 1700s difference and analytical - early 1800s
Compare tape and optical disks as backup media.
Optical disks are slower and more expensive, although they have good value for being relatively permanent data.
Describe and differentiate between primary and secondary storage.
Primary storage -temporary, smaller in capacity, more expensive, faster (close to/integrated onto CPU) Secondary Storage -permanent, bigger in capacity, cheaper, slower (connected via cables)
What can an impact printer do that a laser or ink-jet can't?
Print on multi-part forms
What are Dye Sublimation printers usually used for these days?
Printing photos
What is 'slack space' on a disk drive?
The difference between the end of a sector and the end of the data in the sector. extra unusable space.
Describe 'backup of a computer system'. What's most important about it? How are most commercial sites backed up?
The methodology of preserving a server's data. Important because unexpected external factors can happen at any time. Tape drives.
Why is this statement false? RAID and UPS technologies are effective means for backing up data.
The most effective back-up are off-site tape drives.
explain clearly the difference between a 'Kilo' and 1,000, and, between a 'Mega' and 1,000,000.
Use base 2 (not 10).
