Chapter 1
Secondary storage
Even when there is no power to the computer, data can be held in:
Main Memory
It is volatile. Main memory is erased when program terminates or computer is turned off Also called Random Access Memory (RAM) Organized as follows: bit: smallest piece of memory. Has values 0 (off, false) or 1 (on, true) byte: 8 consecutive bits. Bytes have addresses.
Machine language
Language only understood by computers. Instructions are usually binary numbers, such as 1011010000000101
Central Processing Unit (CPU) Main Memory Secondary Memory / Storage Input Devices Output Devices
Main Hardware Component Categories:
Variable
The name for a memory location that may hold data is:
False
The preprocessor executes after the compiler.
To identify the location of a byte in memory
The purpose of a memory address is:
Syntax
This is a set of rules that must be followed when constructing a program.
multi-tasking
Unix and Windows 2000 are examples of _______________ operating systems.
An operator allows you to perform operations on one or more pieces of data.
Which of the following best describes an operator?
Preprocessor
Which of the following is not one of the five major components of a computer system?
Low-level language
used for communication with computer hardware directly. Often written in binary machine code (0's/1's) directly.
algorithm
set of well-defined steps.
Program
A(n) ____________ is a set of instructions that the computer follows to solve a problem.
Input Devices
Devices that send information to the computer from outside Examples: Keyboard, mouse, scanner, digital camera, microphone
A hard disk
An example of a secondary storage device is:
Key Words Programmer-Defined Identifiers Operators Punctuation Syntax
Common elements in programming languages
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is comprised of:
Control Unit Retrieves and decodes program instructions Coordinates activities of all other parts of computer Arithmetic & Logic Unit Hardware optimized for high-speed numeric calculation Hardware designed for true/false, yes/no decisions
High-level language
closer to human language
Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)
combine all the tools needed to write, compile, and debug a program into a single software application. Examples are Microsoft Visual C++, Turbo C++ Explorer, CodeWarrior, etc.
Object-Oriented programming
focus is on objects, which contain data and the means to manipulate the data. Messages sent to objects to perform operations.
Procedural programming
focus is on the process. Procedures/functions are written to process data.
Program
instructions in computer memory to make it do something
Programmer
person who writes instructions (programs) to make computer perform a task
Computer
programmable machine designed to follow instructions
System software
programs that manage the computer hardware and the programs that run on them. Examples: operating systems, utility programs, software development tools
Application software
programs that provide services to the user. Examples : word processing, games, programs to solve specific problems
