Computer Programming Principles Quiz

Study Notes

A computer is an electronic device that stores and processes data
Hardware includes the visible physical components
Software provides invisible instructions to control hardware
A computer's components (CPU, memory, storage, input/output devices, and communication devices) are interconnected by a bus.
A bus acts like a system of roads that enable data and power to travel among components.
The computer's motherboard is a circuit board that connects all components of a computer.
Computers use binary (0s and 1s) to store information.
A bit is the smallest unit of storage in a computer
A byte is composed of eight bits.
Larger units of storage include kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes.
Computer programs, also known as software, provide instructions that tell a computer what to do.
Programming languages such as Java enable people to make programs in easy-to-read languages.

Machine Language- is a computer's native language, a set of built-in instructions in binary code
Assembly Language- uses mnemonics (short descriptive words) to represent machine language instructions
High-Level Languages- close in nature to human languages; platform-independent (run on many systems without changes)

An operating system (OS) controls and manages a computer's activities.
Popular operating systems include Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
An operating system is essential for application programs to run.
Major operating system tasks include controlling and monitoring activities, allocating resources, and scheduling operations

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a multistage process.
The SDLC stages are requirements specification, analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Requirements specification involves defining the problem the software will address.
Analysis focuses on identifying the input and output of the system.
System design involves designing the process for obtaining the output from the input.
Implementation involves translating the system design into programs using a programming language.
Testing ensures that the code meets requirements and fixes bugs.
Deployment involves making software available for use.
Maintenance involves updating, improving, and maintaining the software in an ever-evolving environment.

Java is a popular, high-level, class-based object-oriented programming language.
Java was originally developed by Sun Microsystems and is now owned by Oracle.
Java programs are platform-independent.

JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is the runtime environment for Java programs.
Bytecode is a platform-independent intermediate language produced from a Java source code file by the Java compiler (javac).
JDK is a software development environment that includes the compiler (javac), JRE.
JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is the environment necessary for running compiled bytecode.

Java programmers don't manage memory directly.
Garbage collection is handled automatically by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
The JVM reclaims memory occupied by objects that are no longer referenced by the program.

printf() method is used to format output.
Format rules allow you to specify the format for different types of output (e.g.; strings, integers, floating-point numbers, dates).