Itec1000 Midterm: Chapter 1 Computers and Systems

Study Notes

The architecture of the computer system has changed only slightly since the late 1940s.
A computer system's work can be characterized by input, processing, and output.
Network interfaces must conform to standard agreements (protocols) for messages to be understood between computers.
The components of an individual computer system consist of processing hardware, input devices, output devices, storage devices, and application software.
The computer hardware provides the physical mechanisms to input and output data, manipulate and process data, and electronically control the various components.
Data must be represented in binary form to be manipulated and processed by a computer.
The conceptual view of a CPU includes the ALU, Control Unit, and Interface Unit, but not the Main Memory.
The main memory (primary storage, RAM) holds program instructions and data.
The stored program concept is the idea that program instructions and data are both stored in memory while being processed.
The operating system's kernel module provides internal services, and the application program interface (API) acts as an interface for application programs to access these services.
The bootstrap program is stored in ROM and is used to test the system when the computer is started.
Unicode is a character encoding standard, while MPEG-4 is a video standard, and MP3 is an audio standard.

A computer operating system is a conceptual system.
The environment is everything outside the system boundary.
Subsystems are components of a larger system.
The division of a system or subsystem into its components and linkages is called decomposition.
An abstract description of system architecture includes system constraints, system interconnections, and linkages among components, but not physical location.
The system architecture representation of the flow and processing of data within an organization is called a three-tier architecture.
Scalability is the ability of a system to handle a growing amount of work.
Information availability is the ability of a system to allow access to information when it is needed.
Data security is the ability of a system to protect data against unauthorized access or modification.
System administration is the ability of a system to allow configuration, monitoring, and maintaining operation.
A client-server architecture involves multiple computers, where the client requests services from the server.
Middleware is software designed to handle potential incompatibilities between application software that resides on different equipment.
An intranet is an organization's internal network.

The number of binary digits required to represent a decimal number depends on the decimal number's value.
The largest number that can be represented in 8 bits without considering a sign is 255.
The largest single digit in octal is 7.
The largest single digit in hexadecimal is F.
The number of different items that can be represented by a given number of digits, n, in a particular base, b, is given by the formula bn.
The digit with the greatest weight (value) in a number is called the most significant digit.
A single digit that can have only one of two values, 0 or 1, is a bit.
The base 8 number system is called octal, and the base 2 number system is called binary.
Shifting bits to the left or right can be used to multiply or divide a number by its base.