Itec1000 Midterm: Chapter 1 Computers and Systems

Chapter 1: Computers and Systems

• 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.

Chapter 2: An Introduction to System Concepts

• 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.

Chapter 3: Number Systems

• 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.

Quiz on Chapter 1 of Introduction to Information Technologies (York University) covering computer systems architecture.