Digital Information and Computing

Flashcards for reviewing key terms and concepts from the Digital Information and Computing unit.

What is binary in the context of digital information?

A way of representing information using only two options.

What is a decimal in the context of digital information?

A way of representing information using ten options.

What is a bit?

A contraction of 'Binary Digit'; the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1.

How many bits are in a byte?

8 bits

What is an overflow error?

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too large.

What is a round-off error?

Error from attempting to represent a number that is too precise. The value is rounded.

What is analog data?

Data with values that change continuously, or smoothly, over time. Examples include music, colors of a painting, or position of a sprinter during a race.

What is digital data?

Data that changes discretely through a finite set of possible values

What is sampling in the context of digital data?

A process for creating a digital representation of analog data by measuring the analog data at regular intervals called samples.

What is lossless compression?

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something without losing any information. This process is reversible.

What is lossy compression?

A process for reducing the number of bits needed to represent something in which some information is lost or thrown away. This process is not reversible.

What is intellectual property?

A work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a piece of writing or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

What is Creative Commons?

A collection of public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work, used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created

What is a computing device?

A machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors

What is a computing system?

A group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

What is a computing network?

A group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

What is a 'path' in the context of computing networks?

The series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver.

What is bandwidth?

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.

What is a protocol?

An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system

What is an IP address?

The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

A protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device

What is a router?

A type of computer that forwards data across a network

What is a packet?

A chunk of data sent over a network. Larger messages are divided into packets that may arrive at the destination in order, out-of-order, or not at all.

What is redundancy in computing networks?

The inclusion of extra components so that a system can continue to work even if individual components fail, for example by having more than one path between any two connected devices in a network.

What does it mean for a system to be fault tolerant?

Can continue to function even in the event of individual component failures.

What is HTTP?

HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet

What is Domain Name System (DNS)?

The system responsible for translating domain names like example.com into IP addresses

What is the Internet?

A computer network consisting of interconnected networks that use standardized, open (nonproprietary) communication protocols.

What is the World Wide Web?

A system of linked pages, programs, and files.

What is the digital divide?

Differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic characteristics

What is a User Interface?

The inputs and outputs that allow a user to interact with a piece of software. User interfaces can include a variety of forms such as buttons, menus, images, text, and graphics.

What is input in computing?

Data that are sent to a computer for processing by a program. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

What is output in computing?

Any data that are sent from a program to a device. Can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile interaction, audio, visuals, or text.

What is a program statement?

A command or instruction. Sometimes also referred to as a code statement.

What is a program?

A collection of program statements. Programs run (or “execute”) one command at a time.

What is Sequential Programming?

Program statements run in order, from top to bottom.

What is event driven programming?

Some program statements run when triggered by an event, like a mouse click or a key press

What is documentation in programming?

A written description of how a command or piece of code works or was developed.

What is a comment in programming?

Form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and which do not affect how a program runs.

What is pair programming?

A collaborative programming style in which two programmers switch between the roles of writing code and tracking or planning high level progress

What is debugging?

Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.