Overview of Computers and Programming

Flashcards based on lecture notes about Computer Overview and Programming Fundamentals.

Memory Cells

Cells within the RAM that contains either programming, instructions, or data

Address

The unique location of a memory cell within the RAM

CPU

Central Processing Unit responsible for carrying out arithmetic and logical operations

RAM

Also known as the main memory, is an ordered sequence of memory cells

Secondary Storage

Device that stores information permanently (Ex—Hard disks, Flash drives, CD-ROMS, Cloud storage)

Input Devices

Feed data and programs into computers (Ex—keyboard, mouse, secondary storage)

Output Devices

Display the results (Ex- monitor, printer, secondary storage)

Software

Programs that do specific tasks

System Programs

Runs the computer and keeps it running smoothly

Operating System

Monitors the overall activity of the computer and provides services (Ex—memory management, input/output devices, storage managements)

Application Programs

Programs that do tasks for the user (Ex— word processors, games, spreadsheets, etc.)

Digital Data (Binary Code)

Sequences of 0’s and 1’s

Binary Digits (Bits)

The digit 0 or 1

BYTE

Group of 8 bits that translate into a #, letter, or something else (Ex—01000101=E)

Kilobyte

2^10 bytes = 1024 bytes

ASCII (American Standard for Information Interchange)

A BYTE encoding standard for every character in the english language

Machine Language

The 1st generation of programming languages and the only language a computer recognizes

Assembly Language

The second generation of programming languages where the programmer writes the code as symbolic instructions

Assemblers

Converts code written in assembly language to machine language

Source Program (Code)

Contains the language, instruction, or code to be converted into machine language.

Compiler

Translates a program written in a higher-level language to machine language before executing it

Interpreter

Converts and executes one code statement at a time

Object Code

Source code that has been translated into machine language and can be run by the computer

High-level languages

3rd gen languages that tell the computer what to do and how to do it

Algorithm

Step-by-step problem solving process in which the solution is arrived at in a finite amount of times

Preprocessor

A computer program that modifies data to conform with the input requirements of another program

Structured Design

Diving a complex problem into subproblems (also called top-down/bottom-up/stepwise refinement/modular programming)

Structured Programming

Implementing a structured design

Object-Oriented Design (OOD)

Identifies components call objects and determines how they interact with one another

Object

Contains data and operations on that data

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

A programming language that implements OOD

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Brain of the computer which Carries out arithmetic and logical operations

Main Memory/RAM

All programs must be loaded into it before they can be executed & data must be brought into it before it can be manipulated; When computer power is turned off, everything in it is lost

MACHINE LANGUAGE

Early computers used this language to communicate with each other.

ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE

This language writes the code as symbolic instructions known as a source program that is then translated into machine language by assemblers.

THE 3RD GENERATION OF LANGUAGES

These languages tell the computer what to do and how to accomplish it. The code is then converted by compilers and interpreters into the machine language

PROCESSING A C++ PROGRAM (STEP 2)

Preprocessor directives begin with a # and are processed by the preprocessor

PROGRAMMING WITH THE PROBLEM ANALYSIS CODING-EXECUTION CYCLE

Programming is problem solving via algorithms.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS CODING-EXECUTION CYCLE STEP 1: Analyze the problems

Outline the problem and its requirements and Design steps (algorithm) to solve the problem

PROBLEM ANALYSIS CODING-EXECUTION CYCLE STEP 2: Implement the algorithm

Implement the algorithm in code (write the program) & Verify the algorithm works (test the program)

PROBLEM ANALYSIS CODING-EXECUTION CYCLE STEP 3: Maintain

Use and modify the program if the problem domain changes

STEP 5: Check the correctness of the algorithm

Test using sample data, Some mathematical analysis might be required

STEP 7: Run the code for the compiler

Look at code and remove errors and Run it again through the compiler

FINAL STEP: Execute the program

Compiler guarantees that the program follows the rules of the language but it does not guarantee the program will run correctly

OBJECT-ORIENTED DESIGN (OOD)

Specifies the relevant data and the operations to be performed on the data found within an object.

OBJECT-ORIENTED DESIGN (OOD)

Functions are used to implement algorithms and to combine data and operations on the data into a single unit called an object

What does Bjarne Stroustrup have to do with C++?

C++ evolved from C and was designed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Laboratories in early 1980s