intro to comp flashcards
Data Storage
The process of storing and organizing data in a computer system.
Computational Artifact
A creation or representation made using computational tools or techniques.
Abstractions
Simplified representations or models used to understand complex systems or concepts.
Binary Sequences
Sequences of 0s and 1s used to represent digital data in computers.
Levels of Abstractions
Different layers or levels of complexity used when writing computer programs.
Data Representation
The way data is encoded or represented in a computer system.
Boolean Operations
Operations that manipulate true/false values, such as AND, OR, XOR, and NOT.
Gates
Devices or circuits that perform Boolean operations.
Flip-flops
Circuits built from gates that act as a fundamental unit of computer memory.
Hexadecimal Notation
A shorthand notation for representing long bit patterns using groups of four bits.
Main Memory
The primary storage area in a computer system.
Memory Addresses
"Names" or numbers that uniquely identify cells in the computer's main memory.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Memory in which individual cells can be easily accessed in any order.
Memory Capacity
The amount of data that can be stored in a memory device, measured in kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes.
Mass Storage
Devices or technologies used for long-term storage of data, such as magnetic disks, CDs, DVDs, and flash drives.
Bandwidth
The total amount of bits that can be transferred in a unit of time.
Latency
The total time between the request for data transfer and its arrival.
Binary Notation
The representation of numbers using bits in base two.
Representing Text
The encoding of text characters using bit patterns, such as ASCII and Unicode.
Representing Numeric Values
The representation of numbers using binary notation.
Representing Images
Techniques for encoding and representing images using bitmaps or vectors.
Representing Sound
Techniques for encoding and representing sound using sampling or MIDI.
The Binary System
A number system based on powers of two, used in computer systems.
Two's Complement Notation
A popular means of representing integer values in binary form.
The Problem of Overflow
The issue of representing values that fall outside the range of representation in a computer system.
Excess Notation
A means of representing integer values using a bias or offset.
Floating-Point Notation
A representation of real numbers using a sign bit, mantissa field, and exponent field.
Truncation Errors
Errors that occur when a floating-point number is rounded or truncated, leading to loss of precision.
Value loss in storage
Occur when part of the value being stored is lost because the mantissa is not large enough.
Non-terminating expansions of fractions
This happens more often with binary notation.
Order of addition
The order in which values are added can lead to two different results.
Adding small values to large values
Adding very small values to very large values can result in errors.
Numerical Analysis
The study of dealing with problems when computing large values that require significant accuracy.
Programming Language
A computer system created to allow humans to precisely express algorithms using a higher level of abstraction.
Python
A popular programming language for applications, scientific computation, and as an introductory language for students.
Variables
Name values for later use, analogous to mathematical variables in algebra.
Operators and Expressions
Perform operations and evaluate expressions in programming.
Currency Conversion
A converter for currency exchange using exchange rates.
Debugging
Identifying and fixing errors in code, including syntax errors, semantic errors, and runtime errors.
Data Compression
Techniques used to reduce the size of data for storage or transmission.
Lossy versus lossless
Different approaches to data compression, with lossy sacrificing some data quality for higher compression rates.
Run-length encoding
A compression technique that replaces repeated sequences of data with a single value and count.
Compressing Images
Different compression formats suitable for different types of images, such as GIF, JPEG, and TIFF.
Compressing Audio and Video
Compression techniques used for audio and video files, such as MPEG and MP3.
Communication Errors
Techniques to reduce errors and increase the reliability of computing equipment during communication.
Parity Bits
Additional bits used to detect errors in data transmission.
Error-Correcting Codes
Codes used to detect and correct errors in data transmission.
ASCII Codes
The ASCII codes for the letters A and F adjusted for odd parity.