Computer Fundamentals: History and Components

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the history of computing, hardware categories, memory types, and operating system fundamentals based on the lecture transcript.

Mechanical Computers

19th-century machines designed to perform calculations automatically, introducing the idea of programmable systems.

Charles Babbage

Known as the “Father of Computers,” he ushered in the concept of a programmable general-purpose computer with his design of the Analytical Machine.

Ada Lovelace

Often considered the first computer programmer, she worked on Babbage’s Analytical Engine and recognized its potential beyond simple calculation.

Alan Turing

Famous for cracking the Enigma Machine code and developing the principle of the Turing Machine and the theory of being Turing complete.

ENIAC

The first electronic and general-purpose computer, which utilized vacuum tubes for storing and loading data.

Microprocessors

Consolidated semiconductor components packaged onto chips, with early advancements including the Intel 4004, 8008, and 8080.

x86-64

The primary processor architecture used by the majority of modern computers, produced mainly by Intel and AMD.

ARM

A type of processor architecture used by companies like Apple for their computer systems.

Personal Computer

The most common type of computer used by the general population for productivity tasks, improved from the microcomputer models of the 1970s and 1980s.

Servers

Computers designed to make programs and data available to users on a network rather than being used directly.

Mainframes

Huge, multi-user systems designed for massive processing jobs in government agencies or large corporations, such as the IBM Z lineup.

Supercomputers

Ultra-fast computers designed to process huge amounts of scientific data and discover underlying patterns; they primarily run Linux.

Input Devices

Any machine that feeds data into a computer, such as a mouse, keyboard, controller, or stylus.

Output Devices

Computer hardware that communicates the results of data processing, such as a monitor, printer, projector, or speaker.

Primary Memory

The main components responsible for storing data for computer function, including the Volatile RAM and Non-Volatile BIOS ROM.

RAM Stick (DIMM)

A volatile form of primary memory that can hold up to $64\,GB$ per stick.

Storage Devices

Also known as secondary memory, these devices or mediums store data through power cycles, including Hard Drives, Flash Drives, and Floppy Disks.

Floppy Disk

A storage medium with a capacity of approximately $1.44\,Mb$.

Software

A set of instructions to run on a computer or the term for information recorded onto a medium.

System Software

Software responsible for integrating hardware via the Kernel and Drivers, forming part of the Operating System.

Application Software

Userland software that runs on top of the Operating System and away from the Kernel level to perform specific tasks.

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

A text-based system software stored in ROM that kickstarts hardware before handing control to the Bootloader.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

A modern version of the BIOS that features a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and support for mouse usage.

Bootloader

System software run by the BIOS that loads critical OS components like the Kernel; examples include Windows Boot Manager and GRUB.

Operating System (OS)

System software that manages computer hardware and system resources, such as Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, and Unix.

Kernel

The first process that runs in the OS, handling critical system calls and communicating with the hardware.

Monolithic Kernel

A kernel type where all of the operating system runs under the Kernel Space, used by Linux and BSD.

Microkernel

A design that keeps only the bare minimum required components in Kernel Space, while other OS components reside in User Space.

Hybrid Kernel

A mix of Monolithic and Microkernel aspects, used by Windows (NT Kernel) and macOS (XNU Kernel).

MS DOS

The predominant text-based operating system for x86 PCs from the 1980s until the millennium.

Device Drivers

Software that allows hardware to work with the OS; missing or improper drivers can cause the system to crash or Kernel Panic.

Kernel Panic

An extreme case of system failure in Linux or macOS where the operating system cannot function and requires a restart.

File Extensions

Suffixes separated by a dot that define a file's format, such as .DLL (libraries), .INI (configs), .ZIP (compressed), or .MKV (video).

Malware / Viruses

Malicious software that runs without user knowledge, often concealed in infected executables.