ICT: Chapter 1 - Types and components of computer systems

Motherboard

a printed circuit found in all computers.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

an electronic circuit board in a computer that can execute instructions from a computer program.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

an internal chip where data is temporarily stored when running applications.

Read-only Memory (ROM)

a memory used to store information that needs to be permanent.

Network Interface Card (NIC)

a component that allows a computer or any other device to be connected to a network.

Sound Card

an integrated circuit board that provides a computer with the ability to produce sounds.

Graphics Card

a device that allows the computer to send graphical information to a video display.

Internal Storage Devices

magnetic in nature and are one of the main methods for storing data.

Word Processing Software

software used to manipulate a text document.

Spreadsheet Software

used to organise and manipulate numerical data.

Database Software

used to organise, manipulate and analyse data.

Control and Measurement Software

designed to allow a computer (or microprocessor) to interface with sensors.

Applets

small applications that perform a single task on a device.

Apps

software which can perform a fairly substantial task.

Video Editing Software

software that allows user the ability to manipulate videos to produce a new one.

Graphics Editing Software

software that allows bitmap and vector images to be changed.

Audio Editing Software

software that allows user to edit, manipulate and generate audio data on a computer.

Computer-aided Design (CAD)

software used to help in the creation, manipulation, modification and analysis of a drawing/design.

Compilers

a computer program that translates a program written in a high-level language into machine code.

Linkers

a computer program that takes object files produced by a compiler and combines them into a single program that can be run pm a computer.

Device Drivers

software that enables one or more hardware devices to communicate with the computer's operating system.

Operating System (OS)

software running in the background of a computer. Manages the basic functions.

Utility Software

software that has been designed to carry out specific tasks (e.g. antivirus, file management etc).

BIOS (basic input/output system)

code that tells the computer what to do when it boots up.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

requires user to type in instructions to choose options from menus, open software etc.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

allows the user to interact with a computer using icons.

Dialogue Based Interface

uses the human voice to give commands to a computer system.

Gesture Based Interface

relies on human interaction by the moving of hands, heads, or feet.

Augmented Reality (AR)

allows the user to experience the relationship between digital and physical worlds.

Virtual Reality (VR)

the ability to take the user out of the real-world environment into a virtual digital environment.