IB COMP SCI IMPORTANT VOCAB

Hardware

Physical component devices that are the building blocks of computing devices. Eg. CPU, RAM

Software

Any set of machine-readable instructions which direct a computer's processor to perform specific operations.

Peripheral

A piece of hardware that is externally connected to a the computer system; such as a keyboard;

Network

A telecommunications network that allows computers to exchange data.

Human Resources

The set of individuals that make up the workforce of an organization.

Client

A piece of computer hardware that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the server by a network.

Server

A computer program or device that provides functionality to other devices called "clients".

DNS Server

Translates human-written domain names to their corresponding machine-readable IP addresses.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server

Enables computers to request IP addresses and networking parameters immediately, eliminating the need for a network administrator to configure these settings manually.

Email Server

A software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using a client-server architecture.

Router

A networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks.

Firewall

A network security system that monitors network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Monitors traffic going into and out of the network and can block suspicious traffic.

Prototype Purpose

Prototypes allow a client to see and interact with a rough version of the system, which can help them understand how the system works and visualize the final product and how it may fit into their organization.

Change Management

Identifying, documenting and approving or rejecting changes to a system in production.

Acceptance Testing

Performed by customers or relevant stakeholders to validate whether the system is ready for deployment.

Beta Testing

Form of UAT, a beta version of the system is released to a limited audience outside the programming team for a fresh pair of eyes to assess the system's functionality.

Debugging

Process of finding and resolving defects that prevent efficient operation of the system.

Parallel Running

When the new system is used while the old system is also still in use

Phased Implementation

Small parts of the new system gradually replace the old system.

Pilot Implementation

When a small group of people use the new system before it is released to the wider public

Direct Implementation

The new system is implemented without any pilot or phased implementation.

Data Migration

Moving data from one system to another is called transferring the data. When you permanently move data from one system to another, you are migrating the data.

Usability

The degree to which a software can be used by specified users to achieve quantified objectives with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a quantified context of use.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The electronic circuitry that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output operations.

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Data is loaded into the ALU from an input register. The ALU performs arithmetic and logical operations on the data and stores the result in an output register.

Control Unit (CU)

Coordinates the movement of data between the components of the CPU and manages the flow of control within the CPU.

Program Counter (PC)

Stores the address of the next instruction.

Memory Address Register (MAR)

Stores the address of the current instruction being decoded and executed.

Memory Data Register (MDR)

Stores the data that has been fetched from or is to be sent to, primary memory (input / output).

Current Instruction Register (CIR)

Stores the current instruction being decoded or executed.

Accumulator (ACC)

Stores the result of operations.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Where instructions and data are stored at runtime. RAM can be accessed a lot faster than secondary storage. All data and instructions in RAM are lost when the power is turned off (volatile)

Read Only Memory (ROM)

Non-volatile, is used to store programs permanently Eg. start-up or "boot" instructions. Can not be written to easily or at all

Cache Memory

Used to reduce the average memory access time by storing frequently accessed data closer to the CPU than RAM.

Machine Instruction Cycle

Describes the order that instructions are processed in a computer: Fetch, Decode, Execute, Store.

Persistent Storage

Non-volatile storage that is needed when the system is turned off, another process requires volatile memory, or there is a need to store data during and after running a program.

Operating System (OS)

The most crucial software in running the computer. The OS manages the entire computer's resources and provides common services.

Virtual Memory

The OS is able to extend available memory by creating virtual memory on a portion of the hard disk.

Binary

Base-2 number system that assigns numerical values to two different symbols, 0 (zero) and 1 (one).

Bit

One binary digit.

Byte

A unit of information made up of 8 adjacent bits.

Hexadecimal

Base 16 number system.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area Eg. residence, school, etc.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A computer network that extends over a large geographical area. Eg. businesses, governments, etc

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

A network that groups together subsets of computers using the same LAN and isolating their traffic.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

Provides access to consolidated block level data storage.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

A wireless distribution method for devices using high frequency radio waves and an access point to the internet.

Internet

A global system of interconnected computer networks that use the internet protocol suite to link devices worldwide.

Intranet

A private network accessible only to an organization's staff.

Extranet

An extended form of an intranet that allows controlled access to external users, such as business partners, suppliers, or customers.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Extends a private network over a public network enabling users to send and receive data across public networks as if their computers were directly connected to a private network.

Personal Area Network (PAN)

Used for data transmissions across personal devices.

Peer to Peer (P2P)

P2P computing is a distributed application architecture that equally divides tasks peers.

Packet

A basic unit of communication over a digital network.

Packet Switching

A method of breaking down data into packets before forwarding them over a network where it is resembled.

Encryption

Process of encoding data in order to allow only authorized users to access it and making it unreadable for unauthorized users.

Tunneling

Allows private network communications to be sent over public networks through means of encapsulation.

Protocol

Provide a set of rules that govern how devices in networks communicate with each other.

Static Data Structure

Store a set of data where the memory size allocated to the data is static.

Dynamic Data Structure

A data structure that can change in size during runtime, allowing efficient memory usage by allocating and deallocating memory as needed.

Array

Used to hold values of the same type in contiguous memory locations.

Two-Dimensional Array

A data structure that organizes and stores elements in rows and columns, visualized as a table.

Stack

An abstract data type with push and pop operations following last in - first out (LIFO).

Queue

An abstract data collection with enqueue and dequeue operations following first in first out (FIFO).

Linked List

A linear collection of self-referential structures called nodes each pointing to the next node by means of a pointer.

Doubly Linked List

A linked list that consists of a set of sequentially linked records called nodes with pointers to both next and previous nodes.

Circularly Linked Lists

When the last node of the linked list points to the first node of the list.

Tree

An abstract data type that simulates a hierarchical tree structure, with a root value and subtrees of children with a parent node.

Parent (Tree)

A node that has one or more child nodes.

Left-Child

The left node is directly connected to a parent in a binary tree.

Right-Child

The right node is directly connected to a parent in a binary tree.

Subtree

A smaller tree that exists within a larger tree, originating from any node.

Root

The topmost node in a tree, having no parent.

Leaf

A node with no children, representing the end of a branch.

Collection

An object that groups multiple elements into a single unit.

Recursion

The process of a subroutine calling itself. A method where the solution to the problem depends on solutions to smaller instances of the same problem.

Control System

Manages, commands, directs or regulates the behaviour of other systems using control loops.

Control Loop

A programming structure that repeats a block of code multiple times based on specific conditions.

Autonomous Agent

Software entities that carry out a set of operations on behalf of a user with some degree of autonomy.

Source Code

What a developer writes.

Compiler

Application that turns source code into machine readable code.

Assembly

A low level source language specific to a machine or application.

Bytecode

A low level binary representation of code.

Machine Code

A binary representation of code that can be run directly by hardware.

Interpreted Language

Uses an interpreter to translate into machine code line by line during execution.

Device Driver

Provides a software interface to hardware devices, enables operating systems to access hardware functions.

Firmware

Computer software that provides low level control for a device's specific hardware.