Chapter 1 (CSCI 1301)

Hardware

is the physical aspect of the computer that can be touched

Software

are the invisible instructions that control the hardware and make it perform tasks.

CPU

is a computer's brain. It retrieves instructions from memory and executes them. (Central Processing Unit)

Main memory

stores data and program instructions for the CPU to execute. It is volatile, because information is lost when the power is turned off. (RAM)

Auxillery memory

Secondary memory, nonvolatile (Hard drives, CDS, etc)

Hard Drive

stores programs and data permanently

High-Level Language

is English-like, easy to learn and use.

Assembly Language

uses short descriptive word to represent each of the machine-language instructions.

Machine Language

is computer's native language.

Compiler

translates the entire source code into a machine-code file.

Interpreter

reads one statement from the source file, translates it to the machine code, and executes it.

Source Code

is a program written in a high-level programming language.

Assembler

is a program that translates assembly-language code into machine code.

Multiprocessing

runs multiple programs concurrently using multiple processors.

Multiprogramming

runs multiple programs sharing CPU.

Operating System

manages and controls a computer's activities.

Multithreading

runs multiple tasks within one program concurrently.

IDE

stands for Integrated Development Environment. It is a tool that combines many functions into one program for quickly developing Java programs.

JRE

stands for Java Runtime Environment. It is the program for running a Java program.

API

stands for Application Program Interface. It contains predefined classes and interfaces for developing Java programs.

JDK

stands for Java Development Toolkit. It contains several separate programs for compiling, running, and testing Java programs.

Line Comment

is preceded by two slashes.

Paragraph Comment

is enclosed between /* and */.

Console

refers to the text entry and display device of a computer

Keywords

are reserved words, have a specific meaning to the compiler and cannot be used for other purpose.

Comment

is for documenting a program

State Terminator

is the semicolon (;). Every statement in Java must end with a semicolon.

JVM

stands for Java Virtual Machine. It is a program for executing Java programs. It is also known as Java runtime environment.

java Command

is to run a Java program from the command line.

Bytecode

is created by the Java compiler for execution. It is platform neutral.

Bytecode Verifier

is a program that tests whether the bytecode is valid.

Class Loader

is a program that dynamically loads Java bytecode to the Java Virtual Machine.

javac Command

is to compile a Java program from the command line.

Logic Error

occurs when a program does not perform its intended task.

Runtime Error

causes a program to terminate abnormally.

Syntax Error

is detected by the compiler.