IBCSHL

Topic 1: Systems in Organizations

Stakeholder: Individual or group affected by or with an interest in a system’s development, deployment, or operation.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Web-hosted software accessed online; provider handles all maintenance, updates, and infrastructure.

Change Management: Structured plan for introducing new systems through training, communication, and stakeholder involvement.

Parallel Running: Simultaneously operating legacy and new systems to compare outputs and ensure accuracy before full switch.

Pilot Running: Limited trial of a new system in one department or user group to detect issues before organization-wide rollout.

Direct Changeover: Immediate replacement of the old system with the new one at a predetermined time, minimizing overlap.

Phased Conversion: Gradual implementation of system components in stages, reducing risk by limiting each change’s scope.

Data Migration: Process of transferring, mapping, cleansing, and validating data from an old system to a new one.

Testing Strategy: Comprehensive plan outlining unit, integration, system, and user-acceptance tests to verify functionality.

User Documentation: Guides and manuals that explain system features, workflows, and troubleshooting for end users.

Training Methods: Techniques (e.g., workshops, tutorials, e-learning) used to teach users how to operate the new system.

Data Backup: Regular copying of data (full, incremental, differential) to secure storage to prevent loss.

On-Premises: System hosted locally by the organization’s own servers.

Cloud: System hosted by a third-party provider and accessed over the internet.

Topic 2: Computer Organization

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): CPU component performing arithmetic and logical operations.

Control Unit (CU): CPU part that decodes instructions and orchestrates data flow between registers and ALU.

Register: Small, fast storage location in the CPU that holds instructions, addresses, or data temporarily.

MAR (Memory Address Register): Holds the memory address for read or write operations.

MDR (Memory Data Register): Contains the data being transferred to or from memory.

Fetch–Decode–Execute Cycle: Sequence where the CPU retrieves an instruction, decodes it, executes it, then stores results.

Data Bus: Carries actual data between CPU, memory, and peripherals.

Address Bus: Carries memory addresses specifying where data should be read or written.

RAM (Random Access Memory): Volatile read/write memory for active processes.

ROM (Read-Only Memory): Non-volatile memory containing permanent firmware or boot instructions.

Cache (L1, L2, L3): Hierarchical small, fast memory close to the CPU to speed up access to frequently used data.

Persistent Storage: Non-volatile secondary storage (e.g., HDD, SSD) that retains data when power is off.

Boolean Operator: Logic gate function (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR) evaluating true/false.

Logic Circuit: Network of logic gates implementing Boolean functions.

Truth Table: Tabular representation showing outputs for all possible input combinations to a logic circuit.

ASCII: 7-bit encoding standard for 128 characters.

Unicode: Variable-length encoding supporting over a million code points for global scripts.

Topic 3: Networks

LAN (Local Area Network): Network covering a small geographic area, like an office.

WAN (Wide Area Network): Network spanning large geographic areas, such as multiple cities.

VLAN (Virtual LAN): Logical segmentation within a LAN to separate traffic into distinct broadcast domains.

Router: Device that directs packets between different networks based on IP addresses.

Switch: Device that connects devices within a LAN using MAC addresses to forward frames.

OSI Model: Seven-layer framework for network design; Layer 4 (Transport) provides host-to-host communication via TCP/UDP.

Transport Layer: Ensures reliable end-to-end data transfer and error recovery (TCP) or supports faster, connectionless transfer (UDP).

Proxy Server: Intermediary that forwards requests, caches responses, and filters content on behalf of clients.

VPN (Virtual Private Network): Encrypted connection creating a secure tunnel over public networks.

IPv4: 32-bit addressing scheme offering ~4.3 billion unique addresses.

IPv6: 128-bit addressing scheme supporting a vastly larger address space.

Tunneling: Encapsulating one protocol within another to secure data or cross incompatible networks.

DNS (Domain Name System): Translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.

Packet Structure: Data unit comprised of Header (control info), Payload (user data), and Trailer (error-checking).

Packet Switching: Sending data in discrete packets over shared network paths.

Circuit Switching: Establishing a dedicated path for the duration of a communication session.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Connection-oriented protocol providing reliable, ordered delivery.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol): Connectionless protocol offering low-latency transmission without guaranteed delivery.

Flow Control: Mechanisms (e.g., windowing) to prevent sender from overwhelming receiver or network.

Lossy Compression: Reduces data size by discarding some information (e.g., JPEG).

Lossless Compression: Reduces size without losing any original data (e.g., ZIP).

Wi-Fi: Wireless LAN technology for local connectivity.

Bluetooth: Short-range wireless technology for WPAN.

Li-Fi: Wireless communication using light.

WiMAX: Metropolitan-area wireless broadband.

WEP: Obsolete wireless encryption protocol.

WPA/WPA2: Current wireless security protocols with stronger encryption.

Topic 4: Computational Thinking & Problem Solving

Algorithm: Ordered set of steps to solve a problem or perform a task.

Sub-Procedure: Named block of code performing a specific function, improving modularity.

Abstraction: Reducing complexity by focusing on main ideas and hiding details.

Boolean Expression: Combination of variables and operators evaluating to true or false.

Two-Dimensional Array: Grid-like data structure accessed by row and column indices.

Concurrent Processing: Execution of multiple tasks or threads overlapping in time.

Pre-Condition: Condition that must be true before code execution.

Post-Condition: Guaranteed state after code execution.

Exception Handling: Techniques for catching and managing runtime errors gracefully.

Flowchart: Diagrammatic representation of algorithm steps and decision points.

Topic 5: Data Structures, Recursion & Algorithms

Stack: LIFO data structure where push adds to top and pop removes from top.

Queue: FIFO data structure where enqueue adds to rear and dequeue removes from front.

Priority Queue: Structure where elements are dequeued based on priority rather than order.

Circular Queue: Fixed-size queue where the end wraps to the front when space is free.

Linked List: Sequence of nodes, each with data and pointer(s) to other nodes.

Binary Search Tree (BST): Ordered tree structure where left child < parent < right child.

Tree Traversals: Inorder (L→Root→R), Preorder (Root→L→R), Postorder (L→R→Root).

Recursion: Technique where a function calls itself with smaller input until a base case.

Big O Notation: Notation describing time/space complexity as input size grows.

Topic 6: Resource Management

Bandwidth Allocation: Assigning network capacity to applications to maintain performance.

Paging: Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks for efficient management.

Virtual Memory: Using disk space to extend RAM, allowing larger programs to run.

Print Spooling: Queueing print jobs to allow CPU to continue other work.

Virtualization: Creating virtual instances of hardware or OS environments for isolation.

Topic 7: Control Systems

Centralised Control: Single controller processes inputs and drives outputs for the whole system.

Distributed Control: Multiple controllers that process inputs and coordinate outputs independently.

Sensor: Device that measures physical quantities (e.g., temperature).

Actuator: Component that converts control signals into physical actions.

Open-Loop System: Control without feedback; input is not adjusted based on output.

Closed-Loop System: Control with feedback; output is measured and used to adjust input.

Fault Tolerance: System’s ability to continue operating despite component failures.

Autonomous Agent: Independent unit that makes decisions based on local data in a distributed system.

Topic D: Object-Oriented Programming

Class: Blueprint defining attributes and methods.

Object: Instance of a class with specific attribute values.

Encapsulation: Restricting access to internal data via private attributes and public methods.

Inheritance: Mechanism where a subclass acquires properties and methods from a parent class.

Polymorphism: Ability for different classes to respond to the same method call uniquely.

Abstract Class: Class that cannot be instantiated and may include both implemented and abstract methods.

Interface: Definition of methods without implementation that classes must implement.

Composition: Building complex objects by including instances of other classes rather than inheriting.