WGU C952 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS

WGU C952 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS

Question:
1. Register File
Answer:
A state element that consists of a set of registers that can be read and written by supplying a register
number to be accessed.
provides 1024 scalar 32-bit registers for up to 64 threads.

Question:
2. machine language
Answer:
The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used directly by the computer

Question:
3. system software
Answer:
The set of programs that enables a computer's hardware devices and application software to work together;
it includes the operating system and utility programs.

Question:
4. operating system
Answer:
(computer science) software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various
services

Question:
5. Assembly Language
Answer:
Programming language that has the same structure and set of commands as machine languages but allows
programmers to use symbolic representations of numeric machine code.

Question:
6. IBM 360/91
Answer:
Introduced many new concepts, including dynamic detection of memory hazards, generalized forwarding,
and reservation stations. Tomasulo's algorithm
The internal organization of the 360/91 shares many features with the Pentium III and Pentium 4, as well
as with several other microprocessors. One major difference was that there was no branch prediction in the
360/91 and hence no speculation. Another major difference was that there was no commit unit, so once the
instructions finished execution, they updated the registers.

Question:
7. Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)

,Answer:
Memory built as an integrated circuit; it provides random access to any location. Access times are 50
nanoseconds and cost per gigabyte in 2012 was $5 to $10.
Multiple DRAMs are used together to contain the instructions and data of a program. In contrast to
sequential access memories, such as magnetic tapes, the RAM portion of the term DRAM means that
memory accesses take basically the same amount of time no matter what portion of the memory is read.
Modern DRAMS consist of rows in each bank

Question:
8. frame buffering
Answer:
A portion of RAM containing a bitmap that drives a video display. It is a memory buffer containing a
complete frame of data.
The image to be represented onscreen is stored in the frame buffer, and the bit pattern per pixel is read out
to the graphics display at the refresh rate. The animation below shows a frame buffer with a simplified
design of just 4 bits per pixel.

Question:
9. Datapath
Answer:
The component of the processor that performs arithmetic operations

Question:
10. Control
Answer:
The component of the processor that commands the datapath, memory, and I/O devices according to the
instructions of the program.

Question:
11. Integrated circuit
Answer:
Also called a chip. A device combining dozens to millions of transistors.

Question:
12. Central processor unit (CPU)
Answer:
Also called processor. The active part of the computer, which contains the datapath and control and which
adds numbers, tests numbers, signals I/O devices to activate, and so on.

Question:
13. Static random access memory (SRAM)
Answer:
Also memory built as an integrated circuit, but faster and less dense than DRAM.

Question:
14. Instruction set architecture

,Answer:
Also called architecture. An abstract interface between the hardware and the lowest-level software that
encompasses all the information necessary to write a machine language program that will run correctly,
including instructions, registers, memory access, I/O, and so on.

Question:
15. Application binary interface (ABI)
Answer:
The user portion of the instruction set plus the operating system interfaces used by application
programmers. It defines a standard for binary portability across computers.

Question:
16. Volatile memory
Answer:
Storage, such as DRAM, that retains data only if it is receiving power.

Question:
17. Nonvolatile Memory
Answer:
A form of memory that retains data even in the absence of a power source and that is used to store
programs between runs. A DVD disk is nonvolatile.

Question:
18. Magnetic disk
Answer:
Also called hard disk. A form of nonvolatile secondary memory composed of rotating platters coated with
a magnetic recording material. Because they are rotating mechanical devices, access times are about 5 to
20 milliseconds and cost per gigabyte in 2012 was $0.05 to $0.10

Question:
19. Main memory
Answer:
Also called primary memory. Memory used to hold programs while they are running; typically consists of
DRAM in today's computers.

Question:
20. Secondary memory
Answer:
Nonvolatile memory used to store programs and data between runs; typically consists of flash memory in
PMDs and magnetic disks in servers.

Question:
21. Flash memory
Answer:
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory. It is cheaper and slower than DRAM but more expensive per bit
and faster than magnetic disks. Access times are about 5 to 50 microseconds and cost per gigabyte in 2012
was $0.75 to $1.00.

, Question:
22. Single Instruction Single Data (SISD)
Answer:
A uniprocessor

Question:
23. Multiple Instruction Multiple Data (MIMD)
Answer:
A multiprocessor.

Question:
24. Single Program, Multiple Data Streams (SPMD)
Answer:
The conventional MIMD programming model, where a single program runs across all processors.

Question:
25. Single Instruction Stream, Multiple Data Streams (SIMD)
Answer:
The same instruction is applied to many data streams, as in a vector processor.

Question:
26. Data-level parallelism
Answer:
Parallelism achieved by performing the same operation on independent data

Question:
27. vector-based code
Answer:

Question:
28. conventional code
Answer:

Question:
29. LEGv8
Answer:
assembly instructions

Question:
30. multimedia extensions (MMX)
Answer:
An expanded set of instructions supported by a processor that provides multimedia-specific functions.

Question:
31. data hazard (pipeline data hazard)