Introduction to Computers,
the Internet and Visual C# 1
Objectives
In this chapter you’ll:
■ Learn basic computer
hardware, software and data
concepts.
■ Be introduced to the different
types of computer
programming languages.
■ Understand the history of the
Visual C# programming
language and the Windows
operating system.
■ Learn what cloud computing
with Microsoft Azure is.
■ Understand the basics of
object technology.
■ Be introduced to the history
of the Internet and the World
Wide Web.
■ Understand the parts that
Windows, .NET, Visual
Studio and C# play in the C#
ecosystem.
■ Test-drive a Visual C#
drawing app.
,2 Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers, the Internet and Visual C#
Self-Review Exercises
1.1 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Computers process data under the control of sequences of instructions called .
ANS: computer programs.
b) A computer consists of various devices referred to as , such as the keyboard,
screen, mouse, hard disks, memory, DVD drives and processing units.
ANS: hardware.
c) Data items processed by computers form a(n) that becomes larger and more
complex in structure as we progress from the simplest data items (called “bits”) to richer
data items, such as characters, fields, and so on.
ANS: data hierarchy.
d) Computers can directly understand only their language, which is composed
only of 1s and 0s.
ANS: machine.
e) The three types of computer programming languages discussed in the chapter are ma-
chine languages, and .
ANS: assembly languages, high-level languages.
f) Programs that translate high-level-language programs into machine language are called
.
ANS: compilers.
g) A(n) processor implements several processors on a single “microchip”—a
dual-core processor has two CPUs and a quad-core processor has four CPUs.
ANS: multicore.
h) Windows 10 introduced the for building Windows apps that run on desktop
computers, notebook computers, tablets, phones, Xbox and even Microsoft’s new
HoloLens augmented reality holographic headset—all using nearly identical code.
ANS: Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
1.2 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Objects, or more precisely the that objects come from, are essentially reusable
software components.
ANS: classes.
b) You send messages to an object. Each message is implemented as a method that
tells a method of the object to perform its task.
ANS: call.
c) A new class of objects can be created quickly and conveniently by ; the new
class absorbs the characteristics of an existing class, possibly customizing them and add-
ing unique characteristics of its own.
ANS: inheritance.
d) To create the best solutions, you should follow a detailed analysis process for determin-
ing your project’s (i.e., defining what the system is supposed to do) and de-
veloping a design that satisfies them (i.e., deciding how the system should do it).
ANS: requirements.
e) Visual C# is driven. You’ll write programs that respond to mouse clicks, key-
strokes, timer expirations and touches and finger swipes.
ANS: event.
f) A key goal of Java is to be able to write programs that will run on a great variety of com-
puter systems and computer-control devices. This is sometimes called .
ANS: write once, run anywhere.
1.3 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
, Self-Review Exercises 3
a) The executes .NET programs.
ANS: Common Language Runtime (CLR) of the .NET Framework.
b) The CLR provides various services to code, such as integrating software com-
ponents written in different .NET languages, error handling between such components,
enhanced security and more.
ANS: managed.
c) The ability of a program to run without modification across multiple platforms is
known as platform .
ANS: independence.
d) Visual Studio is a(n) in which C# programs are developed.
ANS: IDE.
e) You can sell your own Windows Phone apps in the .
ANS: Windows Store.
1.4 State whether each of the following is true or false. If false, explain why.
a) Software objects model both abstract and real-world things.
ANS: True.
b) The most popular database model is the relational database in which data is stored in
simple tables. A table includes records and fields.
ANS: True.
c) A database is a collection of data that’s organized for easy access and manipulation.
ANS: True.
d) Secondary storage data takes much longer to access than data in primary memory, but
the cost per unit of secondary storage is much higher than that of primary memory.
ANS: False: The cost per unit of secondary storage is much lower than that of primary
memory.
e) High-level languages allow you to write instructions that look almost like everyday Eng-
lish and contain commonly used mathematical expressions.
ANS: True.
f) An object has attributes that it carries along as it’s used in a program.
ANS: True.
g) The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ensures that messages, consisting of sequen-
tially numbered pieces called bytes, were properly routed from sender to receiver, ar-
rived intact and were assembled in the correct order
ANS: False. The pieces are called packets, not bytes.
h) The information-carrying capacity of communications lines on the Internet has in-
creased tremendously, while hardware costs have increased.
ANS: False. Hardware costs have decreased.
i) You can build web-based apps with C# and Microsoft’s ASP.NET technology.
ANS: True.
j) Java has become the key programming language for the Mac OS X desktop operating
system and all iOS-based devices, such as iPods, iPhones and iPads.
ANS: False. The language is Swift, not Java.
k) Microsoft’s ASP.WEB technology is used to create web apps.
ANS: False. It’s ASP.NET technology.
l) Microsoft’s Windows operating system is the most widely used desktop operating sys-
tem worldwide.
ANS: True.
1.5 Arrange these byte measurements in order from smallest to largest: terabyte, megabyte,
petabyte, gigabyte and kilobyte.
ANS: kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte.
, 4 Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers, the Internet and Visual C#
1.6 Describe the two-step translation process for preparing your C# code to execute on your
particular computer.
ANS: C# code is first compiled into MSIL and placed in an executable file. When the app
executes, another compiler called the JIT (just-in-time) compiler in the CLR trans-
lates the MSIL in the executable file into machine-language code (for a particular
platform).
Exercises
1.7 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) The programs that run on a computer are referred to as .
ANS: software
b) Systems such as smartphones, appliances, game controllers, cable set-top boxes and au-
tomobiles that contain small computers are called .
ANS: embedded systems
c) Just as characters are composed of bits, are composed of characters or bytes.
ANS: fields
d) Information on secondary storage devices is ; it’s preserved even when the
computer’s power is turned off.
ANS: persistent
e) Translator programs called convert high-level language code into machine-
language code.
ANS: compilers
f) In object-oriented programming languages, we create a program unit called a(n)
to house the set of methods that perform its tasks.
ANS: class
g) Use a building-block approach to creating your programs. Avoid reinventing the
wheel—use existing pieces wherever possible. Such software is a key benefit
of object-oriented programming.
ANS: reuse
1.8 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Although many different OOAD processes exist, a single graphical language for com-
municating the results of any OOAD process has come into wide use. This language,
known as the , is now the most widely used graphical scheme for modeling ob-
ject-oriented systems.
ANS: UML
b) Tim Berners-Lee developed the for sharing information via “hyperlinked”
text documents on the web.
ANS: HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
c) The CLR is a(n) machine. It is software that manages the execution of pro-
grams and hides from them the underlying operating system and hardware.
ANS: virtual
d) Converting a program to run on a different platform from which it was originally in-
tended is called .
ANS: porting.
e) Microsoft’s Windows is a cloud-computing platform that allows you to de-
velop, manage and distribute your apps in the cloud.
ANS: Azure. (Instructor Note: "Microsoft’s Windows" should be simply "Microsoft" in
this exercise.)
the Internet and Visual C# 1
Objectives
In this chapter you’ll:
■ Learn basic computer
hardware, software and data
concepts.
■ Be introduced to the different
types of computer
programming languages.
■ Understand the history of the
Visual C# programming
language and the Windows
operating system.
■ Learn what cloud computing
with Microsoft Azure is.
■ Understand the basics of
object technology.
■ Be introduced to the history
of the Internet and the World
Wide Web.
■ Understand the parts that
Windows, .NET, Visual
Studio and C# play in the C#
ecosystem.
■ Test-drive a Visual C#
drawing app.
,2 Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers, the Internet and Visual C#
Self-Review Exercises
1.1 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Computers process data under the control of sequences of instructions called .
ANS: computer programs.
b) A computer consists of various devices referred to as , such as the keyboard,
screen, mouse, hard disks, memory, DVD drives and processing units.
ANS: hardware.
c) Data items processed by computers form a(n) that becomes larger and more
complex in structure as we progress from the simplest data items (called “bits”) to richer
data items, such as characters, fields, and so on.
ANS: data hierarchy.
d) Computers can directly understand only their language, which is composed
only of 1s and 0s.
ANS: machine.
e) The three types of computer programming languages discussed in the chapter are ma-
chine languages, and .
ANS: assembly languages, high-level languages.
f) Programs that translate high-level-language programs into machine language are called
.
ANS: compilers.
g) A(n) processor implements several processors on a single “microchip”—a
dual-core processor has two CPUs and a quad-core processor has four CPUs.
ANS: multicore.
h) Windows 10 introduced the for building Windows apps that run on desktop
computers, notebook computers, tablets, phones, Xbox and even Microsoft’s new
HoloLens augmented reality holographic headset—all using nearly identical code.
ANS: Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
1.2 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Objects, or more precisely the that objects come from, are essentially reusable
software components.
ANS: classes.
b) You send messages to an object. Each message is implemented as a method that
tells a method of the object to perform its task.
ANS: call.
c) A new class of objects can be created quickly and conveniently by ; the new
class absorbs the characteristics of an existing class, possibly customizing them and add-
ing unique characteristics of its own.
ANS: inheritance.
d) To create the best solutions, you should follow a detailed analysis process for determin-
ing your project’s (i.e., defining what the system is supposed to do) and de-
veloping a design that satisfies them (i.e., deciding how the system should do it).
ANS: requirements.
e) Visual C# is driven. You’ll write programs that respond to mouse clicks, key-
strokes, timer expirations and touches and finger swipes.
ANS: event.
f) A key goal of Java is to be able to write programs that will run on a great variety of com-
puter systems and computer-control devices. This is sometimes called .
ANS: write once, run anywhere.
1.3 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
, Self-Review Exercises 3
a) The executes .NET programs.
ANS: Common Language Runtime (CLR) of the .NET Framework.
b) The CLR provides various services to code, such as integrating software com-
ponents written in different .NET languages, error handling between such components,
enhanced security and more.
ANS: managed.
c) The ability of a program to run without modification across multiple platforms is
known as platform .
ANS: independence.
d) Visual Studio is a(n) in which C# programs are developed.
ANS: IDE.
e) You can sell your own Windows Phone apps in the .
ANS: Windows Store.
1.4 State whether each of the following is true or false. If false, explain why.
a) Software objects model both abstract and real-world things.
ANS: True.
b) The most popular database model is the relational database in which data is stored in
simple tables. A table includes records and fields.
ANS: True.
c) A database is a collection of data that’s organized for easy access and manipulation.
ANS: True.
d) Secondary storage data takes much longer to access than data in primary memory, but
the cost per unit of secondary storage is much higher than that of primary memory.
ANS: False: The cost per unit of secondary storage is much lower than that of primary
memory.
e) High-level languages allow you to write instructions that look almost like everyday Eng-
lish and contain commonly used mathematical expressions.
ANS: True.
f) An object has attributes that it carries along as it’s used in a program.
ANS: True.
g) The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ensures that messages, consisting of sequen-
tially numbered pieces called bytes, were properly routed from sender to receiver, ar-
rived intact and were assembled in the correct order
ANS: False. The pieces are called packets, not bytes.
h) The information-carrying capacity of communications lines on the Internet has in-
creased tremendously, while hardware costs have increased.
ANS: False. Hardware costs have decreased.
i) You can build web-based apps with C# and Microsoft’s ASP.NET technology.
ANS: True.
j) Java has become the key programming language for the Mac OS X desktop operating
system and all iOS-based devices, such as iPods, iPhones and iPads.
ANS: False. The language is Swift, not Java.
k) Microsoft’s ASP.WEB technology is used to create web apps.
ANS: False. It’s ASP.NET technology.
l) Microsoft’s Windows operating system is the most widely used desktop operating sys-
tem worldwide.
ANS: True.
1.5 Arrange these byte measurements in order from smallest to largest: terabyte, megabyte,
petabyte, gigabyte and kilobyte.
ANS: kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte.
, 4 Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers, the Internet and Visual C#
1.6 Describe the two-step translation process for preparing your C# code to execute on your
particular computer.
ANS: C# code is first compiled into MSIL and placed in an executable file. When the app
executes, another compiler called the JIT (just-in-time) compiler in the CLR trans-
lates the MSIL in the executable file into machine-language code (for a particular
platform).
Exercises
1.7 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) The programs that run on a computer are referred to as .
ANS: software
b) Systems such as smartphones, appliances, game controllers, cable set-top boxes and au-
tomobiles that contain small computers are called .
ANS: embedded systems
c) Just as characters are composed of bits, are composed of characters or bytes.
ANS: fields
d) Information on secondary storage devices is ; it’s preserved even when the
computer’s power is turned off.
ANS: persistent
e) Translator programs called convert high-level language code into machine-
language code.
ANS: compilers
f) In object-oriented programming languages, we create a program unit called a(n)
to house the set of methods that perform its tasks.
ANS: class
g) Use a building-block approach to creating your programs. Avoid reinventing the
wheel—use existing pieces wherever possible. Such software is a key benefit
of object-oriented programming.
ANS: reuse
1.8 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) Although many different OOAD processes exist, a single graphical language for com-
municating the results of any OOAD process has come into wide use. This language,
known as the , is now the most widely used graphical scheme for modeling ob-
ject-oriented systems.
ANS: UML
b) Tim Berners-Lee developed the for sharing information via “hyperlinked”
text documents on the web.
ANS: HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
c) The CLR is a(n) machine. It is software that manages the execution of pro-
grams and hides from them the underlying operating system and hardware.
ANS: virtual
d) Converting a program to run on a different platform from which it was originally in-
tended is called .
ANS: porting.
e) Microsoft’s Windows is a cloud-computing platform that allows you to de-
velop, manage and distribute your apps in the cloud.
ANS: Azure. (Instructor Note: "Microsoft’s Windows" should be simply "Microsoft" in
this exercise.)
