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C952 - COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR GUARANTEED
SUCCESS
Personal computer (PC)
A computer designed for use by an individual, usually incorporating a graphics display, a
keyboard, and a mouse.
Server
A computer used for running larger programs for multiple users, often simultaneously,
and typically accessed only via a network.
Supercomputer:
A class of computers with the highest performance and cost; they are configured as
servers and typically cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Embedded computer:
A computer inside another device used for running one predetermined application or
collection of software.
Personal mobile devices (PMDs)
,are small wireless devices to connect to the Internet; they rely on batteries for power,
and software is installed by downloading apps. Conventional examples are smart
phones and tablets.
Cloud computing
refers to large collections of servers that provide services over the Internet; some
providers rent dynamically varying numbers of servers as a utility.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
delivers software and data as a service over the Internet, usually via a thin program
such as a browser that runs on local client devices, instead of binary code that must be
installed, and runs wholly on that device. Examples include web search and social
networking.
Multicore microprocessor
A microprocessor containing multiple processors ("cores") in a single integrated circuit.
Acronym
A word constructed by taking the initial letters of a string of words. For example: RAM is
an acronym for Random Access Memory, and CPU is an acronym for Central
Processing Unit.
Terabyte (TB):
Originally 1,099,511,627,776 (240) bytes, although communications and secondary
storage systems developers started using the term to mean 1,000,000,000,000 (1012)
,bytes. To reduce confusion, we now use the term tebibyte (TiB) for 240 bytes, defining
terabyte (TB) to mean 1012 bytes. The figure below shows the full range of decimal and
binary values and names.
Systems software:
Software that provides services that are commonly useful, including operating systems,
compilers, loaders, and assemblers.
Operating system
Supervising program that manages the resources of a computer for the benefit of the
programs that run on that computer.
Compiler
A program that translates high-level language statements into assembly language
statements.
Binary digit
Also called a bit. One of the two numbers in base 2 (0 or 1) that are the components of
information.
Instruction
A command that computer hardware understands and obeys
, Assembler
A program that translates a symbolic version of instructions into the binary version.
Assembly language
A symbolic representation of machine instructions.
Machine language
A binary representation of machine instructions
High-level programming language
A portable language such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic that is composed of words
and algebraic notation that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language.
Input device
A mechanism through which the computer is fed information, such as a keyboard.
Output device
A mechanism that conveys the result of a computation to a user, such as a display, or to
another computer
Liquid crystal display:
C952 - COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR GUARANTEED
SUCCESS
Personal computer (PC)
A computer designed for use by an individual, usually incorporating a graphics display, a
keyboard, and a mouse.
Server
A computer used for running larger programs for multiple users, often simultaneously,
and typically accessed only via a network.
Supercomputer:
A class of computers with the highest performance and cost; they are configured as
servers and typically cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Embedded computer:
A computer inside another device used for running one predetermined application or
collection of software.
Personal mobile devices (PMDs)
,are small wireless devices to connect to the Internet; they rely on batteries for power,
and software is installed by downloading apps. Conventional examples are smart
phones and tablets.
Cloud computing
refers to large collections of servers that provide services over the Internet; some
providers rent dynamically varying numbers of servers as a utility.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
delivers software and data as a service over the Internet, usually via a thin program
such as a browser that runs on local client devices, instead of binary code that must be
installed, and runs wholly on that device. Examples include web search and social
networking.
Multicore microprocessor
A microprocessor containing multiple processors ("cores") in a single integrated circuit.
Acronym
A word constructed by taking the initial letters of a string of words. For example: RAM is
an acronym for Random Access Memory, and CPU is an acronym for Central
Processing Unit.
Terabyte (TB):
Originally 1,099,511,627,776 (240) bytes, although communications and secondary
storage systems developers started using the term to mean 1,000,000,000,000 (1012)
,bytes. To reduce confusion, we now use the term tebibyte (TiB) for 240 bytes, defining
terabyte (TB) to mean 1012 bytes. The figure below shows the full range of decimal and
binary values and names.
Systems software:
Software that provides services that are commonly useful, including operating systems,
compilers, loaders, and assemblers.
Operating system
Supervising program that manages the resources of a computer for the benefit of the
programs that run on that computer.
Compiler
A program that translates high-level language statements into assembly language
statements.
Binary digit
Also called a bit. One of the two numbers in base 2 (0 or 1) that are the components of
information.
Instruction
A command that computer hardware understands and obeys
, Assembler
A program that translates a symbolic version of instructions into the binary version.
Assembly language
A symbolic representation of machine instructions.
Machine language
A binary representation of machine instructions
High-level programming language
A portable language such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic that is composed of words
and algebraic notation that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language.
Input device
A mechanism through which the computer is fed information, such as a keyboard.
Output device
A mechanism that conveys the result of a computation to a user, such as a display, or to
another computer
Liquid crystal display:
