Computer Science, IT
GACE 2026 | Study Guide,
Practice Questions,
Answers, Rationales &
Exam Review | Complete
Ethics Study Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,address bus Pathway from memory to processing unit that carries the address in memory to and
from which data is transferred. See the definitions for "bus" and "data bus".
arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) A part of the computer that performs arithmetic operations, logic operations and
related operations.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information The primary encoding character set used in computers for textual data transfer
Interchange between applications. The set uses eight bits for each character code, one of these
bits being a check bit to verify the seven bits needed to represent one character.
ASCII supports most European alphabets. Unicode supports most known alphabets
and is increasingly used in data transfer. See also the definition for "Unicode".
B Byte.
backup (file) A second copy of a file, to be used in the event of the original file being corrupted.
See also the definition for "unbalanced tree".
bar code A pattern of vertical lines distinguished from each other by width. It can be read by a
bar code reader to provide data to a computer.
bar code reader An optical reader that can read bar codes. In a decimal system the base is 10, in a
hexadecimal system the base is 16, and in a binary system the base is 2.
bit (b) Binary digit. The smallest unit of information for data storage and transmission.
Each bit is considered to be either a "0" or a "1".
, Bus The pathway used for sending signals between internal components of a computer.
Components can share the same bus but cannot transmit simultaneously.
Cache Part of the main store that is between main memory and the processor. It holds a
copy of data and instructions that are likely to be used next by the processor and is
hence faster than main memory. See also the definition for "disk cache".
character set A finite set of different characters that is complete for a given purpose, for example,
the 128 ASCII characters.
computer architecture The logical structure and functional characteristics of a computer, including the
interrelationships among its hardware and software components.
database management system (DBMS) A computer based system for defining, creating, manipulating, controlling, managing
and using databases.
data bus The pathway between the memory or peripheral and processing unit that carries
data for processing or data that has been processed. See also definitions for "bus"
and "address bus". All redundancy in the data is removed to reduce the storage
needed or to speed up transfer. The data can be uncompressed back to its original
state.
GACE 2026 | Study Guide,
Practice Questions,
Answers, Rationales &
Exam Review | Complete
Ethics Study Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,address bus Pathway from memory to processing unit that carries the address in memory to and
from which data is transferred. See the definitions for "bus" and "data bus".
arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) A part of the computer that performs arithmetic operations, logic operations and
related operations.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information The primary encoding character set used in computers for textual data transfer
Interchange between applications. The set uses eight bits for each character code, one of these
bits being a check bit to verify the seven bits needed to represent one character.
ASCII supports most European alphabets. Unicode supports most known alphabets
and is increasingly used in data transfer. See also the definition for "Unicode".
B Byte.
backup (file) A second copy of a file, to be used in the event of the original file being corrupted.
See also the definition for "unbalanced tree".
bar code A pattern of vertical lines distinguished from each other by width. It can be read by a
bar code reader to provide data to a computer.
bar code reader An optical reader that can read bar codes. In a decimal system the base is 10, in a
hexadecimal system the base is 16, and in a binary system the base is 2.
bit (b) Binary digit. The smallest unit of information for data storage and transmission.
Each bit is considered to be either a "0" or a "1".
, Bus The pathway used for sending signals between internal components of a computer.
Components can share the same bus but cannot transmit simultaneously.
Cache Part of the main store that is between main memory and the processor. It holds a
copy of data and instructions that are likely to be used next by the processor and is
hence faster than main memory. See also the definition for "disk cache".
character set A finite set of different characters that is complete for a given purpose, for example,
the 128 ASCII characters.
computer architecture The logical structure and functional characteristics of a computer, including the
interrelationships among its hardware and software components.
database management system (DBMS) A computer based system for defining, creating, manipulating, controlling, managing
and using databases.
data bus The pathway between the memory or peripheral and processing unit that carries
data for processing or data that has been processed. See also definitions for "bus"
and "address bus". All redundancy in the data is removed to reduce the storage
needed or to speed up transfer. The data can be uncompressed back to its original
state.
