Ortiz, Mary Khay S.

CSC25 204A Assignment # 1

Computer system A system of interconnected computers that share a central storage system and various peripheral devices such as a printers, scanners, or routers. Each computer connected to the system can operate independently, but has the ability to communicate with other external devices and computers. Computer hardware means the fixed parts that make up a computer. It includes: Processor - A CPU (Central Processing Unit) sends signals to control the other parts of the computer, almost like how a brain controls a body. The CPU is an electronic machine that works on a list of things to do, called 'instructions'. It reads the list of instructions, one instruction at a time, and does each one in order. Memory - The computer memory is a temporary storage area. It holds the data and instructions that the Central Processing Unit (CPU) needs. Before a program can be run, the program is loaded from some storage medium into the memory.
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Read only memory (ROM)

This is the permanent memory which is used to store important control programs and systems software to perform a variety of functions, such as booting up or starting up programs. ROM is non-volatile. That means the contents are not lost when the power is switched off. Its contents are permanently written at the time of manufacture.
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Random access memory (RAM)

RAM is used as the working memory of a computer system. It stores input data, intermediate results, programs, and other information temporarily. It can be read and written. It is volatile, that is all data will be erased when the power is turned off. Motherboard - The motherboard or mainboard is the main circuit board in a complex electronic system, like a computer. It is the most 'central' part of a computer. Graphics card The video card (also called a graphics card or a graphics accelerator) is a special circuit board that controls what is shown on a computer monitor and calculates 3D images and graphics. Network card - A network card is a piece of hardware that permits a computer to participate in a computer network. There are different kinds of networks, such as Ethernet or wireless LAN. The network cards for the different networks are different.

Modem - It is used to communicate between distant computers. Two modems, one on each computer, are required to make a connection, and each modem can send and receive data to and from the other modem. The term modem stands for modulator - demodulator.
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Modulation is changing the digital data in the personal computer to analog data (audio tones or sounds) so that it can be sent. Demodulation is changing the analog data (audio tones) that is received over the telephone lines to digital data to be used by the computer.

USB flash drive - A USB Flash drive is a small device that stores information and files from a computer. Flash drives are an easy way of moving data between different computers or devices to be read or edited. Flash drives are connected to a computer using a USB port, which can be found on many devices. Hard drive - A hard disk drive (HDD) , hard disk (sometimes 'disk' is also spelled disc) or hard drive, is something used by computers to store information. Hard disks use magnets to store information.

Computer Software Software is short for computer software, a type of computer program. It means the applications and operating systems used with computers.

System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software.[1][2]

The most basic types of system software are:

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The computer BIOS and device firmware, which provide basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected to or built into the computer. The operating system (prominent examples being Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux), which allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a display device. It also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application software. Utility software, which helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. Application software

It is designed to help the user to perform singular or multiple related specific tasks. It manages and integrates a computer's capabilities, but typically do not directly apply them in the performance of tasks that benefit the user. The system software serves the application, which in turn serves the user. Computing Environments o Personal Computing Environment It is designed to enhance your gaming experience and improve your productivity.

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Time Sharing Time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking. Client/Server A client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network. These dumb terminals were clients of the time-sharing mainframe computer.

Computer Languages - The term computer language includes a wide variety of languages used to communicate with computers. Machine language is a system of instructions and data executed directly by a computer's central processing unit. Machine code may be regarded as a primitive (and cumbersome) programming language or as the lowest-level representation of a compiled and/or assembled computer program. Machine code is sometimes called native code when referring to platform-dependent parts of language features or libraries.[2] Machine code should not be confused with so called "bytecode", which is executed by an interpreter. Symbolic Languages A programming language that uses symbols, or mnemonics, for expressing operations and operands. All modern programming languages are symbolic languages. High-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In comparison to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language elements, be easier to use, or be more portable across platforms. Such languages hide the details of CPU operations such as memory access models and management of scope