Term
A computer subsystem that performs mathematical and logical operations such as addition, subtraction, and comparison for equality |
|
Definition
| 2) arithmetic/logic unit (ALU) |
|
|
Term
(1) a path for electrical signals; (2) LAN topology in which all nodes are connected to a single shared communication line |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The percentage of the time that the information needed is in cache memory |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A high-speed memory unit that keeps a copy of memory cells with a high likelihood of access in the near future |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The part of a computer consisting of the control unit and the ALU |
|
Definition
| 6) Central Processing Unit (CPU) |
|
|
Term
Complex Instruction Set Computer; a machine that has a very large and complex instruction set |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
independent systems, such as mainframes, desktops, or laptops, are interconnected by a local area network (LAN) like the Ethernet or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet; also called MIMD parallel processing |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
the branch of computer science that studies computers in terms of their major functional units and how they work |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The computer subsystem that fetches and executes instructions stored in the memory of the computer |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The ALU circuits, registers, and interconnections between components |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
When you store a new value in a memory cell and destroy its previous contents |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A mass storage device in which each unit of information is associated with a unique address, but the time to access each piece of information may not be the same |
|
Definition
| 13) direct access storage devices |
|
|
Term
A mass storage device in which each unit of information is associated with a unique address, but the time to access each piece of information may not be the same |
|
Definition
| 13) direct access storage devices |
|
|
Term
The component that determines whether a value will be placed into memory or copied from memory |
|
Definition
| 14) fetch/store controller |
|
|
Term
Subunits of a computer that perform tasks such as instruction processing, information storage, computation, and data transfer |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A MIMD model in which the individual processors can be computer systems belonging to a wide range of groups or individuals |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A series of abstractions, each one more detailed and each one showing lower level components of a system |
|
Definition
| 17) hierarchy of abstractions |
|
|
Term
A special-purpose device that controls the operations of an input/output device |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The devices that allow a computer system to communicate and interact with the outside world, as well as to store information |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The register that holds a copy of the instruction to be executed |
|
Definition
| 20) instruction register (IR) |
|
|
Term
The set of all operations that can be executed by a processor |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A signal sent by the I/O controller to the CPU to let it know that it has completed an I/O operation |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The time required to rotate the disk to the beginning of the desired sector |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
An alternate perspective or a different way to view a system |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The programming language that a processor is able to directly understand and execute; written in binary |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Systems or devices where information is kept for long periods of time and not lost when the computer is not being used |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The functional unit of a computer that stores and retrieves instructions and data being executed |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The time it takes to fetch or store the contents of a single memory cell |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The unique numeric identifier for a memory cell |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The memory register that holds the address of the cell to be fetched from or stored into |
|
Definition
| 30) Memory Address Register (MAR) |
|
|
Term
The minimum unit of memory access |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The memory register that holds the data value to be stored or the data value that was just fetched |
|
Definition
| 32) Memory Data Register (MDR) |
|
|
Term
The number of bits in a single memory cell |
|
Definition
| 33) memory width (cell size) |
|
|
Term
multiple instruction stream/multiple data stream; a parallel processing model in which multiple processors all work independently on their own program to solve a single problem; also called cluster computing |
|
Definition
| 34) MIMD parallel processing |
|
|
Term
One-billionth of a second |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
When you access the contents of a memory cell and copy it, but do not destroy it |
|
Definition
| 36) non-destructive fetch |
|
|
Term
Computer designs based on models other than the standard Von Neumann architecture |
|
Definition
| 37) non-Von Neumann architectures |
|
|
Term
Memory that does not lose its contents even when the power is turned off |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Algorithms that exploit the presence of multiple processors to solve a single problem |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Building computers with two or more processors that work in parallel |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
When you access a memory cell, it is likely that you will also access memory cells nearby very soon |
|
Definition
| 41) principle of locality |
|
|
Term
A system that is composed of the ALU together with the control unit |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The register that holds the address of the next instruction to be executed |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A field of computer design using the principles of quantum mechanics in which a single bit of information can be not just a 0 or a 1 but in both states at the same time |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A memory structure in which each cell has an address and it takes the same amount of time to fetch or store any cell |
|
Definition
| 45) random access memory (RAM) |
|
|
Term
A memory structure that can only be accessed, not written into or changed |
|
Definition
| 46) read-only memory (ROM) |
|
|
Term
A special, high-speed storage cell |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Reduced Instruction Set Computer; a machine that has a very small and simple instruction set, but where each instruction is highly optimized and executes very quickly |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A disk storage unit containing an address, a data block, and a fixed number of bytes; sectors are arranged in concentric tracks on a disk |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The time required to move the read/write head to the correct track |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A mass storage device in which information is located by sequentially searching all the information that is stored |
|
Definition
| 51) sequential access storage device |
|
|
Term
One instruction at a time is fetched from memory to the control unit, where it is decoded and executed |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
single instruction stream/multiple data stream; a parallel processing model in which multiple processors all execute the same instruction on their own local data |
|
Definition
| 53) SIMD parallel processing |
|
|
Term
The instructions to be executed by the computer are represented as binary values and stored in memory |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
A single concentric circle of information on a disk |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The time required to read the desired sector on a disk into main memory |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
An ordered collection of values |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Memory that loses its contents when the power is turned off |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
The computational model designed by John Von Neumann and first implemented in the EDSAC computer of 1947; the structure and organization of virtually all modern computers |
|
Definition
| 59) Von Neumann architecture |
|
|
Term
The inability of sequential, one-at-a-time processors to handle extremely large problems in a reasonable time scale |
|
Definition
| 60) Von Neumann bottleneck |
|
|
Term
For more study material on this topic
click here and go to
my Computer Science Study Help page
|
|
Definition
For more study material on this topic
click here and go to
my Computer Science Study Help page
|
|
|
