Computer Science Glossary: Terms Related to Hardware and Storage, Quizzes of Information Technology

Download Computer Science Glossary: Terms Related to Hardware and Storage and more Quizzes Information Technology in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Central Processing Unit (CPU) DEFINITION 1 manipulates the data and controls the tasks performed by the other components TERM 2 Primary storage* (main memory) DEFINITION 2 temporarily stores data and program instructions during processinmng TERM 3 Secondary storage* DEFINITION 3 external to the CPU; stores data and programs for future use TERM 4 Input technologies DEFINITION 4 accept data and instructions and convert them to a form that the computer can understand TERM 5 Output technologies DEFINITION 5 present data and information in a form people can understand TERM 6 Communication technologies DEFINITION 6 provide for the flow of data from external computer networks (e.g., the Internet and intranets) to the CPU, and from the CPU to computer networks TERM 7 server farms DEFINITION 7 massive data center containing thousands of servers TERM 8 server virtualization DEFINITION 8 using software to partition a server TERM 9 grid computing DEFINITION 9 applying the resources of many computers in a network to a single problem at the same time TERM 10 utlility computing DEFINITION 10 a type of computing where a service provider makes computing resources available to a customer as needed TERM 21 microprocessor DEFINITION 21 the CPU, made up of millions of transistors embedded in a circuit on a silicon wafer or chip TERM 22 control unit DEFINITION 22 portion of the CPU that controls the flow of information TERM 23 arithmetic- logic unit (ALU) DEFINITION 23 Portion of the CPU that performs the mathematic calculations and makes logical comparisons TERM 24 registers* DEFINITION 24 High-speed storage areas in the CPU that store very small amounts of data and instructions for short periods of time. TERM 25 binary form DEFINITION 25 the form in which data and instructions can be read by the CPU---only 0s and 1s TERM 26 machine instruction cycle DEFINITION 26 the cycle of computer processing, whose speed is measured in terms of the number of instructions a chip processes per second. TERM 27 clock speed DEFINITION 27 the preset speed of the computer clock that times all chip activities, measured in megahertz and gigahertz. TERM 28 word length DEFINITION 28 the number of bits (0s and 1s) that can be processed by the CPU at any one time. TERM 29 bus width DEFINITION 29 the size of the physical path down which the data and instructions travel as electrical impulses on a computer chip TERM 30 line width DEFINITION 30 the distance between transistors; the smaller the line width, the faster the chip TERM 31 Moore's Law* DEFINITION 31 microprocessor comlexity would double approximately every two years TERM 32 random access memory (RAM) DEFINITION 32 the part of primary storage that holds a software program and small amounts of data when they are brought from secondary storage. TERM 33 cache memory DEFINITION 33 a type of primary storage where the computer can temporarily store blocks of data used more often and which a processor can access more rapidly than main memory (RAM) TERM 34 Read-only memory (ROM) DEFINITION 34 Type of primary storage where certain critical instructions are safeguarded; the storage is nonvolatile and retains the instructions when the power to the computer is turned off. TERM 35 magnetic tape DEFINITION 35 A secondary storage medium on a large open reel or in a smaller cartridge or cassette