| A | B |
|---|
| software | the instructions to command the computer to perform actions and make decisions |
| hardware | the various physical devices that make up the computer system |
| computer | – a device capable of performing computations and making logical decisions at speeds millions of times faster than human beings can |
| data | information |
| computer programs | sets of instructions guide the computer through orderly sets of actions usually to process data |
| input unit | receives data and computer programs from various devices |
| output unit | takes information that has been processed and sends it to various devices |
| memory unit | – the rapid access, relatively low-capacity storage section of the computer |
| arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) | is responsible for performing calculations and making decisions |
| central processing unit (CPU) | – is the computers coordinator and supervises the operation of the other sections |
| secondary storage units | – the long-term, high-capacity storage section of the computer |
| operating systems | – software systems designed to make it more convenient and efficient to use computers |
| timesharing | – the computer repeatedly runs small portions of many programs one after another giving the appearance of running simultaneously |
| machine languages | consist of strings of numbers (ultimately reduced to 1’s and 0’s) that instruct computers to perform their most elementary operations one at a time |
| assembly languages | use English-like abbreviations with translator programs to convert the abbreviations to machine language |
| compilers | translator programs that convert high-level language programs into machine language |
| FORTRAN | used for mathematical, scientific and engineering applications that require complex calculations |
| COBOL | used for commercial applications that require precise and efficient manipulation of data |
| Pascal | developed to teach structured programming |
| C | popular industry system implementation languages |
| Java | developed by Sun Microsystems, based on C and C++ for doing multimedia, networking, multithreading, graphics, and more |
| C++ | extension of C adding object-oriented programming capabilities |
| API | application programming interface |
| application programming interface | part of MS Windows that can be used by other programs |
| IDE | integrated development environment |
| integrated development environment | allows programmers to create, run and debug programs without being Windows programmers |
| RAD | rapid application development |
| rapid application development | the process of quickly creating an application |
| procedures | small, simple, cooperating components of large programs |
| arrays | store sets of related data |
| GUI | graphical user interface |
| graphical user interface | an easier way for users to communicate with a computer using a mouse and images on the screen representing actions the computer should take |
| control structures | sequence, selection, and repetition structures that perform a program’s actions |
| sequence structure | several actions to be performed one after another |
| selection structure | enable a program to choose among different actions to be performed under different conditions |
| repetition structures | – enable a program to repeat actions until the program determines that no further repetitions are needed |
| ActiveX components | powerful reusable software components |
| data structures | lists, queues, stacks, trees etc. |
