Chapter 1 - Intro

• Compiler translates a high-level language program into low-level machine instructions
• Application, another word for program, is a programmer-created sequence of instructions
• Machine instruction is a series of 0s and 1s, stored in memory, that tells a processor to carry out a particular operation like a multiplication
• Assembly language is human-readable processor instructions
• Input/output devices is a screen or monitor that displays items to a user
• A storage is a disk (hard drive) that store files and other data, such as program files, songs and movies or office documents
• Are disks non-volatile or volatile?

  Non-volatile
• Non-volatile means they maintain their contents even when powered off
• Memory, or RAM (random-access memory) temporarily holds data read from storage and is designed so any address can be accessed much faster than from a disk
• Is RAM non-volatile or volatile?

  Volatile
• Processor runs the computer's programs, reading and executing instructions from memory, performing operations, and reading and writing writing data from and to memory
• Operating system allows a user to run other program and interfaces with the many other peripherals
• Processor may contain a small amount of RAM on its own chip, called cache memory
• Clock: a processor's instructions execute at a rate governed by the processor's clock, which ticks at a specific frequency. Processors have clocks that tik at rates such as 1 MHz
• Tranistors: engineers created smaller switches called transistors, which in 1959 were integrated onto a chip called integrated circuit (IC)
• Moore's law: engineers continues to find ways to make smaller transistors, which lead to Moore's law
• Syntax error violates a programming language's rules on how symbols can be combined to create a program
• Runtime error means a program's syntax is correct but the program attempts an impossible operation
• Crash is abrupt and unintended termination of a program