Computer Science, computer systems and programming Unit 1

Computer systems are all around us since they are versatile, cheap and small.  A system in the computer is a collection of parts that work together to reach a target or aim. A successful computer system in other words is a complete working computer.Computer systems are used to process data and produce information. The are able to be programmed which means that they are able to do what we want as long as we create the instruction. When you are told that a computer system is dedicated it means that it has one purpose and one purpose only. Some systems may have a general purpose which means they can be used for different reasons according to what needs to be done. An embedded system is a computer system that forms part of an electronic device. A kernel is the lowest level of an operating system that controls the hardware.  

Computer Systems

Why Are Computer Systems Important?

Computer systems are used in every day life, they affect us in many ways such as:Safety - Guiding aircraft, trains, monitoring patients body signs and supporting signalling systems. Travel - Smart phone apps, GPS systems, timetables of transport and flight bookings. Business - Orders, stock control and payroll.Retail - Online shopping and systems that sort deliveries and shipments. Entertainment - DVDs, Blu-Ray and MP3 players.Communication - Email, chat, social networks and mobile phones.Education - Virtual learning environments(VLE), exam marking and sources found on the web.

Reliability

Now that we use computer systems so much we do not usually give any thought to whether or not they will affect the computer, this would mean that everything that is made up of a computer system will shut down such as aircrafts and other important transports such as trains which could be devastating and cause plane crashes and train line collisions. This is why computer systems are tested and checked multiple times so that they are safe to use and will not malfunction when they are in use. This is why computer systems are regularly checked so that they do not malfunction and cause an accident with what it is controlling.

Standards

The advantages of being strict on the standards of computer systems are:that they look and seem the same to users so that it is easy to pick up.work in a predictable way.Proprietary standards - these are standards owned by a company. Industry standards - standards that are agreed across the computing industry.De facto standards - standards that develop through common usage until they are accepted way of doing things. Open standards - they are available to the public and are able to be developed under the public and modified by them.

Key words from standards:

HTML - Hyper text mark up language, a text based system for defining web pages. PDF - Portable document format, a file standard that can be displayed on any computer. International organisation for standardisation(ISO) - Largest standards developing organisation, which makes international standards for engineering and agriculture etc. TCP/IP - A set of standards that control how data is sent across networks such as the internet.