Computer Science

The formal study of algorithms.

Algorithm

A step-by-step method for solving a problem.

Von Neumann Architecture

The standard computer design model based on storing both program instructions and data in the same memory.

First Generation Computing Technology

Vacuum tubes.

Pseudocode

A mix of English and code used to describe algorithms.

Binary Search Efficiency

O(log n) (Logarithmic time).

Two's Complement

The standard way computers represent signed integers.

ASCII

An early, 7-bit standard for encoding text characters.

Control Unit (CU)

The part of the CPU that fetches instructions from memory, decodes them, and directs the ALU and other components.

Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)

The part of the CPU that performs mathematical and logical operations (e.g., addition, comparison).

Volatile Memory

Memory (like RAM) that loses its contents when the power is turned off.

Cache Memory

A small, extremely fast memory unit placed between the CPU and main RAM to speed up access.

Seek Time

The time it takes for a disk's read/write head to move to the correct track.

System Software

Software that manages a computer system's hardware and software resources, acting as an intermediary between the user and the hardware.

Operating System

The primary system software that manages hardware, memory, process scheduling, and file storage.

Time-Sharing System

An OS that allows multiple users or processes to share a computer's resources by rapidly switching between tasks.

Computer Network

Two or more computers connected to share data and resources.

Bandwidth

The maximum data transfer rate of a network.

Domain Name System (DNS)

A distributed system that translates human-readable host names (like google.com) into IP addresses.

Phishing

A social engineering attack using fraudulent messages to trick victims into revealing sensitive information.

Symmetric Encryption

An encryption method that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.

Public Key Encryption (Asymmetric)

Uses a pair of keys: a public key to encrypt and a private key to decrypt.

DDOS Attack

An attack using a network of compromised computers to flood a target with traffic, causing it to crash.

Malware

Any software intentionally designed to cause damage, disrupt operations, or gain unauthorized access.