CSCI 1300 Test #1 Study Guide

The basic format of all tests for this course is a two-part test:

• The first part will be multiple choice, to be answered on a GREEN Scantron sheet (no other color Scantron sheet will be accepted). Please make sure you have the appropriate Scantron sheet and at least one #2 pencil with you. This part of the test will be closed-book, closed-notes.
• The second part of the test will consist of several hands-on problems to solve. These problems will be either brief essay/discussion questions and/or small problems to solve. You will be allowed to use your book and notes on this part of the test.

Questions on the exam will come from multiple sources:

• Textbook readings
• Powerpoint slides and lectures
• Supplemental readings listed in the course schedule, particularly those for essays

To do well on the exam, it is important that you:

• Read each question carefully.
• Answer only the question that is asked; particularly with the second part, do not spend your time trying to do more than the problem states.
• Ask for clarification on any question that you don't understand.

Major topics

• History of computing -- specific dates are not important; however, relative order of events is
  • Important people -- particularly Pascal, Babbage, Lovelace, von Neumann, Hopper, Berners-Lee, Turing
  • Important events -- focus particularly on WW II era through the early 1960s
  • Important theoretical concepts -- Boolean logic/algebra, stored-program concept, von Neumann architecture, interpretation of bytes as information of many different types
  • Important inventions -- transistors, integrated circuits, programming language evolution
• Data representation
  • Bits/bytes/words
    • Relative sizes -- 1 byte = 8 bits, number of bits in a word depends on CPU structure
    • Uses -- relationship between physical and logical units of data
      1 bit -- smallest physical unit of data
      1 byte -- smallest logical unit of data
      1 word -- length of a CPU register, smallest unit of data manipulated by CPU
    • Relationships to hardware and logic (general concepts)
  • Binary/octal/hexadecimal number systems
    Reference the Data Representation study sheet as needed.
    • Conversions between one system and another -- focus on bases 2/8/10/16
    • Basic binary/octal/hexadecimal arithmetic (addition only)
  • Character representation systems
    • ASCII
    • Unicode -- reason for its creation, relationship with ASCII
    • Text compression concepts -- reasons for using, understanding of keyword encoding issues
  • Video and audio data
    • Vector versus raster graphics -- advantages and disadvantages of each
    • The RGB color scheme -- use of pixel values
    • Video and audio compression -- lossless vs. lossy, specific formats (JPEG, GIF, MP3)
• Low-level hardware concepts
  • Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) -- know how it works
  • Gates (AND, OR, NOT, XOR, NAND, NOR) -- know how each works, appropriate symbols
  • Representation methods -- Boolean expressions, truth tables, logic diagrams. Be able to go from one to the other two.
  • Circuits
    • Construction from gates -- take an expression and create a truth table or logic diagram, take a logic diagram and create a truth table or expression.
    • Sequential versus combinational circuits