Course CIT711

1a. write a short note on the access time (5.5marks)

Access Time: The access time is the time required between the request made for
a read or write operation till the time the data is made available or written at the
requested location. Normally it is measured for read operation. The access time
depends on the physical characteristics and access mode used for that device.
1b. write a short note on the input/output module interface (6marks)
The input/output module interfaces (I/0 module) is normally connected to the
computer system on one end and one or more input/output devices on the other.
Normally, an I10 module can control one or more peripheral devices.
1c. draw and label the disk pack (6marks)

2a. what is a memory system?(5marks)

Memory in a computer system is required for storage and subsequent retrieval of
instructions and data. A computer system uses variety of devices for storing the
instructions and data, which are required for its operations. Normally we classify the
information to be stored on computer in two basic categories, data and the
instructions.
The storage device along with the algorithm or information on how to control and
manage these storage devices constitute the memory system of a computer.
2b. write short note on external interfaces. (6marks)
Our discussion on 1/0 system will not be complete if we do not discuss about
external interfaces. External interface is the interface between the I/O module and
the peripheral devices. This interface can be characterized into two main
categories:
(a) parallel interface
(b) serial interface

2c. state the three categories of display screen technology (6marks)

I. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
2. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
3. Projection Displays

3a. state five uses of supercomputers (5.5marks)

weather forecasting,
computational fluid dynamics,
remote sensing,
image processing,
biomedical applications

3b. write short note on the four categories of computers according to Flynn
(6marks)
single instruction single data (SISD)
single instruction multiple data (SIMD)
multiple instruction single data (MISD)
multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD)

3c. state any 6 features which you may be looking on an accounting packages (6
marks)

tax planner facility

 facility for producing charts and graphs
finding accounts payable
simple inventory control facility
payroll functions
on-line connection to stock quotes
creation of invoices easily

4a. write short note on supercomputer (7.5marks)

The upper ends of the state of the art mainframe machine are the supercomputer.
These are among the fastest machines in terms of processing speed, and use multi-
processing techniques, where a number of processors are used to solvei problem.
Lately ranges of parallel computing products, which are multiprocessors sharing
common buses, have been in use in combination with th6 mainframe
supercomputers.
The supercomputers are reaching up to speeds as well over 25000 million
arithmetic operations per second.
India also has its indigenous supercomputer.

4b. differentiate between the compiler and interpreter (6marks)

Compiler Interpreter
Scans the entire program first Translates the program linuy
:1) and line
:2) then translates it into Each time the program is
machine code executed, every lineis
Converts the entire program checked for syntax error and
to machine code; when all the then converteeto equivalent
syntax errors are removed machine code.

4c. state four main advantages of high level programming languages (4marks)
Advantages of High Level Programming Language
There are four main advantages of high level programming languages. These are:
1 Readability: Programs written in these languages are more readable than
assembly and machine language.
Portability: Programs could be run on different machines with little or no change. We
can, therefore, exchange software leading to creation of program libraries.
3 Easy debugging: Errors could easily be removed (debugged).
4 Easy Software Development: Software could easily be developed commands of
programming language
are similar to natural languages (ENGLISH)

5a. state five elements of a programming language (6marks)

Variables,
Constants,
Data type,
Array
Expressions

5b. state four task of an office manager (5.5marks)

Some of the tasks of an office manager can be able to:
track contacts
balance schedules
manage projects, and
prioritize tasks.

5c. write short note on the three categories of languages (6 marks)

We can choose any language for writing a program according to the need. But a
computer executes programs only after they are represented internally in binary
form (sequences of is and Os). Programs written in any other language must be
translated to the binary representation of the instruction before the computer can
execute them.
Programs written for a computer may be in one of the following categories of
languages:

Machine Language
Assembly language
High level language

6a. what is a looping statement (3.5Marks)

Obviously, the purpose of a loop structure is to repent certain tasks until no more
repetition is desired. We shall be presenting several variations of loop structure
appropriate to handle different situations.
While-end While:
Syntax: WHILE (While Condition)
statement(s) for task being repeated

6b. what is an operating system (5marks)

An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the software
and the computer hardware.
It is an integrated set of specialised programs that are used to manage overall
resources and operations of the computer.
It is specialised software that controls and monitors the execution of all other
programs that reside in the computer, including application programs and other
system software.

6c. state and write short notes on the three groups of memories (9marks)

(a) Internal Processor Memories: These consist of the small set of high speed
registers which are internal to a processor and are used as temporary locations
where actual processing is done.
(b) Primary Memory or Main Memory: It is a large memory, which is fast but not as
fast as internal processor memory. This memory is accessed directly by the
processor. It is mainly based on integrated circuits.
(c) Secondary Memory/Auxiliary Memory/Backing Store: Auxiliairy memory in fact is
much larger in size than main memory but is slower than main memory. It normally
stores system programs (programs which are used by system to perform various
functions), other instructions, programs and data files. Secondary memory can also
be used as an overflow memory in case the main memory capacity has been
exceeded. (How? the answer is not supplied in the block. You need to refer to further
readings to get this answer). Secondary memory and cannot be accessed directly
by a processor. First the information of these memories_ is transferred to the main
memory and then the information can be accessed as the information of main
memory
1a. what is a program? (3marks)
A program is a sequence of instructions, which operate on data to perform a certain
task. In modern digital computers, data is represented in binary form by using two
symbols 0 and I which are called binary digits or bits.

1b. Explain memory system (5marks)

Memory in a computer system is required for storage and subsequent retrieval of
instructions and data. A computer system uses variety of devices for storing the
instructions and data, which are required for its operations. Normally we classify the
information to be stored on computer in two basic categories, data and the
instructions
The storage device along with the algorithm or information on how to control and
manage these storage devices constitute the memory system of a computer.

1c. state and explain the categories of languages (9.5marks)

MACHINE LANGUAGE: The most elementary and first type of computer,
which was invented, was machine language. Machine language was machine
dependent. A program written in machine language cannot be run on another
type of computer without significant alterations. Machine language is some
times also referred as the binary language i-e, the language of 0 and 1 where
0 stands for the absence of electric pulse and i stands for the presence of
electric pulse. Very few computer programs are actually written in machine
language.
ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE: As computer became more popular, it became quite
apparent that machine language programming was simply too slow slow
tedious for most programmers. Assembly languages are also called as low
level language instead of using the string of members programmers began
using English like abbreviation to represent the elementary operation. The
language provided an opportunity to the programmers to use English like
words that were called MNEMONICS
HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE: The assembly languages started using English like
words,m but still it was difficult to learn these languages. High level languages are
the computer language in which it is much easier to write a program than the low
level language. A program written in high level language is just like gibing
instruction to person in daily life. It was in 1957 that a high level language called
FORTRAN was developed by IBM which was specially developed for scientist and
engineers other high level languages are COBOL which is widely used for business
data processing task.BASIC language which is developed for the beginners in
general purpose programming language. you Can use C language for almost any
programming task. PASCAL are other high level languages which has gained
widespread acceptance.

2a. what is a bit? (4.5marks)

2b. what really give room to memory hierarchy? (5marks)
2c. Differentiate between compiler and interpreter (8Marks)

3a. What is a file transfer protocol FTP (2.5marks)

3b. state Six (6) applications of vector processing (6marks)
3c. write short note on the four languages of having densely packed integrated
circuits (9mks)

4a. writer short note on very large scale integration (VLSI) (3.5mks)
4b. Enumerate the six (6) important categories of software packages available
(6marks)
4c. draw, enumerate and write short note on the three groups of memories
(8marks)

5a. state the four popular classifications of parallel computer (4marks)

5b. what is a storage capacity (4.5marks)
5c. explain two important breakthroughs of very large scale integration (VLSI)
technologies (9marks)

6a. What is meant by access time (4marks)

6b. differentiate with two examples each the difference btw input and output
statement (5.5marks)
6c. Differentiate btw coaxial and fibre optic cable (8marks)