Peripheral devices |
Any auxiliary device such as a computer mouse or keyboard that connects to and works with the computer in some way. Other examples of peripherals are image scanners, tape drives, microphones, loudspeakers, webcams, and digital cameras. |
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Sampling |
The reduction of a continuous signal to a discrete signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave (a continuous signal) to a sequence of samples (a discrete-time signal). |
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Quantization |
The process of mapping a large set of input values to a (countable) smaller set. |
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Analog data |
Data that is represented in a physical way. |
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Digital data |
Discrete, discontinuous representations of information or works, as contrasted with continuous, or analog signals which behave in a continuous manner, or represent information using a continuous function. |
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Polling |
refers to actively sampling the status of an external device by a client program as a synchronous activity. Polling is most often used in terms of input/output (I/O), and is also referred to as polled I/O or software-driven I/O. |
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Interrupt |
A hardware signal that breaks the flow of program execution and transfers control to a predetermined storage location so that another procedure can be followed or a new operation carried out. |
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Direct memory access, DMA |
A method that allows an input/output (I/O) device to send or receive data directly to or from the main memory, bypassing the CPU to speed up memory operations. The process is managed by a chip known as a DMA controller (DMAC). |
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Input / Output |
the process of input or output, encompassing the devices, techniques, media, and data used |
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Compiler |
Computer program (or a set of programs) that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language), with the latter often having a binary form known as object code. |
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Machine Language |
Set of instructions executed directly by a computer’s central processing unit (CPU). |
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Assembly Language |
Low-level programming language for a computer, or other programmable device, in which there is a very strong (generally one-to-one) correspondence between the language and the architecture’s machine code instructions. |
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Assembler |
Computer program which translates assembly language to an object file or machine language format. |
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Amdahls law |
a law or argument used to find the maximum expected improvement to an overall system when only part of the system is improved. |
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Multicore |
A type of architecture where a single physical processor contains the core logic of two or more processors or packaged into a single integrated circuit |
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Multiprocessor |
Refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor and/or the ability to allocate tasks between them. |
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Computer performance |
Characterized by the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system or computer network compared to the time and resources used. |
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Micro architecture |
A description of the electrical circuitry of a computer, central processing unit, or digital signal processor that is sufficient for completely describing the operation of the hardware. |
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Cache memory |
Random access memory (RAM) that a computer microprocessor can access more quickly than it can access regular RAM. This memory is typically integrated directly with the CPU chip or placed on a separate chip that has a separate bus interconnect with the CPU |
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