ASSIGNMENT
For the Week 1 Exercises, you will complete and submit the following items. Chapter 1 (Computer Science Illuminated by Dale, Nell, Lewis, John)
In Chapter 1 we look at the big picture of computing by learning about the layers of computing and how each layer will be covered in the book, which is where we start to focus in this exercise. We cover the history of computing hardware from the early history and progress through the generations to see the changes over time, we then focus on software history from machine language through the fifth generation to present. Finally, we cover computing as a discipline to determine and the skills needed by practitioners. You will show your knowledge of the topics by answering the following questions.
Discuss the layers of a computing system to list and briefly describe each layer. What is the importance of these combined layers?
Discuss how the early history of computing hardware differs from the several generations that followed in terms of the focus.
Discuss computer software history in terms of the generations and the years that encompassed the generations. Consider how writing programs progressed with each generation as compared to writing in machine code in the first-generation.
When considering computing as a discipline, determine and briefly describe the four areas in which Peter Denning states each practitioner must be skilled.
Chapter 5 (Computer Science Illuminated by Dale, Nell, Lewis, John)
In Chapter 5 we focus on computing components and the von Neumann architecture that is still used in computers today. You will show your knowledge of the topics by answering the following questions.
Describe the stored program concept and discuss the importance of this concept. List and briefly describe the five components of the von Neumann architecture.
Describe embedded systems and provide two examples of embedded systems within systems that you use.
Discuss the importance of parallel architectures and list the four general forms of parallel computing.
The purpose of the Exercise is to help you better understand the key points. It is not sufficient to state your opinions alone; you must be able to back up your responses by applying concepts and topics from the text with the information that supports your findings. The expected response length is 3-5 sentences per question.
Be as thorough as possible when writing your responses, and remember, this is an academic assignment, so no “text-talk,” no conversational tone, and ABOVE ALL OTHER THINGS… don’t plagiarize!! Lastly, spell-check and proofread your work! Failure to follow these steps will negatively impact your grade.
