Computer Organization and Architecture, unit: Input/Output Systems. Core concepts, terminology, and worked-example cues a college student meets for this unit, building on prior units without repeating them. Front: a term, concept, or short problem cue. Back: the definition, explanation, or answer.
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- What is an I/O (input/output) system?
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The hardware and software that allows a computer to communicate with external devices- What is a peripheral device?
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External hardware connected to a computer, such as a keyboard, mouse, or printer- What is polling, as an I/O technique?
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Repeatedly checking a device's status to determine when it needs attention- What is an interrupt?
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A signal that causes the CPU to pause its current task and handle an urgent event- What is an interrupt handler?
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A routine executed in response to a specific interrupt signal- What is direct memory access (DMA)?
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A method allowing peripherals to transfer data directly to memory without CPU involvement- Why is DMA useful?
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It frees the CPU from managing large data transfers, improving overall system efficiency- What is a device driver?
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Software that allows an operating system to communicate with a specific hardware device- What is memory-mapped I/O?
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A technique where device registers are accessed using regular memory addresses- What is port-mapped I/O?
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A technique where devices are accessed through a separate address space from memory- What is a bus, in computer architecture?
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A communication pathway that transfers data between components of a computer- What is bandwidth, in the context of a bus or I/O channel?
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The maximum rate at which data can be transferred- What is a controller, in I/O systems?
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Hardware that manages communication between the CPU and a specific peripheral device- What is buffering, in I/O operations?
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Temporarily storing data during transfer to account for speed differences between devices- What is an interrupt priority level used for?
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Determining which interrupt should be handled first when multiple occur simultaneously
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