id int64 0 18.9k | biography stringlengths 151 1.51k | qa listlengths 1 25 |
|---|---|---|
5,326 | Mechanical analog computers started appearing in the first century and were later used in the medieval era for astronomical calculations. In World War II, mechanical analog computers were used for specialized military applications such as calculating torpedo aiming. During this time the first electronic digital compute... | [
{
"answer": "astronomical calculations",
"question": "What were analog computers originally used for?"
},
{
"answer": "World War II,",
"question": "During what war were computers first used for military applications?"
},
{
"answer": "personal computers",
"question": "In computer term... |
5,327 | Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space. Computers are small enough to fit into mobile devices, and mobile computers can be powered by small batteries. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of ... | [
{
"answer": "integrated circuits",
"question": "Computers in today's age are based on what that make them much faster than earlier computers?"
},
{
"answer": "millions to billions of times",
"question": "How much more powerful are modern computers versus early computers?"
}
] |
5,328 | The first known use of the word "computer" was in 1613 in a book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by English writer Richard Braithwait: "I haue read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number." It referred to a person who carried out calculat... | [
{
"answer": "1613",
"question": "When was the first known use of the word \"computer\"?"
},
{
"answer": "The Yong Mans Gleanings",
"question": "In which book, was the term \"computer\" first used?"
},
{
"answer": "Richard Braithwait",
"question": "Who was the author of the book, The ... |
5,329 | Devices have been used to aid computation for thousands of years, mostly using one-to-one correspondence with fingers. The earliest counting device was probably a form of tally stick. Later record keeping aids throughout the Fertile Crescent included calculi (clay spheres, cones, etc.) which represented counts of items... | [
{
"answer": "a form of tally stick",
"question": "The earliest device to help count was what?"
},
{
"answer": "(clay spheres, cones, etc.)",
"question": "Calculi during the Fertile Crescent refers to what?"
}
] |
5,330 | The abacus was initially used for arithmetic tasks. The Roman abacus was used in Babylonia as early as 2400 BC. Since then, many other forms of reckoning boards or tables have been invented. In a medieval European counting house, a checkered cloth would be placed on a table, and markers moved around on it according to ... | [
{
"answer": "arithmetic tasks",
"question": "What was the abacus first used for?"
},
{
"answer": "2400 BC",
"question": "When was the Roman abacus first used?"
},
{
"answer": "Babylonia",
"question": "Where was the Roman abacus first used?"
},
{
"answer": "a checkered cloth",... |
5,331 | The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the earliest mechanical analog "computer", according to Derek J. de Solla Price. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1901 in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, and has been dated to circa... | [
{
"answer": "The Antikythera mechanism",
"question": "What is thought to be the first mechanical analog computer?"
},
{
"answer": "1901",
"question": "When was the Antikythera mechanism discovered?"
},
{
"answer": "Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera",
"question": "... |
5,332 | Many mechanical aids to calculation and measurement were constructed for astronomical and navigation use. The planisphere was a star chart invented by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī in the early 11th century. The astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world in either the 1st or 2nd centuries BC and is often attributed to Hipp... | [
{
"answer": "Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī",
"question": "Who invented the planisphere?"
},
{
"answer": "Hipparchus",
"question": "Who is thought to have invented the astrolabe in history?"
},
{
"answer": "the planisphere and dioptra",
"question": "The astrolabe was a combination of what two ... |
5,333 | The sector, a calculating instrument used for solving problems in proportion, trigonometry, multiplication and division, and for various functions, such as squares and cube roots, was developed in the late 16th century and found application in gunnery, surveying and navigation. | [
{
"answer": "16th century",
"question": "The sector, a calculating instrument, was invented during what century?"
}
] |
5,334 | The slide rule was invented around 1620–1630, shortly after the publication of the concept of the logarithm. It is a hand-operated analog computer for doing multiplication and division. As slide rule development progressed, added scales provided reciprocals, squares and square roots, cubes and cube roots, as well as tr... | [
{
"answer": "1620–1630",
"question": "When was the slide rule first invented?"
},
{
"answer": "doing multiplication and division.",
"question": "What is the slide rule used for?"
},
{
"answer": "Aviation",
"question": "What industry are slide rules still used today?"
}
] |
5,335 | In the 1770s Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a Swiss watchmaker, built a mechanical doll (automata) that could write holding a quill pen. By switching the number and order of its internal wheels different letters, and hence different messages, could be produced. In effect, it could be mechanically "programmed" to read instructions... | [
{
"answer": "a Swiss watchmaker",
"question": "What was the profession of Pierre Jaquet-Droz?"
},
{
"answer": "In the 1770s",
"question": "When did Pierre Jaquet-Droz build a mechanical doll that could hold a pen?"
},
{
"answer": "Musée d'Art et d'Histoire",
"question": "Where is the... |
5,336 | The tide-predicting machine invented by Sir William Thomson in 1872 was of great utility to navigation in shallow waters. It used a system of pulleys and wires to automatically calculate predicted tide levels for a set period at a particular location. | [
{
"answer": "1872",
"question": "When was the tide-predicting machine invented by Sir William Thomson invented?"
},
{
"answer": "Sir William Thomson",
"question": "Who invented the first tide-predicting machine in 1872?"
},
{
"answer": "system of pulleys and wires",
"question": "What... |
5,337 | The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration, used wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration. In 1876 Lord Kelvin had already discussed the possible construction of such calculators, but he had been stymied by the limited output torque of the... | [
{
"answer": "wheel-and-disc",
"question": "What type of mechanisms did the differential analyzer use?"
},
{
"answer": "Lord Kelvin",
"question": "In 1876 who lobbied for the construction of the differential analyzers?"
},
{
"answer": "1920s",
"question": "During what decade were mech... |
5,338 | Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the concept of a programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer", he conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century. After working on his revolutionary difference engine, designed to aid in navig... | [
{
"answer": "Charles Babbage",
"question": "Who invented the concept of a programmable computer?"
},
{
"answer": "Charles Babbage",
"question": "Who is considered the \"father of the computer\"?"
},
{
"answer": "early 19th century",
"question": "During what century was the first mech... |
5,339 | The machine was about a century ahead of its time. All the parts for his machine had to be made by hand — this was a major problem for a device with thousands of parts. Eventually, the project was dissolved with the decision of the British Government to cease funding. Babbage's failure to complete the analytical engine... | [
{
"answer": "Henry Babbage",
"question": "Who was Charles Babbage's son?"
},
{
"answer": "Henry Babbage",
"question": "Who created a simple version of the analytical engine's computing unit?"
},
{
"answer": "1888",
"question": "When was the mill created by Henry Babbage?"
},
{
... |
5,340 | The first modern analog computer was a tide-predicting machine, invented by Sir William Thomson in 1872. The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration using wheel-and-disc mechanisms, was conceptualized in 1876 by James Thomson, the brother of the more f... | [
{
"answer": "Sir William Thomson",
"question": "Who invented the first analog computer in the form of a tide-predicting machine?"
},
{
"answer": "1872",
"question": "When was the first analog computer in the form of a tide-predicting machine created?"
},
{
"answer": "James Thomson",
... |
5,341 | The art of mechanical analog computing reached its zenith with the differential analyzer, built by H. L. Hazen and Vannevar Bush at MIT starting in 1927. This built on the mechanical integrators of James Thomson and the torque amplifiers invented by H. W. Nieman. A dozen of these devices were built before their obsoles... | [
{
"answer": "MIT",
"question": "Where was the differential analyzer built by H.L. Hazen?"
},
{
"answer": "1927",
"question": "The differential analyzer by H.L. Hazen and Vannevar Bush was first being built in what year?"
},
{
"answer": "H. W. Nieman",
"question": "The torque amplifie... |
5,342 | By the 1950s the success of digital electronic computers had spelled the end for most analog computing machines, but analog computers remain in use in some specialized applications such as education (control systems) and aircraft (slide rule). | [
{
"answer": "50s",
"question": "By what decade were analog computing devices rendered obsolete?"
},
{
"answer": "education (control systems) and aircraft (slide rule).",
"question": "Analog computers remain in use in what industries?"
}
] |
5,343 | The principle of the modern computer was first described by mathematician and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, who set out the idea in his seminal 1936 paper, On Computable Numbers. Turing reformulated Kurt Gödel's 1931 results on the limits of proof and computation, replacing Gödel's universal arithmetic-bas... | [
{
"answer": "Alan Turing",
"question": "Who wrote the paper \"On Computable Numbers\"?"
},
{
"answer": "1936",
"question": "When did Alan Turing write the paper, \"On Computable Numbers\"?"
},
{
"answer": "Kurt Gödel",
"question": "Who did Turing revise the results on the limits of p... |
5,344 | He also introduced the notion of a 'Universal Machine' (now known as a Universal Turing machine), with the idea that such a machine could perform the tasks of any other machine, or in other words, it is provably capable of computing anything that is computable by executing a program stored on tape, allowing the machine... | [
{
"answer": "Universal Turing machine",
"question": "A Universal Machine is known as what today?"
}
] |
5,345 | By 1938 the United States Navy had developed an electromechanical analog computer small enough to use aboard a submarine. This was the Torpedo Data Computer, which used trigonometry to solve the problem of firing a torpedo at a moving target. During World War II similar devices were developed in other countries as well... | [
{
"answer": "the United States Navy",
"question": "What part of the US military developed an electromechanical analog computer to use on a submarine?"
},
{
"answer": "1938",
"question": "When did the US Navy invent an electromechanical computer to use on a submarine?"
},
{
"answer": "tri... |
5,346 | Early digital computers were electromechanical; electric switches drove mechanical relays to perform the calculation. These devices had a low operating speed and were eventually superseded by much faster all-electric computers, originally using vacuum tubes. The Z2, created by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1939, was o... | [
{
"answer": "Konrad Zuse",
"question": "Who created the relay computer, the Z2?"
},
{
"answer": "1939",
"question": "When did Konrad Zuse invent the Z2?"
},
{
"answer": "The Z2",
"question": "What is one of the first electromechanical relay computers?"
},
{
"answer": "German"... |
5,347 | In 1941, Zuse followed his earlier machine up with the Z3, the world's first working electromechanical programmable, fully automatic digital computer. The Z3 was built with 2000 relays, implementing a 22 bit word length that operated at a clock frequency of about 5–10 Hz. Program code was supplied on punched film while... | [
{
"answer": "1941",
"question": "When did Konrad Zuse create the Z3 computer?"
},
{
"answer": "the Z3",
"question": "What was the first automatic, digital, programmable computer created by Konrad Zuse?"
},
{
"answer": "2000",
"question": "How many relays did the Z3 contain?"
},
{... |
5,348 | Purely electronic circuit elements soon replaced their mechanical and electromechanical equivalents, at the same time that digital calculation replaced analog. The engineer Tommy Flowers, working at the Post Office Research Station in London in the 1930s, began to explore the possible use of electronics for the telepho... | [
{
"answer": "Post Office Research Station",
"question": "Where did the engineer Tommy Flowers work at during the 1930s?"
},
{
"answer": "London",
"question": "In what city did Tommy Flowers work in the 1930s?"
},
{
"answer": "1942",
"question": "The Atanasoff-Berry computer was inven... |
5,349 | During World War II, the British at Bletchley Park achieved a number of successes at breaking encrypted German military communications. The German encryption machine, Enigma, was first attacked with the help of the electro-mechanical bombes. To crack the more sophisticated German Lorenz SZ 40/42 machine, used for high-... | [
{
"answer": "Flowers",
"question": "Who built the first Colossus in 1943?"
},
{
"answer": "18 January 1944",
"question": "When was the Colossus sent to Bletchley Park?"
},
{
"answer": ", the British",
"question": "Who achieved success at cracking secret German military communications... |
5,350 | Colossus was the world's first electronic digital programmable computer. It used a large number of valves (vacuum tubes). It had paper-tape input and was capable of being configured to perform a variety of boolean logical operations on its data, but it was not Turing-complete. Nine Mk II Colossi were built (The Mk I wa... | [
{
"answer": "Colossus",
"question": "What was the first electronic digital programmable computer in the world?"
},
{
"answer": "1500 thermionic valves (tubes)",
"question": "How many vacuum tubes did the Colossus Mark I contain?"
},
{
"answer": "2400",
"question": "How many tubes did... |
5,351 | The US-built ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first electronic programmable computer built in the US. Although the ENIAC was similar to the Colossus it was much faster and more flexible. It was unambiguously a Turing-complete device and could compute any problem that would fit into its memor... | [
{
"answer": "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)",
"question": "The US-buils ENIAC stands for what?"
},
{
"answer": "ENIAC",
"question": "What was the first electronic programmable computer built in the United States?"
}
] |
5,352 | It combined the high speed of electronics with the ability to be programmed for many complex problems. It could add or subtract 5000 times a second, a thousand times faster than any other machine. It also had modules to multiply, divide, and square root. High speed memory was limited to 20 words (about 80 bytes). Built... | [
{
"answer": "5000",
"question": "How many times could it add or subtract a second?"
},
{
"answer": "ENIAC",
"question": "What was the limit of its high speed memory?"
},
{
"answer": "John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert",
"question": "ENIAC was constructed by whom?"
},
{
"answe... |
5,353 | Early computing machines had fixed programs. Changing its function required the re-wiring and re-structuring of the machine. With the proposal of the stored-program computer this changed. A stored-program computer includes by design an instruction set and can store in memory a set of instructions (a program) that detai... | [
{
"answer": "Alan Turing",
"question": "The basis for the stored-program computer was written by whom?"
},
{
"answer": "1936",
"question": "When did Alan Turing write his paper about the basis for the stored-program computer?"
},
{
"answer": "1945",
"question": "When did Alan Turing ... |
5,354 | The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, nicknamed Baby, was the world's first stored-program computer. It was built at the Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill, and ran its first program on 21 June 1948. It was designed as a testbed for the Williams tube the ... | [
{
"answer": "Baby",
"question": "What was the nickname of the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine?"
},
{
"answer": "The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine",
"question": "What was the first stored-program computer in the world?"
},
{
"answer": "Victoria University of Manc... |
5,355 | The Mark 1 in turn quickly became the prototype for the Ferranti Mark 1, the world's first commercially available general-purpose computer. Built by Ferranti, it was delivered to the University of Manchester in February 1951. At least seven of these later machines were delivered between 1953 and 1957, one of them to Sh... | [
{
"answer": "The Mark 1",
"question": "What was the prototype for the Ferranti Mark 1?"
},
{
"answer": "Ferranti Mark 1",
"question": "What was the first available computer for the public?"
},
{
"answer": "1951",
"question": "When was the Ferranti Mark 1 built?"
},
{
"answer"... |
5,356 | The bipolar transistor was invented in 1947. From 1955 onwards transistors replaced vacuum tubes in computer designs, giving rise to the "second generation" of computers. Compared to vacuum tubes, transistors have many advantages: they are smaller, and require less power than vacuum tubes, so give off less heat. Silico... | [
{
"answer": "1947.",
"question": "When was the bipolar transistor created?"
},
{
"answer": "1955",
"question": "When did transistors start replacing vacuum tubes in computers?"
}
] |
5,357 | At the University of Manchester, a team under the leadership of Tom Kilburn designed and built a machine using the newly developed transistors instead of valves. Their first transistorised computer and the first in the world, was operational by 1953, and a second version was completed there in April 1955. However, the ... | [
{
"answer": "Tom Kilburn",
"question": "At the University of Manchester, who oversaw the building of a computer using transistors instead of valves?"
},
{
"answer": "1953",
"question": "The first transistorised computer was operational in what year?"
},
{
"answer": "valves",
"questio... |
5,358 | The next great advance in computing power came with the advent of the integrated circuit. The idea of the integrated circuit was first conceived by a radar scientist working for the Royal Radar Establishment of the Ministry of Defence, Geoffrey W.A. Dummer. Dummer presented the first public description of an integrated... | [
{
"answer": "Geoffrey W.A. Dummer",
"question": "The integrated circuit of a computer was the idea of whom?"
},
{
"answer": "Royal Radar Establishment of the Ministry of Defence",
"question": "Where did Geoffrey W.A. Dummer work at?"
}
] |
5,359 | The first practical ICs were invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor. Kilby recorded his initial ideas concerning the integrated circuit in July 1958, successfully demonstrating the first working integrated example on 12 September 1958. In his patent application of 6 Febr... | [
{
"answer": "Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor.",
"question": "Where created the first practical integrated circuits?"
},
{
"answer": "Texas Instruments",
"question": "Where did Jack Kilby work at when he created the first IC?"
},
{
"answer": "12... |
5,360 | This new development heralded an explosion in the commercial and personal use of computers and led to the invention of the microprocessor. While the subject of exactly which device was the first microprocessor is contentious, partly due to lack of agreement on the exact definition of the term "microprocessor", it is la... | [
{
"answer": "Intel 4004",
"question": "What was the name of the first single-chip microprocessor?"
},
{
"answer": "Ted Hoff, Federico Faggin, and Stanley Mazor",
"question": "Who created the Intel 4004 microprocessor?"
},
{
"answer": "Intel.",
"question": "Where did Ted Hoff, Federic... |
5,361 | With the continued miniaturization of computing resources, and advancements in portable battery life, portable computers grew in popularity in the 2000s. The same developments that spurred the growth of laptop computers and other portable computers allowed manufacturers to integrate computing resources into cellular ph... | [
{
"answer": "smartphones",
"question": "Computing resources that are created in cell phones are called what?"
},
{
"answer": "237 million devices",
"question": "How many tablets were sold in 2Q 2013?"
}
] |
5,362 | In practical terms, a computer program may be just a few instructions or extend to many millions of instructions, as do the programs for word processors and web browsers for example. A typical modern computer can execute billions of instructions per second (gigaflops) and rarely makes a mistake over many years of opera... | [
{
"answer": "(gigaflops)",
"question": "Billions of instructions per second are called what in computer terms?"
}
] |
5,363 | Program execution might be likened to reading a book. While a person will normally read each word and line in sequence, they may at times jump back to an earlier place in the text or skip sections that are not of interest. Similarly, a computer may sometimes go back and repeat the instructions in some section of the pr... | [
{
"answer": "the flow of control",
"question": "When a computer goes back and repeats instructions of a program over until an internal condition is met is called what?"
},
{
"answer": "the flow of control",
"question": "What allows a computer to perform repetitive tasks without human intervening... |
5,364 | In most computers, individual instructions are stored as machine code with each instruction being given a unique number (its operation code or opcode for short). The command to add two numbers together would have one opcode; the command to multiply them would have a different opcode, and so on. The simplest computers a... | [
{
"answer": "Harvard Mark I computer",
"question": "Which computer is the Harvard architecture modeled after?"
},
{
"answer": "the Harvard architecture",
"question": "A computer that stores its program in memory and kept separate from the data is called what?"
}
] |
5,365 | While it is possible to write computer programs as long lists of numbers (machine language) and while this technique was used with many early computers, it is extremely tedious and potentially error-prone to do so in practice, especially for complicated programs. Instead, each basic instruction can be given a short nam... | [
{
"answer": "basic instruction can be given a short name that is indicative of its function",
"question": "A computer's assembly language is known as what?"
},
{
"answer": "an assembler.",
"question": "Programs that convert assembly language into machine language are called what?"
},
{
"... |
5,366 | Programming languages provide various ways of specifying programs for computers to run. Unlike natural languages, programming languages are designed to permit no ambiguity and to be concise. They are purely written languages and are often difficult to read aloud. They are generally either translated into machine code b... | [
{
"answer": "a compiler or an assembler",
"question": "Programming languages are translated into machine code by what?"
},
{
"answer": "an interpreter",
"question": "Programming languages are translated at run time by what?"
}
] |
5,367 | Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) tend to be unique to a particular type of computer. For instance, an ARM architecture computer (such as may be found in a PDA or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine language of an Inte... | [
{
"answer": "a PDA or a hand-held videogame",
"question": "An ARM architecture computer can be found in what?"
}
] |
5,368 | Though considerably easier than in machine language, writing long programs in assembly language is often difficult and is also error prone. Therefore, most practical programs are written in more abstract high-level programming languages that are able to express the needs of the programmer more conveniently (and thereby... | [
{
"answer": "a compiler",
"question": "Assembly language that is translated into machine language is done by what type of computer?"
}
] |
5,369 | These 4G languages are less procedural than 3G languages. The benefit of 4GL is that it provides ways to obtain information without requiring the direct help of a programmer. Example of 4GL is SQL. | [
{
"answer": "SQL",
"question": "An example of a 4GL is what?"
},
{
"answer": "provides ways to obtain information without requiring the direct help of a programmer",
"question": "What is the pro of 4GL over a 3G language?"
}
] |
5,370 | Errors in computer programs are called "bugs". They may be benign and not affect the usefulness of the program, or have only subtle effects. But in some cases, they may cause the program or the entire system to "hang", becoming unresponsive to input such as mouse clicks or keystrokes, to completely fail, or to crash. O... | [
{
"answer": "\"bugs",
"question": "Another name for errors in programs are called what?"
},
{
"answer": "programmer error or an oversight made in the program's design",
"question": "Bugs are usually the fault of whom or what?"
}
] |
5,371 | Admiral Grace Hopper, an American computer scientist and developer of the first compiler, is credited for having first used the term "bugs" in computing after a dead moth was found shorting a relay in the Harvard Mark II computer in September 1947. | [
{
"answer": "Admiral Grace Hopper",
"question": "Who was the developer of the first compier?"
},
{
"answer": "Admiral Grace Hopper",
"question": "Who first coined the term \"bugs\"?"
},
{
"answer": "moth",
"question": "What type of creature shorted a relay of Grace Hopper's computer?... |
5,372 | A general purpose computer has four main components: the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), the control unit, the memory, and the input and output devices (collectively termed I/O). These parts are interconnected by buses, often made of groups of wires. | [
{
"answer": "arithmetic logic",
"question": "The ALU of a computer stands for what?"
},
{
"answer": "I/O",
"question": "Input and output devices are known as what term?"
},
{
"answer": "the control unit, the memory",
"question": "Besides the ALU, input and output devices, what are th... |
5,373 | Inside each of these parts are thousands to trillions of small electrical circuits which can be turned off or on by means of an electronic switch. Each circuit represents a bit (binary digit) of information so that when the circuit is on it represents a "1", and when off it represents a "0" (in positive logic represent... | [
{
"answer": "a bit (binary digit) of information",
"question": "A circuit in a computer part represents what?"
},
{
"answer": "on",
"question": "In positive logic representation a \"1\" represents when a circuit is what?"
},
{
"answer": "off",
"question": "In positive logic represent... |
5,374 | The control unit (often called a control system or central controller) manages the computer's various components; it reads and interprets (decodes) the program instructions, transforming them into control signals that activate other parts of the computer. Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of ex... | [
{
"answer": "a control system or central controller)",
"question": "What are other names for a control unit for a computer?"
},
{
"answer": "(decodes",
"question": "Reading and interpreting from a control unit is called doing what?"
}
] |
5,375 | A key component common to all CPUs is the program counter, a special memory cell (a register) that keeps track of which location in memory the next instruction is to be read from. | [
{
"answer": "a register",
"question": "A special memory cell of a CPU is called what?"
},
{
"answer": "which location in memory the next instruction is to be read from",
"question": "A register of a CPU keeps track of what?"
},
{
"answer": "the program counter",
"question": "What is ... |
5,376 | Since the program counter is (conceptually) just another set of memory cells, it can be changed by calculations done in the ALU. Adding 100 to the program counter would cause the next instruction to be read from a place 100 locations further down the program. Instructions that modify the program counter are often known... | [
{
"answer": "the ALU",
"question": "In what part can the program counter be changed by calculations?"
},
{
"answer": "\"jumps\"",
"question": "Instructions that change the program counter are called what?"
},
{
"answer": "instructions that are repeated by the computer)",
"question": ... |
5,377 | The sequence of operations that the control unit goes through to process an instruction is in itself like a short computer program, and indeed, in some more complex CPU designs, there is another yet smaller computer called a microsequencer, which runs a microcode program that causes all of these events to happen. | [
{
"answer": "microsequencer",
"question": "In some CPU designs there is tinier computer called what?"
},
{
"answer": "CPU",
"question": "A microsequencer can be found in what other computer component?"
}
] |
5,378 | The control unit, ALU, and registers are collectively known as a central processing unit (CPU). Early CPUs were composed of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically been constructed on a single integrated circuit called a microprocessor. | [
{
"answer": "central processing unit",
"question": "The CPU is an abbreviation for what?"
},
{
"answer": "The control unit, ALU, and registers",
"question": "What 3 parts make up the CPU?"
},
{
"answer": "a microprocessor",
"question": "CPUs that are constructed on a single integrate... |
5,379 | The set of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to addition and subtraction, or might include multiplication, division, trigonometry functions such as sine, cosine, etc., and square roots. Some can only operate on whole numbers (integers) whilst others use floating point to represent real... | [
{
"answer": "sine, cosine,",
"question": "Some trigonometry functions are what?"
},
{
"answer": "(integers",
"question": "The term for whole numbers is what?"
}
] |
5,380 | Logic operations involve Boolean logic: AND, OR, XOR, and NOT. These can be useful for creating complicated conditional statements and processing boolean logic. | [
{
"answer": "AND, OR, XOR, and NOT",
"question": "Boolean logic consists of what?"
}
] |
5,381 | Superscalar computers may contain multiple ALUs, allowing them to process several instructions simultaneously. Graphics processors and computers with SIMD and MIMD features often contain ALUs that can perform arithmetic on vectors and matrices. | [
{
"answer": "Superscalar",
"question": "Computers that have multiple ALUs are called what?"
}
] |
5,382 | A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of cells into which numbers can be placed or read. Each cell has a numbered "address" and can store a single number. The computer can be instructed to "put the number 123 into the cell numbered 1357" or to "add the number that is in cell 1357 to the number that is in cell 246... | [
{
"answer": "a single number",
"question": "How many numbers can a cell of a computer's memory hold?"
},
{
"answer": "the software's",
"question": "What is the responsibility of giving significance to what the memory sees as nothing but numbers?"
}
] |
5,383 | In almost all modern computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers (28 = 256); either from 0 to 255 or −128 to +127. To store larger numbers, several consecutive bytes may be used (typically, two, four or eight... | [
{
"answer": "a byte",
"question": "A group of 8 bits is called what?"
},
{
"answer": "256 different numbers",
"question": "How many numbers can a byte represent?"
},
{
"answer": "0 to 255 or −128 to +127",
"question": "What is the range of the numbers that a byte can represent?"
}
... |
5,384 | The CPU contains a special set of memory cells called registers that can be read and written to much more rapidly than the main memory area. There are typically between two and one hundred registers depending on the type of CPU. Registers are used for the most frequently needed data items to avoid having to access main... | [
{
"answer": "The CPU",
"question": "What part of the computer has memory cells called registers?"
},
{
"answer": "two and one hundred registers",
"question": "What is the typical range of registers for a CPU?"
}
] |
5,385 | RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU commands it, but ROM is preloaded with data and software that never changes, therefore the CPU can only read from it. ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up instructions. In general, the contents of RAM are erased when the power to the computer is t... | [
{
"answer": "ROM",
"question": "What type of memory can a CPU only read from?"
},
{
"answer": "RAM",
"question": "What type of memory can a CPU read and write from?"
},
{
"answer": "ROM",
"question": "What type of memory is always kept and kept the same?"
},
{
"answer": "the ... |
5,386 | In more sophisticated computers there may be one or more RAM cache memories, which are slower than registers but faster than main memory. Generally computers with this sort of cache are designed to move frequently needed data into the cache automatically, often without the need for any intervention on the programmer's ... | [
{
"answer": "registers",
"question": "RAM cache memory is slower than what?"
}
] |
5,387 | I/O is the means by which a computer exchanges information with the outside world. Devices that provide input or output to the computer are called peripherals. On a typical personal computer, peripherals include input devices like the keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as the display and printer. Hard disk dri... | [
{
"answer": "peripherals",
"question": "Devices that give input or output to a computer are called what?"
},
{
"answer": "input",
"question": "A mouse is what type of peripheral device?"
},
{
"answer": "output",
"question": "A printer is what type of peripheral device?"
},
{
... |
5,388 | While a computer may be viewed as running one gigantic program stored in its main memory, in some systems it is necessary to give the appearance of running several programs simultaneously. This is achieved by multitasking i.e. having the computer switch rapidly between running each program in turn. | [
{
"answer": "multitasking",
"question": "In computer terms, when a computer is switching rapidly between running each program in turn, is called what?"
}
] |
5,389 | One means by which this is done is with a special signal called an interrupt, which can periodically cause the computer to stop executing instructions where it was and do something else instead. By remembering where it was executing prior to the interrupt, the computer can return to that task later. If several programs... | [
{
"answer": "\"time-sharing\"",
"question": "A method of multitasking that takes a \"slice\" of time in turn is called what?"
},
{
"answer": "an interrupt,",
"question": "A signal that stops a compute executing instructions is called what?"
}
] |
5,390 | Seemingly, multitasking would cause a computer that is switching between several programs to run more slowly, in direct proportion to the number of programs it is running, but most programs spend much of their time waiting for slow input/output devices to complete their tasks. If a program is waiting for the user to cl... | [
{
"answer": "more slowly,",
"question": "Multitasking would seemingly cause a computer to run in what fashion?"
},
{
"answer": "input/output devices",
"question": "What do a lot of programs spend time waiting for?"
}
] |
5,391 | Some computers are designed to distribute their work across several CPUs in a multiprocessing configuration, a technique once employed only in large and powerful machines such as supercomputers, mainframe computers and servers. Multiprocessor and multi-core (multiple CPUs on a single integrated circuit) personal and la... | [
{
"answer": "CPUs",
"question": "Multiprocessor and multi-core computers have multiples of what?"
}
] |
5,392 | Supercomputers in particular often have highly unique architectures that differ significantly from the basic stored-program architecture and from general purpose computers. They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-speed interconnects, and specialized computing hardware. Such designs tend to be useful only ... | [
{
"answer": "thousands",
"question": "How many CPUs do supercomputers typically possess?"
},
{
"answer": "Supercomputers",
"question": "What is the name of a computer that has many CPUs and much more powerful?"
}
] |
5,393 | Computers have been used to coordinate information between multiple locations since the 1950s. The U.S. military's SAGE system was the first large-scale example of such a system, which led to a number of special-purpose commercial systems such as Sabre. | [
{
"answer": "SAGE system",
"question": "What system of the U.S. military's was the first large-scale system to coordinate information between several locations?"
},
{
"answer": "the 1950s",
"question": "When were computers first used to coordinate information between many locations?"
}
] |
5,394 | In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. The effort was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that resulted was called the ARPANET. The technologies that made the Arpanet possible spr... | [
{
"answer": "ARPA",
"question": "Who funded the linking of computers around the US in the 1970s?"
},
{
"answer": "DARPA)",
"question": "ARPA is now known as what?"
}
] |
5,395 | In time, the network spread beyond academic and military institutions and became known as the Internet. The emergence of networking involved a redefinition of the nature and boundaries of the computer. Computer operating systems and applications were modified to include the ability to define and access the resources of... | [
{
"answer": "the Internet.",
"question": "The network spread to be known as what today?"
}
] |
5,396 | The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a minimum capability (being Turing-complete) is, in principle, capable of performi... | [
{
"answer": "programs",
"question": "The ability to store and execute lists of instructions are called what?"
},
{
"answer": "The Church–Turing thesis",
"question": "The mathematical statement of computers versatility is known as what?"
}
] |
5,397 | A computer does not need to be electronic, nor even have a processor, nor RAM, nor even a hard disk. While popular usage of the word "computer" is synonymous with a personal electronic computer, the modern definition of a computer is literally: "A device that computes, especially a programmable [usually] electronic mac... | [
{
"answer": "a computer",
"question": "All devices that can process information can qualify being called what?"
}
] |
5,398 | Historically, computers evolved from mechanical computers and eventually from vacuum tubes to transistors. However, conceptually computational systems as flexible as a personal computer can be built out of almost anything. For example, a computer can be made out of billiard balls (billiard ball computer); an often quot... | [
{
"answer": "transistors",
"question": "Vacuum tubes in early computers were replaced by what?"
},
{
"answer": "photolithographed semiconductors",
"question": "Transistors are typically made up of what today?"
},
{
"answer": "billiard ball computer)",
"question": "A computer that is ... |
5,399 | There is active research to make computers out of many promising new types of technology, such as optical computers, DNA computers, neural computers, and quantum computers. Most computers are universal, and are able to calculate any computable function, and are limited only by their memory capacity and operating speed.... | [
{
"answer": "quantum computers",
"question": "What type of computer can break encryption algorithms quickly?"
},
{
"answer": "quantum factoring",
"question": "By what method do quantum computers solve encryption algorithms quickly?"
}
] |
5,400 | A computer will solve problems in exactly the way it is programmed to, without regard to efficiency, alternative solutions, possible shortcuts, or possible errors in the code. Computer programs that learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. | [
{
"answer": "artificial intelligence",
"question": "Computer programs that can learn are studied in what field?"
}
] |
5,401 | The term hardware covers all of those parts of a computer that are tangible objects. Circuits, displays, power supplies, cables, keyboards, printers and mice are all hardware. | [
{
"answer": "hardware",
"question": "Parts of a computer that are real objects are collectively known as what?"
}
] |
5,402 | Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be modified (such as BIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible), it is sometimes called "firmware". | [
{
"answer": "Software",
"question": "Parts of a computer that are not material objects are collectively known as what?"
},
{
"answer": "firmware",
"question": "Software stored in hardware that cannot be changed easily is called what?"
},
{
"answer": "software",
"question": "What type... |
5,403 | Firmware is the technology which has the combination of both hardware and software such as BIOS chip inside a computer. This chip (hardware) is located on the motherboard and has the BIOS set up (software) stored in it. | [
{
"answer": "the motherboard",
"question": "A BIOS chip is located where in a computer?"
},
{
"answer": "BIOS set up",
"question": "What type of software is stored in a BIOS chip?"
}
] |
5,404 | When unprocessed data is sent to the computer with the help of input devices, the data is processed and sent to output devices. The input devices may be hand-operated or automated. The act of processing is mainly regulated by the CPU. Some examples of hand-operated input devices are: | [
{
"answer": "CPU",
"question": "Processing data from input and output devices is typically done by what?"
},
{
"answer": "output devices",
"question": "Where is the data from input devices sent to after being processed?"
}
] |
5,405 | Black people is a term used in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification or of ethnicity, to describe persons who are perceived to be dark-skinned compared to other given populations. As such, the meaning of the expression varies widely both between and within societies, and depends si... | [
{
"answer": "communities and countries, \"black\" is also perceived as a derogatory,",
"question": "Do some countries have negative feelings towards the word \"black\"?"
},
{
"answer": "racial classification or of ethnicity",
"question": "What is \"black people\" a term for?"
},
{
"answe... |
5,406 | Different societies apply differing criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and these social constructs have also changed over time. In a number of countries, societal variables affect classification as much as skin color, and the social criteria for "blackness" vary. For example, in North America the term bla... | [
{
"answer": "Different societies apply differing criteria regarding who is classified as \"black\"",
"question": "Do all societies use the term \"black\" the same?"
},
{
"answer": "societal variables",
"question": "What factors can affect the classification of \"blackness\"?"
},
{
"answe... |
5,407 | The Romans interacted with and later conquered parts of Mauretania, an early state that covered modern Morocco, western Algeria, and the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla during the classical period. The people of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri, which was subsequently rendered as Moors in English... | [
{
"answer": "Morocco, western Algeria, and the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla",
"question": "What made up Mauretania?"
},
{
"answer": "The Romans",
"question": "Who conquered parts of Mauretania?"
},
{
"answer": "the classical period.",
"question": "During what period did Mauretani... |
5,408 | Numerous communities of dark-skinned peoples are present in North Africa, some dating from prehistoric communities. Others are descendants of the historical Trans-Saharan trade in peoples and/or, and after the Arab invasions of North Africa in the 7th century, descendants of slaves from the Arab Slave Trade in North Af... | [
{
"answer": "North Africa",
"question": "Where was the Arab Slave Trade?"
},
{
"answer": "the 7th century",
"question": "When were the Arab Invasions?"
},
{
"answer": "North Africa",
"question": "Where were numerous dark-skinned communities? "
},
{
"answer": "some dating from... |
5,409 | In the 18th century, the Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail "the Bloodthirsty" (1672–1727) raised a corps of 150,000 black slaves, called his Black Guard, who coerced the country into submission. | [
{
"answer": "(1672–1727)",
"question": "When did Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail live?"
},
{
"answer": "150,000",
"question": "How many black slaves did he own?"
},
{
"answer": "Black Guard",
"question": "What did he call his slave army?"
},
{
"answer": "coerced the country int... |
5,410 | According to Dr. Carlos Moore, resident scholar at Brazil's University of the State of Bahia, in the 21st century Afro-multiracials in the Arab world, including Arabs in North Africa, self-identify in ways that resemble multi-racials in Latin America. He claims that black-looking Arabs, much like black-looking Latin Am... | [
{
"answer": "because they have some distant white ancestry.",
"question": "Why would a black-looking Arab consider himself white?"
},
{
"answer": "Brazil's University of the State of Bahia",
"question": "Where does Dr. Carlos Moore work?"
},
{
"answer": "in ways that resemble multi-racia... |
5,411 | Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had a mother who was a dark-skinned Nubian Sudanese woman and a father who was a lighter-skinned Egyptian. In response to an advertisement for an acting position, as a young man he said, "I am not white but I am not exactly black either. My blackness is tending to reddish". | [
{
"answer": "Anwar Sadat",
"question": "Who was the Egyptian President?"
},
{
"answer": "Nubian Sudanese",
"question": "What ethnicity was his mother?"
},
{
"answer": "Egyptian",
"question": "What ethnicity was his father?"
},
{
"answer": "reddish",
"question": "What colo... |
5,412 | Due to the patriarchal nature of Arab society, Arab men, including during the slave trade in North Africa, enslaved more black women than men. They used more black female slaves in domestic service and agriculture than males. The men interpreted the Qur'an to permit sexual relations between a male master and his female... | [
{
"answer": "black women",
"question": "Who was enslaved more often?"
},
{
"answer": "sexual relations between a male master and his female slave",
"question": "What did the Qur'an permit?"
},
{
"answer": "domestic service and agriculture",
"question": "What were female slaves used f... |
5,413 | Some succeeded their fathers as rulers, such as Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who ruled Morocco from 1578 to 1608. He was not technically considered as a mixed-race child of a slave; his mother was Fulani and a concubine of his father. Such tolerance for black persons, even when technically "free", was not so common in Moroc... | [
{
"answer": "Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur",
"question": "Who was the ruler in Morocco?"
},
{
"answer": "from 1578 to 1608",
"question": "When did Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur rule?"
},
{
"answer": "Fulani",
"question": "What ethnicity was his mother?"
},
{
"answer": "(Arabic: عبد,) (mea... |
5,414 | In early 1991, non-Arabs of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan attested that they were victims of an intensifying Arab apartheid campaign, segregating Arabs and non-Arabs (specifically people of sub-Saharan African descent). Sudanese Arabs, who controlled the government, were widely referred to as practicing apartheid against ... | [
{
"answer": "early 1991",
"question": "When did the Arab apartheid intensify? "
},
{
"answer": "non-Arabs of the Zaghawa tribe",
"question": "Who felt persecuted due to the apartheid?"
},
{
"answer": "Sudan",
"question": "Where did these people live?"
},
{
"answer": "Sudanese... |
5,415 | American University economist George Ayittey accused the Arab government of Sudan of practicing acts of racism against black citizens. According to Ayittey, "In Sudan... the Arabs monopolized power and excluded blacks – Arab apartheid." Many African commentators joined Ayittey in accusing Sudan of practising Arab apart... | [
{
"answer": "George Ayittey",
"question": "Who accused the Arab government of practicing acts of racism?"
},
{
"answer": "the Arab government",
"question": "Who executed the apartheid?"
},
{
"answer": "blacks",
"question": "Who was excluded?"
},
{
"answer": "Sudan",
"ques... |
5,416 | Alan Dershowitz described Sudan as an example of a government that "actually deserve(s)" the appellation "apartheid." Former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler echoed the accusation. | [
{
"answer": "Irwin Cotler",
"question": "Who was the Canadian Minister of Justice?"
},
{
"answer": "an example of a government that \"actually deserve(s)\" the appellation \"apartheid.\"",
"question": "How did Alan Dershozitz describe the Sudan?"
},
{
"answer": "Irwin Cotler",
"quest... |
5,417 | In South Africa, the period of colonization resulted in many unions and marriages between European men and African women from various tribes, resulting in mixed-race children. As the Europeans acquired territory and imposed rule over the Africans, they generally pushed mixed-race and Africans into second-class status. ... | [
{
"answer": "many unions and marriages between European men and African women from various tribes",
"question": "What did the colonization of South Africa result in?"
},
{
"answer": "mixed-race children",
"question": "What was a result of these marriages?"
},
{
"answer": "second-class",
... |
5,418 | The apartheid bureaucracy devised complex (and often arbitrary) criteria in the Population Registration Act of 1945 to determine who belonged in which group. Minor officials administered tests to enforce the classifications. When it was unclear from a person's physical appearance whether the individual should be consid... | [
{
"answer": "the Population Registration Act of 1945",
"question": "What act determined what class a citizen belonged to?"
},
{
"answer": "pencil test",
"question": "What test was used to determine if someone was coloured or black?"
},
{
"answer": "A pencil was inserted into a person's h... |
5,419 | Sandra Laing is a South African woman who was classified as Coloured by authorities during the apartheid era, due to her skin colour and hair texture, although her parents could prove at least three generations of European ancestors. At age 10, she was expelled from her all-white school. The officials' decisions based ... | [
{
"answer": "Sandra Laing",
"question": "Who was featured in the movie \"Skin\"?"
},
{
"answer": "2008",
"question": "What year was the movie \"Skin\" made?"
},
{
"answer": "age 10",
"question": "At was age was Sandra Laing expelled from school?"
},
{
"answer": "South African... |
5,420 | During the apartheid era, those classed as "Coloured" were oppressed and discriminated against. But, they had limited rights and overall had slightly better socioeconomic conditions than those classed as "Black". The government required that Blacks and Coloureds live in areas separate from Whites, creating large townsh... | [
{
"answer": "those classed as \"Coloured\"",
"question": "Who was oppressed and discriminated against?"
},
{
"answer": "During the apartheid era",
"question": "What era did this discrimination take place?"
},
{
"answer": "those classed as \"Black\"",
"question": "Who were \"Coloured\... |
5,421 | In the post-apartheid era, the Constitution of South Africa has declared the country to be a "Non-racial democracy". In an effort to redress past injustices, the ANC government has introduced laws in support of affirmative action policies for Blacks; under these they define "Black" people to include "Africans", "Colour... | [
{
"answer": "affirmative action policies",
"question": "What laws did they introduce to support blacks?"
},
{
"answer": "\"Africans\", \"Coloureds\" and \"Asians\"",
"question": "Who does the term \"black\" people include?"
},
{
"answer": "a \"Non-racial democracy\"",
"question": "Wh... |
5,422 | In 2008, the High Court in South Africa ruled that Chinese South Africans who were residents during the apartheid era (and their descendants) are to be reclassified as "Black people," solely for the purposes of accessing affirmative action benefits, because they were also "disadvantaged" by racial discrimination. Chine... | [
{
"answer": "the High Court in South Africa",
"question": "Who declared Chinese South Africans as \"Black People\"?"
},
{
"answer": "2008",
"question": "What year did this ruling happen?"
},
{
"answer": "solely for the purposes of accessing affirmative action benefits",
"question": "... |
5,423 | Other than by appearance, "Coloureds" can usually be distinguished from "Blacks" by language. Most speak Afrikaans or English as a first language, as opposed to Bantu languages such as Zulu or Xhosa. They also tend to have more European-sounding names than Bantu names. | [
{
"answer": "language",
"question": "What is another way \"Coloureds\" can be distinguished from \"Blacks\"?"
},
{
"answer": "Afrikaans or English",
"question": "What languages are most common?"
},
{
"answer": "Zulu or Xhosa",
"question": "What are less common languages spoken?"
},... |
5,424 | Historians estimate that between the advent of Islam in 650CE and the abolition of slavery in the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-20th century, 10 to 18 million sub-Saharan Black Africans were enslaved by Arab slave traders and transported to the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries. This number far exceeded the nu... | [
{
"answer": "10 to 18 million",
"question": "How many sub-Saharan Black Africans were enslaved?"
},
{
"answer": "between the advent of Islam in 650CE and the abolition of slavery in the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-20th century",
"question": "In what time frame were these people enslaved?"
},
... |
5,425 | Genetic studies have found significant African female-mediated gene flow in Arab communities in the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries, with an average of 38% of maternal lineages in Yemen are of direct African descent, 16% in Oman-Qatar, and 10% in Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates. | [
{
"answer": "average of 38%",
"question": "How many people in Yemen have African lineage? "
},
{
"answer": "16%",
"question": "How many people in Oman-Qatar have African lineage?"
},
{
"answer": "10%",
"question": "How many people in Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates have African lin... |
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