Computer Languages Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: Multiprocessing

Multiprocessing means two or more processors executing programs at the same instant, which is what the question describes. Multiprogramming and time sharing keep several programs in memory but interleave them on a single processor, so only one instruction is executing at any moment.

Answer: A

Correct answer: loop

IF combined with GOTO sends control back to an earlier line when a condition holds, which is a loop built by hand - the way repetition was written before FOR and WHILE were available. The condition is the part that decides when to stop; the construction as a whole is the loop.

Answer: A

Correct answer: constant

A constant is a quantity whose value is fixed for the whole run of the program, as against a variable, whose value may change. Mantissa and exponent are the two parts of a floating-point number.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Power PC

The PowerPC is a RISC design - a small set of fixed-length instructions, most of them executing in one cycle. The Intel 486DX belongs to the x86 family, which is CISC.

Answer: D

Correct answer: assembler

An assembler translates assembly language into machine code, one mnemonic to one instruction. A compiler does the same job for a high level language; an operator and an inverter are not translators at all.

Answer: D

Correct answer: all of the above

An identifier is simply a name a programmer gives to something in the program, and arrays, variables and named constants all need names. What distinguishes an identifier from a keyword is that the programmer chooses it.

Answer: C

Correct answer: reserved words

Words the language keeps for its own purposes - IF, THEN, FOR, PRINT - are reserved and may not be reused as names. It is because they carry a fixed meaning that they cannot be redefined.

Answer: C

Correct answer: assembler

Translating assembly mnemonics into the binary codes the processor executes is the assembler's whole function. The programmer writes the assembly; the assembler converts it.

Answer: B

Correct answer: low level programming language

A low level language works in the terms of the machine's own instruction set, with one statement corresponding closely to one machine instruction. High level languages deliberately move away from machine code towards the language of the problem.

Answer: B

Correct answer: MIPS

MIPS - millions of instructions per second - is the figure quoted when processing speeds are compared. CPS is characters per second, a printer measure, and MPG belongs to motor cars.