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The programs you use to perform tasks, such as web browsers, games, and word processors
Applications
Volatile, short-term memory used by the computer to hold data that the CPU is actively processing or using
RAM (Random Access Memory)
A sequence of step-by-step instructions or procedures designed to solve a specific problem or perform a computation
Algorithm
A U.S. Navy rear admiral and pioneer who invented the first compiler. She was a major driver in the development of COBOL, an early high-level programming language.
Grace Hopper
The display screen that shows you visual information, graphics, and video
Monitor
The foundational software (like Windows, macOS, or Linux) that manages the hardware and runs your applications.
Operating System (OS)
Non-volatile memory that permanently stores essential, unchangeable instructions (like a computer's basic boot sequence)
ROM (Read-Only Memory)
A broad term for the written set of instructions and commands that humans write, which computers then translate and execute
Code
A 19th-century mathematician recognized as the world's first computer programmer for her work on Charles Babbage’s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine
Ada Lovelace
Used for typing text and entering commands
Keyboard
The "brain" of the computer that processes instructions, runs calculations, and manages tasks.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A smaller, extremely fast memory located closer to the CPU that stores frequently accessed data and instructions to prevent latency
Cache Memory
An error, flaw, or fault in a computer program that causes it to produce incorrect or unexpected results, or to crash
Bug
Known as the father of modern computing. He formalized the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing Machine and cracked the WWII Enigma code
Alan Turing
A pointing device used to click, drag, and interact with items on the screen
Mouse
A specialized processor that renders images, video, and 3D graphics.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
Hardware (such as SSDs or HDDs) used for storing, porting, and extracting data files on a long-term or permanent basis
Storage Device
A binary data type representing logical values, strictly evaluating to either True or False.
Boolean
The British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web in 1989, along with the foundational HTTP protocol, HTML, and URLs
Tim Berners-Lee
Fans or liquid coolers that prevent the CPU and other components from overheating
Cooling System
In software engineering and computer science, the process of removing physical, spatial, or temporal details
Abstraction
The main circuit board that connects all the hardware pieces, allowing the CPU, RAM, and storage to communicate
Motherboard
A set of protocols, tools, and rules that allows different software applications to communicate with each other
API (Application Programming Interface)
Wrote The Art of Computer Programming, essentially the "bible" for algorithm design, and is highly revered within the computer science community.
Donald Knuth
Takes electricity from the wall outlet and converts it into usable power for the rest of the computer
Power Supply Unit (PSU)