Computer Questions

Memory refresh is the process of periodically reading information from an area of computer memory and immediately rewriting the read information to the same area without modification, for the purpose of preserving the information.

Memory refresh is a background maintenance process required during the operation of semiconductor dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), the most widely used type of computer memory.

A computer has two types of memory.

1. Non-volatile and

2. Volatile.

Volatile memory is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored information.

* It is a temporary memeory which cannot contain information permanently.

Example :: RAM or Random Access Memory

Non-volatile memory is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered.

* It is a permanent memory in which data is stored in permanently.

Examples :: Hard disc, ROM, Floppy discs, Magnetic tape,...

Assemblers are used to translate a program written in a low-level assembly language into a machine code (object code) file so it can be used and executed by the computer.

Hence, Assembler is the translator program used in assembly language.

CPU speed is measured with the processors speed which is measured in MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second), Flops (Floating-point operations per second) and CPU clock speed (usually measured in gigahertz). 

The two broad categories of software in a computer are

1. System software
2. Application software

System software controls how the system works and enables user to access all of the system hardware and application software

The OS, utility programs and drivers come under system software.

Application software are software used by the user to perform specific task. They are installed according to the user's requirements.

The word processor, web browser, players, spreadsheets etc... come under this application software.