Deus Ex Machina! Trivia Quiz

Answer: 7

Base 2 is often referred to as the "binary number system." Computer hardware makes computations based on two states, off and on, or zero and one. Each column in a binary number is a power of 2. The rightmost digit is 1. The next rightmost digit is 2 and the third digit from the right is 4. Adding these numbers together gives us the result, 7.

Answer: algorithm

Basically, an algorithm is a detailed method for arriving at a solution for a given problem. There are many algorithms for accomplishing seemingly fundamental tasks, such as sorting numbers. Algorithms are often represented in what is known as pseudocode.

Answer: Ada Lovelace

Augusta Ada Byron, the countess of Lovelace, worked extensively with Charles Babbage and his analytical engine. She published works which provided a foundation for computer programming. Among her published works is the following quote, "We may say most aptly that the analytical engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves."

Answer: Assembly

Assembly languages are one step beyond machine language. They are considered to be "second-generation languages." FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation) was one of the first, if not the first, third-generation languages. It was developed in 1954 by John Backus. BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was introduced in 1964. Dennis Ritchie became famous for the very popular C language which he created in 1971.

Answer: Java Development Kit

JDK or the Java Development Kit was originally released by Sun Microsystems in 1994. If you are interested, you may download the Java Standard Edition Development Kit. It can be a great introduction to computer programming.

Answer: Java Virtual Machine

The Java Virtual Machine is the best choice as it assists programming and executive tasks. Excel is a spreadsheet application. An email client lets you work with email tasks. Powerpoint is used for creating presentations.

Answer: operating system

Earlier operating systems allowed the user to interact with their computers using a text-based instruction set. Later, graphical user interfaces were developed. The ultimate goal is to provide the user with a friendly and seamless way to provide instructions to your computer.

Answer: world wide web

The Internet began as a project conceived by the U.S. military called ARPAnet, which stands for Advanced Research Project Agency. Tim Berners-Lee promulgated the idea of a client-server system, in the form of a "web browser". Thus began the world wide web. At the very core of this innovation was a new protocol named HTTP, which stands for hypertext transfer protocol.

Answer: database

If you have not just arrived from deep space, or if you have not grown up on a remote island, you probably are listed on some database in one or more forms. Edgar Codd proposed the concept of a relational database model in 1970 for IBM. Not much later, a structured query language (SQL) was born.

Answer: ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is one of the most prestigious organizations in the world for the study and practice of computer science. The organization is dedicated to the "advancement of computing as a science and a profession." The ACM also has a clear code of ethics with regard to malicious software development.