PhilNITS FE flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Two's complement negation

Invert every bit of a k-bit value and add 1. The representable signed range is -2^(k-1) through 2^(k-1)-1, so an 8-bit signed integer spans -128 to 127.

IEEE 754 single precision

A 32-bit float with one sign bit, eight exponent bits biased by 127, and 23 fraction bits. Normalized value equals (-1)^sign times 1.fraction times 2^(exponent-127).

TCP three-way handshake

The client sends SYN, the server replies SYN-ACK, and the client sends ACK. This establishes a connection with sequence numbers so TCP can provide ordered, reliable delivery.

UDP characteristics

UDP is connectionless and does not guarantee delivery, ordering, or duplicate suppression. It has low overhead and is used for DNS queries, streaming, and real-time traffic where latency matters more than reliability.

Subnet usable host count

For an IPv4 prefix length p, usable hosts equal 2^(32-p) minus 2, subtracting the network and broadcast addresses. A /26 subnet therefore has 62 usable host addresses.

SQL clause evaluation order

Logical processing is FROM, then WHERE, then GROUP BY, then HAVING, then SELECT, then ORDER BY. WHERE filters individual rows before grouping, while HAVING filters aggregated groups.

Third normal form

A relation is in 3NF when it is in 2NF and no non-key attribute transitively depends on the primary key. Each non-key attribute must depend only on the key, the whole key, and nothing but the key.

Deadlock four conditions

Deadlock requires mutual exclusion, hold-and-wait, no preemption, and circular wait to hold simultaneously. Breaking any one condition, such as imposing a lock ordering, prevents deadlock.

Round robin scheduling

A preemptive CPU scheduling algorithm that gives each ready process a fixed time quantum in turn. It provides fairness and good response time but adds context-switch overhead when the quantum is too small.

Boundary value analysis

A black-box test design technique that selects values at and just outside the edges of input ranges, such as minimum, minimum-1, maximum, and maximum+1, because defects cluster at boundaries.

Quicksort worst-case complexity

Quicksort runs in O(n log n) on average but degrades to O(n^2) when pivots repeatedly split the array badly, for example on already sorted input with a first-element pivot. Randomized pivots reduce this risk.

Hash table average lookup

Average-case search, insert, and delete are O(1) when the hash function distributes keys well and the load factor is bounded. Worst case is O(n) when many keys collide into one bucket.

Porter's Five Forces

An industry attractiveness model covering rivalry among existing firms, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, buyer bargaining power, and supplier bargaining power. Stronger forces generally compress industry profit potential.

SWOT analysis

A framework that lists internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats. It summarizes the strategic situation but does not by itself rank or select actions.

Cost leadership strategy

A generic strategy in which a firm seeks to become the lowest-cost producer in its industry, then either undercuts rivals or earns higher margins at market prices. It requires scale or process efficiency.

BCG cash cow

A business unit with high relative market share in a low-growth market. It generates more cash than it consumes, and that surplus typically funds stars and selected question marks.

Break-even point in units

Fixed costs divided by the contribution margin per unit, where contribution margin equals unit price minus unit variable cost. It is the sales volume at which total revenue equals total cost.

Net present value

The sum of discounted future cash flows minus the initial investment, using the cost of capital as the discount rate. A positive NPV indicates the project is expected to add value.

Internal rate of return

The discount rate that makes a project's net present value equal zero. A project is generally acceptable when its IRR exceeds the firm's required rate of return or cost of capital.

Ansoff diversification

A growth option that introduces a new product into a new market. It carries the highest risk of the four Ansoff options because the firm lacks experience in both the product and the market.

COBIT purpose

An IT governance framework that connects business objectives to IT goals and controls. It helps organizations govern and manage enterprise IT through processes, metrics, and maturity levels.

Balanced scorecard perspectives

Four linked viewpoints for measuring performance: financial, customer, internal business process, and learning and growth. They balance lagging financial results with leading operational and capability measures.

Critical path

The longest sequence of dependent activities through a project network. It determines the shortest possible project duration, and its activities normally have zero total float.

Cost performance index

CPI equals earned value divided by actual cost. A value below 1 means the project has spent more than the value of work completed, indicating a cost overrun.

Schedule performance index

SPI equals earned value divided by planned value. A value below 1 means less work has been completed than planned at that point, indicating the project is behind schedule.

Risk transfer response

A threat response that shifts the impact and ownership of a risk to a third party, typically through insurance, warranties, or fixed-price contracts. The risk itself is not eliminated.

RACI accountable role

The person with final decision authority for a task and the one answerable for its outcome. Exactly one accountable person should be assigned per task to avoid ambiguous ownership.

Incident versus problem

An incident is an unplanned interruption or degradation of a service that should be restored quickly. A problem is the underlying cause of one or more incidents and is managed to prevent recurrence.

CIA triad

Confidentiality restricts access to authorized parties, integrity ensures data is accurate and unaltered, and availability ensures timely access to services. These three goals guide information security controls.

Separation of duties

A preventive control that divides sensitive tasks among different people so no single individual can both commit and conceal an error or fraud, such as separating payment approval from payment execution.

Data minimization principle

A privacy principle requiring organizations to collect and retain only personal data necessary for a stated purpose. It reduces breach impact and supports retention limits and lawful processing.

Tuckman team stages

Teams typically progress through forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Leadership style usually shifts from directive early on to delegating as the team matures.