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Introduction to Computer Science

Thought Provokers

Introduction to Computer ScienceThought Provokers

Thought Provokers

1 .
You are working on a project as a lead software engineer. Your team is tasked with writing a web application and a sensor that will collect and report the temperature of a room over the course of a week on a single battery charge. Your team is well versed in JavaScript and C. What language would you select to write the web application GUI and the code to operate the sensor? Explain the choice of language while connecting the level of each language.
2 .
TechWorks decided to implement their prosthetic control software with a low-specification (e.g., reduced instruction set) CPU and the C programming language. Alternatively, they could have used the high-level language Java, and a more powerful CPU that consumes more energy. How does this design decision impact the user’s experience?
3 .
The TIOBE Index is a ranking of the popularity of programming languages. How does the popularity of C, Java, and Python compare? Why do you think that is?
4 .
TechWorks is a small, growing startup and has four intern programmers working on their prosthetic product. Suppose that you are their manager. So far, they have made do without using any version control system. One of the intern programmers, Alice, suggests that they should set up and use Git as other programmers do in the company. She estimates that she would need to spend one day setting up the server, and all four intern programmers would need to spend one day to learn how to use Git. Is this a justified use of time? Why or why not?
5 .
The TechWorks prosthetic CPU has two cores, and the control software is written in C. Currently the code does not use any parallel programming. One of the programmers on the team, Bob, suggests that the software should use threads so that the function that moves the prosthetic, and the function that applies software updates, can run at the same time. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
6 .
When the Mozilla Foundation created Rust, C was already an established middle-level language. Why was it worth the effort for them to create an entirely new language? You may wish to consult online sources; if you do, cite them.
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