CLASS : XII COMPUTER SCIENCE

THEORY QUESTIONS
CHAPTER NAME : STRUCTURES
1. Define a structure.
Ans. A structure is a collection of variables of different data types which are
referred under one common name.

2. What is the need for structure ?

Ans. To store any information in the form of record which contains information of
different data types, the structure is used.

3. Differentiate between structure and class.

Ans.
Structure Class
All members are public by default All members are private by default

4. Differentiate between array and structure.

Ans.
Structure Array
Collection of variables of different data Collection of variables of same data
type. type.

5. What is nested structure ? Give an example.

Ans. A structure within another structure is called nested structure.
Eg. struct date
{ int d,m,y;};
struct emp
{ int eno;
char ename[25];
date doj;};

6. How to refer the structure elements outside the structure ?

Ans. The structure elements are referred using the structure variable name followed
by the dot operator.

7. When the memory is allocated for structure ?

Ans. The memory is allocated for structure only when the variable is declared of that
type.

8. When does the structure assignment takes place ?

Ans. The structure assignment is possible only when both the sides of the
assignment operator has the variables of the same structure type.

9. What is typedef statement ? Explain

Ans. Typedef statement is used for defining an alternative name for the datatype.
typedef int a;
In this statement a is given an alternative name for int data type.
10. What is #define ? Explain
Ans. It is used for defining constants and functions. It is a pre-processor directive.
Eg. #define p 3.14
#define str “Senior secondary school”
#define cube(a) a*a*a

11. What is the advantage and disadvantage of using #define ?

Ans. Advantage :
When we want to make any change in the constant value we can change it only in
the statement and it will be reflected in the program which uses the value. Function
overhead is avoided in #define macro.
Disadvantage is that the function can include only one statement. Data types will
not specified any where in the statement.

12. What is self referential structure ?

Ans. A structure which refers to itself is called self referential structure.
Eg. struct student
{
int sno;
char name[25];
float avg;
student *next;
};

CHAPTER NAME : CLASSES AND OBJECTS

1. How encapsulation is implemented in C++ ? Give an example.

Ans. Encapsulation is implemented in C++ through classes.
Eg. class item
{
int itno;
char itemname[25];
int qty;
float price;
public :
void accept();
void display();
float totcost();
};

2. Define a class and an object.

Ans. A class is a collection of objects with common characteristics and behavior. An
object is an individual entity with its own characteristics and behavior.

3. What are the ways of defining the member functions of a class ?

Ans. There are 2 ways of defining the member functions of a class.
1. The function definition can be given within the class.
2. The function definition can be given outside the class using scope resolution
operator.

4. What are access specifiers ?

Ans. Access specifiers specifies the accessibility of the members of the class.
They are private, public, protected.
Private - members can be accessed only within the class
Protected - members can be accessed within the class and by the derived class.
Public – members can be accessed within the class, by the derived class and by
other functions.

5. Explain inline function .

Ans. Member functions which are defined inside the class are automatically inline.
The users can define their functions as inline by including the keyword inline before
the return type in their function header.

6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of inline function.

Ans. Advantage : Function overhead is avoided.
Disadvantage : Goto statements are to be avoided.

7. What is nested member function ? Give example.

Ans. A member function call given in other member function definition is called
nested member function.
Eg. class sample
{
int a,b;
public :
void Calc()
{
cout<<a+b;
}
void accept()
{
cin>>a>>b;
Calc();
}
};
8. What is a friend function ?
Ans. A non-member function given the privilege to access the private members of a
class is called a friend function.

9. Differentiate between member function and non-member function.

Member function Non-member function
It is a member of a class It is not a member of a class

It can access the private members of Cannot access the private members of
the class. the class.

10.What is the purpose of the scope resolution operator ?

Ans. (i) It is used to access the global variable which has the same name as that of
the local variable.
(ii) It is used to define the member function outside the class.

11.How the memory is allocated for objects ?

Ans. Data members occupy different memory allocation and member functions
occupy common memory allocation.

12. Explain nested classes with an example.

Ans. A class within another class is called a nested class.
Eg. class student
{
int sno;
char name[25];
float avg;
public :
void accept();
void display();
};
class admission
{
student s;
public :
void in();
void out();
};

13.Why it is a bad idea to declare the data members of a class under the public
category ?
Ans. It is because the data members contain the information which has to be
protected from outside and data abstraction to be retained in the program.

14.What are the types of member functions ? explain.

Ans. (i) Accessor functions - It allows the user to access the data member. It do
not change the value of the data members.
(ii) Mutator functions :These member functions allows us to change the data
member.
(iii) Manager functions : These are the member functions with specific functions
like constructing and destroying the members of a class.

CHAPTER NAME : FUNCTION OVERLOADING

1. What is polymorphism ? How it is implemented in C++ ?

Ans. Polymorphism is an ability of one object to exist in different forms in
different situation.
It is implemented in C++ through function overloading.

2. What is function overloading ? Explain

Ans. Functions with the same name with different function signature.
void func(int);
void func(float);
void func(double);

3. What is function signature ?

 Ans. It is the function argument list.

4. What is an abstract class and concrete class ?

Ans. The class which is meant only derivation that is the base class is called an
abstract class.
The derived class is called the concrete class.

5. Give the steps involved in identifying the best match.

Ans. (i) Exact match – searches for an exact match with respect to the data type.
(ii) Match through promotion - if exact match is not found the integral promotion
takes place.
(iii) Match through standard C++ conversion – if the step (ii) fails then match
through C++ conversion takes place ie. Int –float and float –double etc.
(iv) Match through user defined conversion - if step(iii) fails the typecasting
occurs in which the user can do the conversion.

6. What is an ambiguous match ?

Ans. The calling statement matches for more than one function definition is
called the ambiguous match.

7. Explain default arguments versus function overloading.

Ans. Avoid using both default arguments and function overloading which will
result in ambiguous match.
Eg.
Int calculate( float p, int t=4,float r=0.05);

CHAPTER NAME : CONSTRUCTOR AND DESTRUCTOR

1. Define constructor.
Ans. A constructor is a member function which has the same name as that of the
class and is used for initializing the data members with initial values.

2. What are the different types of constructor ? Explain

Ans. (i) default constructor – a constructor with no arguments
(ii)argument constructor – a constructor with the arguments
(iii) copy constructor – a constructor used to copy one object’s value into another
object.

3. Differentiate between constructor and member function.

Ans.
Constructor Member function
It is a member function with the same It can be of any name.
name as that of the class.
It cannot have return type. It must have return type.

4. What is a compiler constructor ?

 Ans. When the user defined constructor is not given by the user then the
compiler invokes the constructor of its class. It will be overridden by the user
defined constructor.

5. Give two situations when the copy constructor is called automatically .

Ans. (i) When any function takes an object as an argument by value.
(ii) When the function returns an object.

6. What are the two ways of calling a constructor ?

Ans. (i) implicity call - sample s;
(ii) explicit call - sample s=sample();
In explicit call to a constructor temporary instances are created. It lives in the
memory as long as the statement is executed.

7. Give the special characteristics of a constructor.

Ans. (i) Constructor does not have return type.
(ii) It cannot be static.
(iii) We cannot take the address of the constructor.
(iv) It cannot be the member of the union.

8. What is destructor ?
Ans. It is used for destroying objects created by the constructor.

9. Differentiate between constructor and destructor.

Ans.
Constructor Destructor
It is used for creating objects It is used for destroying objects
It can take arguments It cannot take arguments
It is labelled with the class name It is labeled with the tilde symbol and
the class name

10. What are temporary instances or anonymous objects ?

Ans. It is a temporary object that lives in the memory as long as the statement
gets executed. It is created when an explicit call is made to a constructor.

11. Give any two characteristics of a destructor.

Ans. (i) it doesn’t take any arguments.
(ii) it is used for destroying objects.

12. Give the order of constructor and destructor invocation in a nested class.
Ans. First the constructors of the classes used inside a class will be called and the
class’s constructor. Destructor invocation is just the opposite of the constructor
invocation.

CHAPTER NAME : INHERITANCE

1. Define Inheritance.
Ans. The capability of one class to inherit the properties and behavior of another
class is called inheritance.

2. Give the advantages of inheritance.

Ans. (i) Closest to the real world.
(ii) reusability
(iii) transitive nature of inheritance.

3. What are the types of inheritance ?

Ans. (i) Single (ii) Multiple (iii) Multi-level (iv) Hierarchial (v) Hybrid.

4. Explain the types of inheritance.

Ans. (i) Single - one base class and one derived class.
(ii) Multiple - many base classes and one derived class.
(iii) Multi-level - inheritance in different levels ie. Class B is deriving from class A
and class C is deriving from class B.
(iv) Hierarchial – one base class and many derived classes.
(v) Hybrid - combination of any of the forms of inheritance.

5. What is visibility mode ?

Ans. Visibility modes specifies the accessibility of the base class members in the
derived class.

6.Explain different visibility modes.

Ans. (i) private – private members are inherited but they cannot be accessed by
the derived class directly.
Protected and public members of the base class goes as the private members of
the derived class.
This visibility mode stops the inheritance.

(ii) protected - private members are inherited but they cannot be accessed by
the derived class directly.
Protected and public members of the base class goes as the protected members
of the derived class.

(iii) public - private members are inherited but they cannot be accessed by the
derived class directly.
Protected and public members of the base class goes as the protected and public
members of the derived class.

7.How constructors be used in Inheritance ?

Ans. Constructors and destructors cannot be inherited. In the case of the
argument constructor, when we write the definition of the derived class
constructor, we have to pass the arguments inclusive of the base class members,
because the derived class object is only be created in inheritance concept. Eg.

class A
{
int a;
 public :
A(int x)
{
a=x;
}
};
class B :public A
{
int b;
public :
B(int x,int y):A(x)
{
b=y;
}
};

8. What are virtual base classes ?

Ans. Base classes which helps us to avoid two copies of the base classes in the
derived classes are called as virtual base classes.

9. Discuss some facts about inheritance.

Ans. (i) When the global variable, the base class member and the derived class
member is with the same name, the global variable is hidden. To access the
global variable the ::SRO is used. To access the base class member base class
name::variable name is used.
(ii) We cannot deny the access to certain data members.
Eg.
class A
{
public :
int x; };
class B : public A
{
A::x; };
By default as per the public derivation public goes public. But we have made the
x to be in private of derived class which is not possible.

10.Explain constructors in nesting of classes.

Ans. In nested classes the constructors of the inner classes will be called first
and then the outer class.
class A
{
int x;
public :
A(int);
};

class B
{int y;
 public :
B(int);
};
class C
{
A a1;
B b1;
public :
C(int m,int n):a1(m),b1(n)
{
}
};

CHAPTER NAME : DATA FILE HANDLING

1. Define a file.
Ans. It is a collection of related information.
2. What is a stream ?
Ans. It is a collection of bytes.
3. Name the streams associated with file related operations.
Ans. Input stream and output stream.
4. Name the stream classes associated with file related operations.
Ans. ifstream, ofstream and fstream.
5. Which header file is used for file related operations ?
Ans. fstream.h

6. Differentiate between text and binary file.

Text file Binary file
It stores information in ASCII It stores information as block of data or
characters. records.
Character translation takes place. Character translation does not take
place.

7. What are the ways of opening files ?

Ans. There are 2 ways of opening files. They are (i) using constructor and (ii)
using open function.

8. Differentiate between opening files using constructor and open().

Using constructor Using open()
To open multiple files in succession To open multiple files in succession
using the same object, constructor will using the same object, the open() can
not work because the object has to be be used.
created.

9.Differentiate between ios::app and ios::ate

Ans.
Ios::app Ios::ate
 The file pointer will be positioned at the The file pointer will be positioned at the
end of the file and insertion can take end of the file whereas the insertion can
place from the end. take place anywhere in the file.
Associated with ofstream Associated with ofstream and ifstream

10.Differentiate between ios::out and ios::app

Ans.
Ios::app Ios::out
Helps us to add the contents to the file Helps us to overwrite the contents of
without erasing the existing content the file.

11.Differentiate between ifstream and fstream

Ans.
Ifstream Fstream
It is meant only for reading the It is meant for both reading and writing.
information from the file
Eof(), read() Eof(), write(),getline()

12. Differentiate between ofstream and fstream

Ans.
ofstream Fstream
It is meant only for writing the It is meant for both reading and writing.
information from the file
Write(),get() Eof(), read(),getline()

13.What is the purpose of ios::nocreate ?

Ans. ios::nocreate mode will not create the file if it is not there.

14.Differentiate between get() and getline() in files.

Ans.
Get() Getline()
Get() can read a character and a string Getline() can read a character and a
from the file and the delimiter will be string from the file and the delimiter
available in the input stream. will be removed from the input stream
by the complier.

15.Differentiate between seekp() and tellp()

Ans.
Seekp() Tellp()
It is used to move the put pointer to To show the position of where the put
the respective position for writing. pointer is in the file.

16. Differentiate between seekp() and seekg()

Ans.
Seekp() Seekg()
Moves the put pointer to the respective Moves the get pointer to the respective
location for writing. location for reading.

17. What is the prototype of eof() ?

Ans. int eof(); eof() returns a non-zero value when the end of file is reached
otherwise zero value.
 18. Give the use of remove() and rename().
Ans. remove() is used to delete the file from the system and rename() is used to
rename a file with a proper name.

CHAPTER NAME : POINTERS

1. Define a pointer.
Ans. A pointer is a variable which holds the memory address of another variable.

2. Differentiate between pointer and reference variable.

Ans.
Pointer variable Reference variable
It is a variable which has the memory It is an alias name given for a variable.
address of another variable.
3. What is a heap memory ?
Ans. The unallocated memory is called as free/heap memory.

4. Explain C++ memory map.

Ans. The memory map is allocated as follows :
(i) Compiled code.
(ii) Global variables
(iii) Stack
(iv) Heap memory
(v)
5. What are the types of memory allocation ?
Ans. Static and dynamic memory allocation.

6. What is dynamic memory allocation ?

Ans. Memory which is allocated during run time is called dynamic memory
allocation.

7. Name the operators used for dynamic memory allocation.

Ans. new and delete.

8. Which operator is called as the dereferencing or indirection operator ?

Ans. * operator.

9. What is a wild pointer ?

Ans. Uninitialized pointer is called wild pointer.

10. What is a null pointer ?

Ans. A pointer variable which is initialized to NULL is called null pointer.

11. Name the operations performed using pointers.

Ans. Increment and decrement operations and assignment.

12. What is the base address ?

Ans. A pointer variable holds the starting memory address of a variable.

13. Differentiate between the following statements :

 int *p=new int(5); //statement 1
int *p=new int[5]; //statement 2
Ans. Statement 1 declares a pointer variable p and it holds the address of the
memory location of where the value 5 is stored.
Statement 2 declares a pointer variable p which holds the starting address of the array
of size 5.

14. What is memory leak ?

Ans. When the memory is allocated dynamically using new and it is not deallocated
using delete, it will result in memory leak.

15.Consider the following statements : int a[20],*p;p=a;

What is the difference between a and p variable ?
Ans. a and p are the pointer variables. a is a pointer variable which always holds
the starting memory address of the array, but p is a pointer variable which can be
made to point to any memory location.

16. What operator is used for referencing structure elements using structure pointer
?
Ans. structure elements are accessed using structure pointer followed by the ->
operator.

17. What is this pointer ?

Ans. It is the pointer used by the compiler which points to the object that invokes
the member function of a class.

CHAPTER NAME :ARRAYS

1. What is an array ?
Ans. An array is a collection of data of same data type referenced under one
common name.

2. What is the need for an array ?

Ans. (i) The datas are stored in continuous memory location.
(ii) The elements are referred under one name with the subscript number.

3. What is a subscript or index number ?

Ans. The number which is used to access the array elements. The subscript number
in C++ starts with 0.

4. What is a Stack ?
Ans. Stack is a collection of elements in which it follows the mechanism of Last In
First Out (LIFO). Insertion or deletion of an element takes place at only one point
which is the top position.

5. What is a Queue ?
Ans. Queue is a collection of elements in which it follows the mechanism of First In
First Out (FIFO). Insertion takes place at the rear end and deletion takes place at
the front end.

6. What are the different types of arrays ?

Ans. (i) one-d array and (ii) multi-dimensional array.
 7. How an array is represented in memory ?
Ans. It occupies continuous memory location.

8. Give the difference between linear and binary search technique ?

Ans.
Linear search Binary search
Searches for an element in the entire Minimises the comparison by dividing
array from the beginning. the array into two halves.
The elements can be in any order. The elements must be in either
ascending or descending order.
9. What is overflow and underflow ?
Ans. The number of elements inserted has reached the size of the array is called as
overflow condition. Deletion in an empty array results in underflow condition.

10.Give the formula for calculating the address of an element in row-major and
column-major form.
Ans. Row – major form :
Address of the A[i][j]element = BA + ES [n[i-l1] +[j-l2]]
Column-major form :
Address of the A[i][j] element = BA + ES [[i-l1] +m[j-l2]]
BA – Base Address, ES – Element Size , n-no. of columns in the array , l1-lower
bound of row, m - no. of rows in the array, l2 – lower bound of column.

11.Write the steps for conversion of infix to postfix expression .

Ans. 1. Insert the parenthesis based on the priority of the operators.
2.When the left parenthesis is encountered push it on to the stack.
3. When the operand is encountered place it on the postfix expression.
4. When the operator is encountered place it on to the stack.
5. When the right parenthesis is encountered pop the top most operator from
the stack and place it on the postfix expression and remove one left
parenthesis from the stack.

12. Write the steps for evaluating the postfix expression.

Ans. (i) Push the operand on to the stack.
(ii) When the operator is encountered, pop the top 2 elements from the stack , perform
the operation and push the result back on to the stack.

CHAPTER NAME : DATABASE CONCEPTS

1. What is a database ?
Ans. A database is a collection of related data.
2. List out the advantages of database.
Ans. 1. Data redundancy – duplication of data is avoided.
2.Data consistency – ensuring correct values are entered by the user.
3. Sharing of data – because of the usage by many users.
4. Enforcing standards - to have a proper way of communication
5. Data Security – to prevent unauthorized access.
6. Data Integrity – to check in the related records in the database.

3. What are the various levels of data abstraction ?

Ans. External level, Conceptual level, Physical level.

4. Name the types of users using the database .

Ans. (i) End user (ii) Application Programmer (iii) System Analyst.

5. What is data independence and explain its types ?

Ans. Data independence is that when any changes made in one level should not be
affected in the other level.
Types are :
Logical data independence – Any change made in the conceptual level should not be
affected in the External level.
Physical data independence – Any change made in the Physical level should not be
affected in the Conceptual level.

6. Give the types of data models .

Ans. (i) Hierarchial data model – records are organized as trees ie. Parent-child
relationship.
(ii) Network data model – datas are represented as collection of records and
relationships among the datas are represented as links.
(iii) Relational data model - datas are represented in the form of table which
consists of rows and columns.

7. Discuss the advantage of relational model over the other models .

Ans. In network and hierarchial data model insertion and deletion of records is a
difficult process whereas in the relational model it is easier because the information
is available in the form of rows and columns.

8. Define the following terms : (i) relation (ii) attribute (iii) tuple (iv) cardinality
(v) degree
Ans. (i) relation – it is a table in which the data are organize in rows and columns.
(ii) attribute – a column or field in a relation.
(iii) tuple – a row or record in a relation.
(iv) cardinality – no. of tuples in a relation.
(v)degree – no. of attributes in a relation.

9. Define the terms : (i) primary key (ii) candidate key (iii) alternate key (iv)
foreign key.
Ans. (i) primary key – it is a set of one or more attributes that identifies a tuple in a
relation. It contains unique and not null values.
(ii) candidate key – all attributes which qualifies to become a primary key.
(iii) alternate key – A candidate key that is not the primary key.
(iv) foreign key – A primary key of one relation if used in other relation it becomes
the foreign key of that relation.

10. What is select and project operation ?

Ans. Select operation selects the tuples that satisfies the given condition.
Project operation is a subset of select operation which specifies particular attributes
for selection.

11. What are the conditions for applying union operation ?

Ans. 1. The relations must be of the same degree.
2. One tuple should be in common in the relations.
 CHAPTER NAME : SQL
1. What is SQL ?
Ans. SQL is structured Query Language – it is a language which is used to create
and operate on relational databases. It was developed at IBM’s San Jose Research
Laboratory.

2. What is DDL, DML ?

Ans. DDL is Data Definition Language – has commands for designing the relation
structure.
DML - Data Manipulation Language – has commands for operating on the
records/tuples in the relation.

3. What is a constraint ?
Ans. It is a condition to check on a field/attribute.

4. What are the different types of constraints ?

Ans. Primary key - which contains unique and not null values .
Unique – which allows null values and different values.
Not Null – allows the user to enter values except null.
Check – checks the value for a condition
Default –assigns the default value for an attribute.

5. What is the purpose of distinct keyword in the select statement ?

Ans. It selects the different values from an attribute for display.

6. Differentiate between order by and group by clause.

Ans. Order by – Arranges all the tuples based on a particular attribute.
Group by – Groups the tuples based on an attribute.

7. Differentiate between where and having clause.

Ans. Where – it is applicable for all the tuples in the relation.
Having – it is applicable for grouped records in the relation.

8. Differentiate between drop table and delete command.

Ans. Drop table will remove the entire table from the database if the table is empty.
Delete command will remove the records from the table.

9. What is a view ?
Ans. View is the virtual table created from the existing base table for display
purposes.

10.Differentiate between alter table and update command.

Ans. Alter table will alter only the design of the table.
Update command is used to update the values in the records.
CHAPTER NAME : COMMUNICATION AND NETWORK CONCEPTS

1. Define a network.
Ans. A network is an interconnected collection of autonomous computers.

2. What is the need for networking ? or Discuss the advantages of network.

Ans. Networking helps us to do the following :
(i) Resource sharing : helps us to share the datas, peripherals and the programs
across the network.
(ii) Reliability : The files can be stored in different systems on the network. If one
copy is lost due to system crash still the file can be used which is stored in
the other systems.
(iii) Cost factor : PC’s have better price and performance. So it’s better to have one
user per PC whereas the datas are shared on the network.
(iv) Communication medium : It is easier to share the messages to different people
all over the world which speeds up the cooperation among the users.

3. Write the disadvantages of network.

Ans. (i) The systems are to be managed by the special person to run the network.
(ii) If it is not managed properly it becomes unusuable .
(iii) If the software and the files are located on the central system called server, if
the server fails, the entire network fails and it is very difficult to share the files.
(iv)File Security is more important because if connected to WAN’s full protection is
required against viruses.
4. Explain evolution of networking.
Ans. 1. In 1969 the first network was developed called ARPANET ie. Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network. This network was designed to connect
computers at different universities and U.S. defense.
2. In mid 80’s another agency, the National Science Foundation, created a high
capacity network called NSF net which allowed only academic research on the
network.
3. So, many private companies developed their own network and linked it with the
ARPANET and NSFNet and that was named as Internet.

5. What is a node ?
Ans. A node is the computer attached to the network. It is also called as
workstation, terminal. It seeks to share the resources of the network.

6. What is a server ?
Ans. The main computer which facilitates the sharing of data, software and
hardware on the network is called a server.

7. Give the different types of server ?

Ans. (i) dedicated server - The system which is purely meant for serving purposes
on the network, to help workstations access data, software and hardware. Eg.
modem server, file server, print server. The network using such servers are called
Master-Slave network.

(ii) non-dedicated server – The system on the network which plays the dual role of
the server and the workstation is called as non-dedicated server. The network using
such servers are called Peer-to-Peer Network.

8. What is NIU ?
 NIU is Network Interface Unit is a device attached to each of the
workstations and the server. It helps the workstation establish all connection
with the network.
 Each NIU attached to the workstation has a unique address .The NIU
manufacturer assigns a unique physical address to each NIU. This physical
address is called as MAC Address. MAC Address is Media Access Control
Address.
 NIU is also called as TAP (Terminal Access Point) or NIC (Network
Interface Card).

9. What do you mean by switching techniques ?

Ans. The switching techniques are used for transmitting data across the network.

10.What are the three types of switching techniques ?

Ans. (i) Circuit switching (ii) message switching and (iii) packet switching.

11. Explain the switching techniques Or Differentiate between any of the switching
techniques.
Ans. (i) Circuit switching – The physical connection is established between the
source and the destination computer and then the datas are transmitted. It is used
when end-to-end path between the computers is needed.
 (ii) Message switching – It uses the technique of store and forward. The data are
sent from the source computer to the switching office and then to the destination
computers. In this technique the data are stored in the disk. There is no limit on the
block size of the data.

(iii) Packet switching – The data is divided into different packets in this technique.
Packet means the datas are divided into byte format. All the packets of fixed size are
stored in the main memory. It places a tight upper limit on the block size.

12. Define transmission media or communication channel.

Ans. It means connecting cables or connecting media in a network.

13. What are the types of communication media ?

Ans. The communication media is categorized as guided media and unguided media.
(i) Guided media includes cables and (ii) unguided media include waves through air,
water or vacuum.

14. What are the types of guided media.

Ans. The types of guided media are
(i) Twisted pair cable
(ii) Co-axial cable
(iii) Fibre optic cable

15. What is twisted pair cable ?

Ans. The twisted pair cable consists of two identical wires wrapped together in a
double helix. The twisting of wires reduces crosstalk, which is the bleeding of signal
from one wire to another which in turn can cause network errors.

16.List out the advantages and disadvantages of twisted pair cable .

Ans. Advantages :
1. It is easy to install and maintain.
2. It is very inexpensive.

Disadvantages :
1. It is incapable of carrying a signal over long distances without using the
repeaters.
2. It supports maximum data rates of 1 Mbps without conditioning to 10 Mbps with
conditioning.

17.List out the types of twisted pair cable.

Ans. 1. Unshielded twisted pair cable
2.Shielded twisted pair cable.

18.Differentiate between Unshielded and shielded twisted pair cable.

Ans.

Unshielded twisted pair Shielded twisted pair

It can support only 100 Mbps It can support 500 Mbps bandwidth
bandwidth
 It has interference while It offers greater protection from
communication. interference and crosstalk due to
shielding.

19.What is coaxial cable ?

Ans. Coaxial cable consists of a solid wire core surrounded by one or more foil or
wire shields, each separated by an insulator. The inner core carries the signal and
the shield provide the ground. It is widely used for television signals which supports
high speed communication.

20. List out the advantages and disadvantages of coaxial cable .

Ans. Advantages :
1. Offer high bandwidth upto 400 Mbps.
2. It can be used for broadband transmission.

Disadvantages :
1. Expensive when compared to twisted pair.
2. It is not compatible with twisted pair.

21.List out the types of coaxial cable.

Ans. 1. Thicknet : This type of cable can be upto 500 mts long.
2.Thinnet : This type of cable can be upto 185 mts. Long.

22. What is optical fibre ?

Ans. Optical fibres consists of thin strands of glass that carry light from a source at
one end of the fiber to a detector at the other end. The fiber optic cable consists of 3
pieces : (i) the core – the glass or plastic through which the light travels. (ii) the
cladding – which is the covering of the core which reflects light back to the core and
(iii) protective coating - which protects the fiber cable from hostile environment.

23. List out the advantages and disadvantages of fibre optic cable .
Ans. Advantages :
1. It is immune to interference either magnetic or electrical.
2. It supports secured transmission and a very high transmission capacity.
Disadvantages :
1. Installation is very hard.
2. They are most expensive.

24. What is microwave transmission ?

Ans. The microwave transmission are used to transmit without the use of cables. It
consists of a transmitter, receiver and the atmosphere. Parabolic antennas are
mounted on towers to send a beam to other antennas ten kms away. The higher the
tower, the greater the range. When the radio wave frequency is higher than 3 GHz it
is named as microwave.

25. List out the advantages and disadvantages of microwave transmission.

Ans. Advantages :
1. It offers freedom from land acquisition rights that are required for laying,
repairing the cables.
 2. It has the ability to communicate over oceans.

Disadvantages :
1. It is an insecure communication.
2. The cost of design, implementation and maintenance is high.

26.What is radio wave transmission ?

Ans. The transmission making use of radio frequencies is termed as radio wave
transmission. It has two parts : the transmitter and the receiver. The transmitter
takes the message and encodes it onto a sine wave and transmits it with radio
waves. The receiver receives the radio waves and decodes the message from the
sine wave it receives. Both of them uses antennas to radiate and capture the radio
signal.

27.List out the advantages and disadvantages of radiowave transmission.

Ans. Advantages :
1. It offers mobility.
2. It offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
Disadvantages :
1. It is an insecure communication.
2. It is susceptible to weather conditions.

28. What is satellite means of communication ?

Ans. Satellite communication is a special way of microwave relay system. In this
communication, the earth station consists of a satellite dish that functions as an
antenna and the communication equipment to transmit and receive the data from
satellites passing overhead.

29. List out the advantages and disadvantages of satellite transmission.

Ans. Advantages :
1. The area coverage through satellite transmission is large.
2. The heavy usage of intercontinental traffic makes the satellite commercial
attractive.
Disadvantages :
1. The high investment cost.
2. Over crowding of available bandwidths due to low antenna gains.

30.Explain other unguided media .

Ans. (i) Infrared : This type of transmission uses infrared light to send data. Eg. TV
remotes. It offers secured transmission.
(ii) Laser : The laser transmission requires direct line-of-sight. It is unidirectional and
it transmits data at a higher speed than microwave.

31.Define the following :

(i) Data Channel : It is the medium to carry data from one end to another.
(ii) Baud : It is the unit of measurement for the information carrying capacity of the
communication channel.
 (iii)Bandwidth : It refers to the difference between the highest and the lowest
frequencies of a transmission channel.
(iii) Broadband : High bandwidth channels are called broadband.
(iv) Narrowband : Low bandwidth channels are called narrowband.
(v) Hertz : Frequency is measured in hertz.
(vi) Data transfer rates : The amount of data transferred per second by a
communication channel is called data transfer rates.

32.Expand the following :

Ans. bps – bits per second kHz – kilohertz
Bps – Bytes per second MHz - Megahertz
kbps – kilo bits per second GHz - gigahertz
Kbps – Kilo Bytes per second THz - Terahertz
mbps – mega bits per second
Mbps – Mega bytes per second

33. What are the types of network ?

Ans. (i) LAN – Local Area Network(ii) MAN – Metropolitan Area Network
(iii)WAN – Wide Area Network

34.Explain the types of network .

Ans. (i) LAN – Small computer networks that are limited to a localized area is known
as LAN.
(ii)MAN – The network which is spread over a city is called MAN.
(iii)WAN – The network which is spread across countries and continents is called WAN.

35. Differentiate between LAN and WAN

LAN WAN
Diameter is not more than a few Span across countries and continents.
kilometers
Very low error rates Higher error rates.

36. What is topology ?

Ans. The layout of the computers on the network is called topology.

37. List out the different types of topology.

Ans. (i) Star (ii) bus (iii) ring (iv) Tree (v) graph (vi) Mesh

38. What is star topology ? List out the advantage and disadvantage of it.
Ans. Star topology consists of a central node to which all other nodes are connected.
Advantage :
1. Centralized control 2. One device per connection – failure of one node will
not affect the network.
Disadvantage :
1. Long cable length 2. Central node dependency.

39.What is bus topology ? List out the advantage and disadvantage of it.
Ans. It is linear topology which consists of a single length of the transmission
medium onto which the various nodes are connected. The bus has terminators at
both the ends which absorb the signal, removing it from the bus.
Advantage :
1. Short cable length 2. Resilient architecture – means which has a single
cable through which all the datas are transmitted.
Disadvantage :
1. Fault diagnosis is difficult 2. Fault isolation is difficult – if a node is not
working in the bus it has to be rectified at the point where the node is connected.

40.What is ring topology ? List out the advantage and disadvantage of it.
Ans. Nodes are connected in a circular fashion. The data can be transmitted in only
one direction.
Advantage :
1. Short cable length. 2. No wiring closet space is required – Since there is
only one cable connecting each node to its neighbouring node, no separate space
is allocated for wiring.
Disadvantage :
1. Node failure causes network failure. 2. Difficult to diagnose faults.

41.What is tree topology ?

Ans. The shape of the network is that of an inverted tree with the central node
branching to various nodes and the sub-branching to the extremities of the network.

42.What is graph topology ?

Ans. Nodes that are connected in an arbitrary fashion is called graph topology. A link
may or may not connect nodes.

43.What is mesh topology ?

Ans. In this topology, each node is connected to more than one node to provide an
alternative route.

44. Define modem.

Ans. A modem is a device which allows us to connect and communicate with other
computers via telephone lines.
MODEM – MOdulator DEModulator

45.What is RJ-45 ?
Ans. RJ-45 is Registered Jack -45. It is an eight-wire connector, which is commonly
used to connect computers on the local area networks.

46.What is Ethernet Card ?

Ans. Ethernet is a LAN architecture which used bus or star topologies . The
computers that are part of Ethernet, must have an Ethernet card. It contains
connections for either coaxial cable or twisted pair cable. Some Ethernet cards also
contain an AUI connector (ie. Attachment Unit Interface – 15 pin connector that can
be used for attaching coaxial, fibre optic or twisted pair cable).

47.What is a hub ? Explain its types.

Ans. A hub is a device used to connect several computers together. Hub is also
referred as multi-slot concentrator.
Hub can be classified as active and passive hub.
(i) Active hubs : These electrically amplifies the signal as it moves from one
connected device to another.
(ii) Passive hubs : It allows the signal to pass from one computer to another without
any change.

48.What is a switch ?
Ans. A switch is a device that is used to segment networks into different
subnetworks called subnets or LAN segments. It prevents the traffic overloading in a
network. It can filter traffic in the network.

49.What is a repeater ?
Ans. A repeater is a device which is used to amplify the signals being transmitted in
a network.

50.What is a bridge ?
Ans. A bridge is a network device that connects two similar networks which supports
the same protocol.

51.What is a router ?
Ans. A router is a network device that connects networks which supports different
protocols.

52. What is a gateway ?

Ans. It is a device that connects dissimilar networks.
53. What is a protocol ?
Ans. It is a formal description of message formats and the rules to be followed for
communication in a network.

54. Expand and explain the following protocols.

Ans. 1. HTTP – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol – is an application level protocol used
for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems.
2. FTP – File Transfer Protocol – is a protocol used for transferring files from one
system to another.
3. TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol – It is a protocol used
for sending and receiving messages which are divided into packets.
4. SLIP – Serial Line Internet Protocol – It was the first protocol for relaying IP
packets over dial-up lines. This doesn’t support dynamic address assignment.
5. PPP – Point to Point Protocol - It is the Internet Standard for transmission of IP
packets over serial lines. It is a layered protocol which contains Link Control
Protocol (LCP) for link establishment, Network Control Protocol (NCP) for
transport traffic, IP Control Protocol (IPCP) permits the transport of IP packets
over a PPP link.

55.What is Datagram ?
Ans. A Datagram is a collection of the data that is sent as a single message.

56.What is Wireless communication ?

Ans. Wireless refers to the method of transferring information between a computing
device and a data source without a physical connection. It is a data communication
without the use of landlines. Eg. two-way radio, fixed wireless, laser or satellite
communications. The computing device is continuously connected to the base
network.
57.What is Mobile computing ?
Ans. Mobile computing device means that the computing device is not continuously
connected to the base or central network. Eg. PDA, laptop computers, cell phones.
These products may communicate with the base location with or without wireless
connection.

58.What is GSM ?
Ans. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. In covered areas,
cell-phone users can buy one phone that will work anywhere where the standard is
supported. GSM users simply switch SIM cards. (Subscriber Identification Module).
GSM uses narrowband TDMA, which allows eight simultaneous calls on the same
radio frequency.

59.What is TDMA ?
Ans. TDMA means Time Division Multiple Access is a technology which works on
dividing a radio frequency into time slots and then allocating slots to multiple calls.

60.What is SIM ?
Ans. SIM stands for Subscriber Identification Module which is a chip that gives a
cellular device a unique phone number. It has the memory, the processor and the
ability to interact with the user. Current SIMs have 16 to 64 kb of memory.

61.What is CDMA ?
Ans. CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access is a technology which uses a
spread spectrum technique where the data is sent in small pieces over a number of
discrete frequencies available for use. Each user’s signal is spread over the entire
bandwidth by unique spreading code and at the receiver end the same unique code
is used to recover the signal.

62. What is WLL ?

Ans. WLL is Wireless in Local Loop is a system that connects subscribers to the
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) using radio signals as a substitute for
other connecting media.

63.Discuss the advantages of WLL ?

Ans. (i) It does not suffer from weather conditions.
(ii)It offers better bandwidth than the traditional telephone systems.
(iii) It supports high quality transmission, signaling services.

64.What is 3G and EDGE ?

Ans. 3G stands for Third Generation also called as UMTS ( Universal Mobile
Telecommunication Systems) is a broadband, packet- based transmission of text,
digitized voice, video and multimedia at data rates upto and possibly higher that 2
mbps (mega bits per second), offering consistent services to mobile computer and
phone users where ever they are in the world.
 EDGE stands for Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution is a radio based high-
speed mobile data standard. It allows data transmission speeds of 384 kbps to be
achieved when all eight time slots are used.

65.Define SMS.
Ans. SMS – Short Message Service is the transmission of short text messages to and
from a mobile phone, fax machine and/or IP address.

66.How the SMS is being sent ?

Ans. Once the message is sent by the sender, it is received by the Short Message
Service Center (SMSC), which will get into the appropriate mobile phone. To do
this,the SMSC sends the SMS Request to the Home Location Register (HLM) to find
the roaming customer. Once the HLR receives the request, it will respond to the
SMSC with the subscriber’s status : (i) inactive or active, (ii) where subscriber is
roaming.

67.What is e-mail ?
Ans. E-mail is Electronic mail is sending and receiving messages by the computer.

68. List the advantages of E-mail.

Ans. (i) low cost (ii) speed (iii) waste reduction (i.e. paper) (iv) ease of use (v)
record maintenance .

69. What is Voice mail ?

Ans. The voice mail refers to e-mail systems supporting audio. Users can leave
spoken messages for one another and listen to the messages by executing the
appropriate command in the e-mail system.

70.What is chat ?
Ans. Online textual talk in real time is called chatting.

71.What is video-conferencing ?
Ans. A two-way videophone conversation among multiple participants is called
video- conferencing. Eg. Microsoft NetMeeting is the software which supports video-
conferencing.

72. Define the following terms :

Ans. (i) WWW - World Wide Web is a set of protocols that allows the user to access
any document on the internet through a naming system based on URL.

(ii) URL – Uniform Resource Locator is the distinct address for each resource on the
internet, which acts a pointer to information on the WWW.

(iii)Domain Name – The characters based naming system by which servers are
identified is known as Domain Naming system. Eg. .com, .gov, .edu

(iv) Telnet – is an internet utility that let us log onto remote computer
systems.
(v) Web browser – It is software which the WWW client that navigates through the
World Wide Web and displays Web pages.
(vi) Web Server – It is a WWW server which responds to the requests made
by the Web browser.
(vii) Web site – is a collection of web pages.
(viii) Web page – The documents residing on web sites are called web pages.
(ix) Web Hosting – is a means of hosting web-server application on a computer
system through which electronic content on the internet is readily available
to any web-browser client.

73. Give the types of Web Hosting .

Ans. (i) Free Hosting (ii) Virtual or Shared Hosting (iii) Dedicated Hosting (iv) Co-
location Hosting.

74. Define the following :

Ans. (i) HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language – It is a document layout and
hyperlink specification language which contains pre-defined tags that let us control
the presentation of the information on the web-pages. It supports only static
webpages.

(ii) XML – Extensible Markup Language – It is a language for documents containing

structured information ie. Which contains both content and some indication of what
role that content plays. The tags are not predefined and it allows the user to define
the tag and their semantics. It supports dynamic web pages.

(iii)DHTML – Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language – The language which uses the
combinations of HTML, style sheets and scripts that allows documents to be
animated.

(iii) Web Scripting : the process of creating and embedding scripts in a web
page is known as web scripting.

(iv) Script – It is a list of commands embedded in a web-page. Scripts are

interpreted and executed by a certain program or scripting engine.

(v) Types of Script :

(i) Client Side Script : This type of scripting enables interaction within a web
page. They are browser dependent. Popular Client side scripting are VBScript,
JavaScript, PHP (Hyper Text Preprocessor).
(ii) Server-Side Script : This type of scripting enables the completion or carrying
out a task at the server- end and then sending the result to the client-end.
Popular server side scripting are PHP,ASP (Active Server Pages), JSP (Java
Server Pages).It is not browser dependent.

75. What is a free software ?

Ans. Free software means the software is freely accessible and can be freely used,
changes, improved, copied and distributed by all who wish to do so. No payments
are needed to be made for free software.

76.What is Open Source Software ?

Ans. Open Source Software can be freely used which means making modifications,
constructing business models , but it does not have to be free of charge. In open
source software the source code is freely available to the customer and it can be
modified and redistributed without any limitation.

77. List out the criteria for distributing open source software.
Ans. (i) Free redistribution (ii) Source code (iii) Derived works (iv) Integrity of the
Author’s Source code (v) No discrimination against persons or groups (vi) No
discrimination against fields of endeavor (vii) Distribution of License (viii) License
must not be specific to a product (ix) The license must not restrict other software
(x) License must be technology neutral.

78. What is FLOSS ?

Ans. FLOSS refers to Free Libre and Open Source Software or Free Livre and Open
Source Software. FLOSS is used to refer a software which is both free software as
well as open source software. Libre or Livre means freedom.

79.What is GNU ?
Ans. GNU refers to GNU’s Not Unix. It emphasizes on freedom and thus its logotype
is an animal living in freedom. It was initiated by Richard M. Stallman with an
objective to create a system compatible to Unix but not identical with it. Now, it
offers a wide range of software, including applications apart from OS.

80.What is FSF ?
Ans. FSF stands for Free Software Foundation is a non-profit organization created for
the purpose of supporting free software movement.

81.Explain OSI.
Ans. OSI is Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to cause of
promoting open source software.

82.What is W3C ?
Ans. W3C is an acronym for World Wide Web Consortium which is responsible for
producing the software standards for the world wide web.

83.What is a Proprietory software ?

Ans. It is the software that is neither open nor freely available. Further distribution
and modification of the software required special permission by the supplier or the
vendor. Source code is not readily available.

84. What is Freeware ?

Ans. The software which is available free of cost which allows copying and
redistribution but not modification whose source code is not available.

85.What is Shareware ?
Ans. Shareware is a software, which is made available with the right to redistribute
copies, but it is limited ie. If one intends to use the software after a certain period of
time, a license fee should be paid. Source code is not available and the modifications
cannot be made.
 86. What are the problems encountered under network security ?
Ans. It can be classified as (i) Physical Security holes
(ii) Software security holes (iii) Inconsistent Usage holes

87. What are the protection methods followed to secure the network ?
Ans. (i) Authorization – login-id
(ii) Authentication – password-protection
(iii)Encrypted Smart Cards – It is a hand held card that can generate a token that a
computer can recognize. Everytime a new and different token is generated.
(iv) Biometric systems – finger-prints
(v) Firewall – It is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a
private network. It can be implemented in both hardware and software.

88.Give the types of firewall techniques.

Ans. (i) Packet filter (ii) Application gateway (iii) Circuit-level gateway (iv) Proxy
server.

89.What are cookies ?

Ans. Cookies are messages that a web server transmits to a web browser so that the
web server can keep track of the user’s activity on a specific web site.

90.Differentiate between Hackers and Crackers.

Ans. The Crackers are the malicious programmers who break into secure systems.
The Hackers are more interested in gaining knowledge about the computers and
possibly using this knowledge form playful pranks.

91.What is Cyber Law ?

Ans. It is a term which refers to all the legal and regulatory aspects of internet and
the world wide web. Information Technology Act, 2000 is based on the United
Nation’s Commission for International Trade related laws(UNCITRAL) model law.

92.Explain Cyber Crime ?

Ans. Cyber Crime are the crimes committed with the use of computers or relating to
computers, especially through the internet.
Classification of Cyber Crime :
(i) Tampering with the computer source documents
(ii) Hacking
(iii) Publishing of information, which is obscene in electronic form
(iv) Child Pornography
(v) Accessing protected system
(vi) Breach of confidentiality and privacy

93.What is IPR ?
Ans. The Intellectual Property may be defined as a product of the intellect that has
commercial value, including copyrighted property such as literary or artistic works
and ideational property.
 94.What is a Computer Virus ?
Ans. Computer virus is a malicious program that requires a host and is designed to
make a system sick.

95.List out the damages that the virus can cause.

Ans. (i) to make the system unstable. (ii) destroy file allocation table.
(iii)can create bad sectors in the disk, destroying parts of programs and files.
(iv)can destroy specific executable files. (v) Can cause the system to hang.

96.What is Trojan Horse ?

Ans. A Trojan Horse is code hidden in a program such as a game or spreadsheet
that looks safe to run but has hidden side effects.

97.What is a worm ?
Ans. A worm is a program designed to replicate.

98.What is SPAM ?
Ans. SPAM refers to electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. It is the
unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses.

99. Discuss the ways of avoiding Spam.

Ans. (i) to create a filter that finds and does something to email that you suspect as
spam. (ii) Not to register with true id on the internet.

100. How to prevent viruses ?

Ans. The following are the points that we must remember to follow to prevent
viruses : 1. Use Licensed software.
2. Install and use antivirus software.
3. Check for virus when using secondary storage devices in the system.
4. Keep antivirus software up to date.
5. Always scan files downloaded from the internet or other sources.

101. What is meant by GPRS?

General Packet Radio Service, a standard for wireless communications which
supports a wide range of bandwidths. it is a second generation (2G) and third
generation (3G) wireless data service that extends GSM data capabilities for Internet
access, multimedia messaging services, and early mobile Internet applications via
the wireless application protocol (WAP), as well as other wireless data services.

102. Explain 1G.

1G (or 1-G) refers to the first-generation of wireless telephone technology. These are
the analog telecommunications standards that use digital signaling to connect the
radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the telephone system, the
voice during a call is is modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up.

103. Explain 2G.

2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. 2G cellular
telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard and were
significantly more efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater mobile phone
 penetration levels. 2G technologies can be divided into TDMA-based and CDMA-based
standards depending on the type of multiplexing used.
104. Explain SMTP and POP3 Protocols.
The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) protocol is used by the Mail Transfer
Agent (MTA) to deliver the EMail to the recipient's mail server. The SMTP protocol can
only be used to send emails, not to receive them.
The POP (Post Office Protocol 3) protocol provides a simple, standardized way for
users to access mailboxes and download messages to their computers. When using
the POP protocol all the EMail messages can be downloaded from the mail server to
the local computer.
105. Define VoIP.
Voice-over-IP (VoIP) implementations enables users to carry voice traffic (for
example, telephone calls and faxes) over an IP network. VoIP uses Internet Protocol
for transmission of voice as packets over IP networks.

106. Define Wi-Fi and Wimax.

Wi-Fi ( Wireless Fidility) is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices.
A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game
console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via
a wireless network access point.
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a communication
technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical
areas. It is a part of a “fourth generation,” or 4G, of wireless-communication
technology, far surpasses the 30-metre (100-foot) wireless range of a
conventional Wi-Fi (LAN), offering a metropolitan area network with a signal radius of
about 50 km (30 miles). WiMAX networks can deliver good VOIP quality

107. What is meant by Web2.0?

Web 2.0 refers to added features and applications that make the web more
interactive, support easy online information exchange and interoperatibility.
Some noticeable features of Web 2.0 are blogs, wikis, video-sharing websites,
social networking websites etc.,
Tools are available free and widely used by people some of them are facebook.
Youtube, Blogger, Twitter etc.,
108. Explain PAN.
Network organized around an individual person (typically involve a mobile computer,
a cell phone and/or a handheld computing device such as a PDA) is called PAN
(Personal Area Network)
109. What is meant by Remote Login?
Remote access is the ability to get access to a computer or a network from a remote
distance. In simple words Remote Login means to access other computers on the
network or on the other network by the use of telnet or rlogin command