1 Distinguish among hardware, software and firmware.

2 Processor speeds have doubled roughly every 18 months. Has overall computer performance doubled at the same rate? Why or why not?

3 Why do systems contain several data stores of different size and speed? What is the motivation behind caching?

4 Briefly describe how a program written in a high-level language is prepared for execution.

5 Compare and contrast absolute loaders with relocating loaders. Give several motivations for the concept of relocatable loading.