問21
頻出度★☆☆
電子レンジ, 炊飯器などの家電製品に組み込まれているコンピュータの総称として, 適切なものはどれか。
平成25年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問21
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 21
Incorrectア
A supercomputer is a top-class large computer for processing enormous amounts of calculation at extremely high speed, such as weather forecasting, scientific and engineering computation, and simulation. Installing one requires a dedicated facility and large power and cooling equipment, which is the exact opposite of a use such as being built into a home appliance, so it is wrong.
Incorrectイ
A personal computer (PC) is a desktop or portable computer that an individual uses for many kinds of general-purpose work, such as writing documents, spreadsheets, and browsing the Web. It is a general-purpose machine that a user operates for various purposes, and it is not the general term for a computer built inside a device to take charge of a single kind of control, so it is wrong.
- ウ
正解 The correct answer is ウ, “Microcomputer”. A microcomputer is a computer miniaturized by combining a CPU (microprocessor) with memory and input/output circuits, and it is used by being built inside a device to perform a specific kind of control. Computers that handle only a fixed job inside a home appliance, such as controlling the heating time of a microwave oven or the temperature and cooking program of a rice cooker, are exactly this, and a mechanism like that is called an “embedded system”. What the question asks for is the general term for computers embedded in home appliances, so the microcomputer, which among the size-based categories is the smallest and lowest in cost and the best suited to being built into equipment, is appropriate.
Incorrectエ
A minicomputer is a historical category referring to a small-to-medium computer that was smaller than a large general-purpose machine (a mainframe) and was installed in a company department or a factory to be shared by several users. It is a machine installed as a standalone unit after all, and it is not the general term for a computer built into a home appliance, so it is wrong.
ここがポイント
- Microcomputer = a computer that packs a CPU, memory, and input/output functions together in a small form, and is built into home appliances, cars, industrial equipment, and the like to perform a specific kind of control. A mechanism that uses one is an embedded system.
- Computers are classified by scale and use. Keep this ordering straight: supercomputer (ultra-fast scientific and engineering computation) > general-purpose computer and minicomputer (stationary machines for business use) > personal computer (general-purpose machine for individuals) > microcomputer (for embedding in equipment).
用語