Answers to chapter 4 review questions

01. What is the primary purpose of a computer program?

 A: The primary purpose of a computer program is to process information.

02. Where does a program keep the information it is processing?

 A: A program stores information in main memory when it is processing it.

03. How big is a byte?

 A: A byte is eight bits.

04. How does a computer represent all information internally?

 A: A computer represents all information internally as patterns of bits.

05. What are the three basic data types in computer programming?

 A: 1) Character
    2) Integer
    3) Floating point, including double-precision floating point

06. Explain what constant, or literal, data is.

 A: A constant is a piece of data whose value cannot change at run time.

07. What is a variable used for?

 A: A variable is a place for storing a piece of data whose value can be
    changed by the program at run time.

08. Explain and describe the purpose of assignment.

 A: Assignment stores a specific value in a variable.
