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Systems and Networks are the fourth Big Idea in APCSP. Two topics relating to it are the Internet and parallel computing.
The Internet
The internet was created in the early 1980s by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn. It was designed as a decentralized network where computers could send data to each other. The internet continues to work like this today, but there are protocols computers must follow to join the internet. For example, the Internet protocol (IP) assigns computers with unique addresses so they can identify each other when sending data.
Parallel Computing
Some programs may take a long time to execute. With parallel computing, these programs may take less time. This is because parallel computing uses multiple CPUs at once. This means that if a program consists of doing one thing over and over again, using two CPUs will take half the amount of time as one CPU. This is considered a speedup rate of 2, since using one CPU takes two times the amount of time as using two CPUs.
Relation to Computer Science
Without Computer Systems and Networks, computers would be a lot less useful than they are now. The Internet has connected people all across the globe, and without any networks, sharing data with other computers would be virtually impossible. Computers would also most likely take more time to complete tasks, as parallel computing and distributed computing both make it easier and faster for computers to run tasks by splitting the work to multiple CPUs or computing devices.
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