basic structure of computers Flashcards
computer organisation
explains the function and design of the various units of digital computers that store and process information
deals with the input and the output units of the computer (receive and send information and results)
computer types
embedded computers
personal computers
servers and enterprise systems
supercomputers and grid computers
cloud computing
embedded computers
integrated into a larger device or system in order to automatically monitor and control a physical process or environment
have a specific purpose and users may not be aware of the role that the computers play in the system
personal computers
widespread use in home, educational institutions, and business and engineering office settings
classification: desktop, workstation, portable and notebook computers
servers and enterprise systems
large computers, shared by a large number of users that access them from some form of a PC over a public or private network
they host large databases and provide information processing for a government agency or a commercial organisation
supercomputers
for highly demanding computations needed in weather forecasting, engineering, design and simulation and scientific work
grid computers
cost-effective: combine a large number of personal computers and disk storage units in a physically distributed high-speed network
supercomputers and grid computers
offer the highest performance, are the most expensive and physically the largest category
cloud computing
engineering trend in access to computing facilities
pc users access widely distributed computing and storage servers resources for individual, independent, computing needs
cloud hardware and software providers operate as a utility, changing on a pay-as-you use basis
functional units
input unit
memory
arithmetic and logic unit
output unit
control unit
interconnection network
processor
(machine) instructions
program
data
bits
input unit
accepts called information from human operators using devices such as keyboards, or other computers over digital communication lines
memory
stores the received information and the processing program
stores programs and data
arithmetic and logic unit
process the received information immediately
output unit
sends results to the outside world
control unit
coordinate all the actions
interconnection network
provides the means for the functional units to exchange information and coordinate their actions
processor
the arithmetic logic circuit + the main control circuits
(machine) instructions
explicit commands that:
- govern the transfer of information within a computer between the computer and I/O devices
- specify arithmetic and logic operations to be preformed
program
stored in the memory
a list of instructions which performs a task
data
stored in memory
numbers and characters that are used as operands by the instructions
bits
a string of binary digits that contains an instruction, number or character
primary memory(main)
a fast memory that operates at electronic speeds
programs must be stored here during
execution
the storage cells are handled as words
words
storage cells in groups of fixed size, number of bits in each word is referred to as word length (16, 32, 64)
address
associated with each word location to provide easy access to any word in the memory -> accessed by specifying its address and issuing a control command to the memory that starts the storage or retrieval process
