Computer Structure Flashcards
registers are
fast, temporary storage locations on the processor
Registors store
data, instructions or addresses being used by the CPU
ALU
stands for the Arithmetic and Logic Unit
what does the ALU do
carriers out calculations
comapres numbers
performs logical operations using AND/OR/NOT
The controll unit
manages the flow of data around the computer
uses a clock
has a reset lines
Each memory location is
its own unique address
Memory is
a block of storage locations connected to the processor by the data bus and address bus
The data bus
carries data from memory to be used by the processor
carries data from the processor to be stored in memory
is bi-directional because data can travel in both directions
The address bus
tells memory which memory location is being read from
tells memort which memort location is being written to
is uni-directional because the address always goes from the processor to memory
what does a translator do
converts the high level program into binary
why is a translator required
humaans understand high level lanngauges
computers understand binary
There are two types of translator
interpreter
compiler
an interpreter
translates source code into machine code one line at a time
advantages of interpreters
errors are flagged after each line has been interpreted making debugging easier
disadvantages of an interpreter
slower because statements in a loop are translated repeatedly
the interpreter must remain in memort to allow the program to run
