Definitions 1.1 Flashcards
Accumulator
A special register to temporarily store the results of operations performed by the CPU.
Address bus
Carries the memory location address of the register the data is being carried from or to
Arithmetic logic unit
A part of the CPU that performs arithmetic calculations and logical operations on data for the computer program.
Busses
A physical set of parallel wires connecting and carrying groups of bits between several computers of a program.
cache
A small and fast but expensive memory in the CPU is used to store instructions and data that are assessed regularly
clock speed
The frequency at which the internal clock creates signals switching between 0 and 1. it controls how often instructions are executed and data is fetched.
contemporary processor architecture
a modern computer architecture combining elements of both von Neuman and Harvard architectures
control bus
A part of the CPU that controls and manages the execution of instructions. it sends control signals to coordinate execution and controls the fetch- execute cycle and buses
current instruction register
A special register that stores the current instruction being executed and decoded. the instructions are divided into opcode and operand
data bus
a bi-directional bus for carrying data and instructions between the processor and memory
Fetch-Decode-execute cycle
The process of fetching from memory(supplying the address and retrieving the instruction from the memory), Decoding (interpreting the instructions and then reading and retrieving the required data from their addresses) and executing the instructions (CPU carries out the required actions)
Harvard architecture
a computer architecture that stores data and instructions in separate memory to allow the next instruction to load or data to use.
Memory address register
A special register that stores the memory address of the next instruction to load or data to use
Memory data register
A special register that temporarily stores the data to be read from or written to the computer memory
Number of cores
A core is a processing unit that handles instructions with its own fetch- decode- execute cycle. multi core processors have multiple cores that can run simultaneously.
pipelining
the simultaneous decoding of several instructions by decoding the next instruction and fetching the one after while the current one is being decoded
Program counter
A special purpose register that stores the address of the next instruction to be execute
Registers
Special memory cells that can be accessed quickly. They temporarily store data and control instructions
von Neuman architecture
A computer architecture where a single control unit manages program control via a linear sequence of fetch-decode- execute cycles
complex instruction set computer
a more complicated and expensive processor design that can execute a series of task in a single complex instruction built into the hardware. The variety of instruction means less ram is used, but pipelining is not possible.
graphic processing unit
a specialized processing unit with a huge number of small cores that allow efficient parallel computation for task such as computer graphics, machine learning, data mining
Multi core system
several CPU cores are incorporated into a single processor chip to help distribute work load
Parallel processing systems
splitting a job into several subtask which are simultaneously carried out by each core in the system
Reduced instruction set computer
a simpler processor design that can only execute a single simple instruction each clock cycle. this uses more ram but allows for pipelining
Flash storage
A solid state technology that stores the data on a collection of memory chips. No moving parts as data is accessed by software
input devices
peripheral devices that allow the user communicate and to pass readable data into a computer, decode it and send it to the CPU
Magnetic storage
Relies on the polarization of magnetic particle to store bits on a magnetic material which is typically moved mechanically. a high capacity and low means of storage
optical storage
data is stored reflectively (pits and lands) of a surface and is read and written to by a laser
output devices
peripheral devices that take convert signals from a computer into a human readable form.
Random access memory
Memory used to store programs and data in use by the computer. Quick access time by all data is lost when the computer is turned off(volatile memory)
Read only memory
memory used to store information that is permanently required to boot up and run the computer. cannot be written to and is non volatile
storage devices
any medium which data can be stored when powered off
virtual storage
using the hard disk as tough it where an extension of memory to to free up ram for current programs.
