Lecture 1 Quiz: Data Processing Concepts 2 Flashcards
What are the four forms that computers take?
Distributed (network/internet). Embedded (in devices). Desktop. Mobile.
How are computers benchmarked?
1) By time it takes to do some standardised tasks.
2) By the number of numeric operations they perform in 1 second.
What does IC stand for?
Integrated circuit. Their invention allowed smaller computers.
What are the components of a computer?
Input/output. CPU. Memory. System bus.
What are the components of a CPU?
Control Unit. Registers. ALU. Internal CPU Interconnection.
What is the main drawback with the Van Neumann architecture?
A data bottleneck. Only one bus transmission can be made at a time - either data or instruction. Also, all data must go through cpu on way to input/output device therefore cpu spends a lot of time shuttling data rather than processing it.
How does Harvard Architecture differ to Van Neumann?
It uses two separate buses. One for instruction, one for data. Also uses separate memory for data an instruction.
Where is the Harvard Architecture typically found?
On DSP’s (Digital Signal Processers) used typically for sound and image processing.
What is Modified Harvard Architecture?
It uses a CPU cache seperating data and instruction, but with unified memory otherwise.
What advantage does Van Neumann have over Harvard?
It can treat instruction like data because they share same memory. Modified Harvard fixes this.
What’s the difference between a microprocessor and a micro-controller?
Microprocessor requires external hardware. Microcontroller is a single chip, all other elements integrated, cheaper but less powerful.
What is single core and multi core processors?
A typical microprocessor is a single core microprocessor. In a multi core architecture multiple CPU’s share the same memory and resources.
What does ISA stand for?
Instruction Set Architecture.
What does CISC stand for?
Complex Instruction Set Computer (Instructions do as much work as possible eg x86). Assembly Language.
What does RISC stand for?
Reduced Instruction Set Computer. (Simple Instructions executed very simply eg ARM) High Level Language.
