Unit i

A Brief History of Computers

The development of the modem day computer was the result of advances in

technologies and man's need +0 quantify Panvrus helped r.>,,~I,. man .. eco .. rI 1.",O"U"u" n~rI

t \".I eu J1(.' 1.':> 11 U I,. U. t. 1.)'. l c.lJ:J .. ' ~ 11\...01. \,;u ...... '1.'1} UJ('U 11".., ...... }J.U "'HiO (.to\..; U11U

numbers. The abacus, a wooden rack holding tV\'0 horizontal wires with beads strung on them, was one of the first counting machines.

5 Webster's Dictionary defines "computer" as any programmable electronic device

that can store; retrieve and process data. The basic idea of computing develops in the 1200 when a Moslem cleric proposes solving problems with a series of written procedures. As early as 1 h40 mechanical calculators are manufactured for sale. Records exist of earlier machines but Blaise Pascal invents the first commercial calculator, a hand

10.. powered adding machine. It added numbers entered with dials and was made to help his father, a tax collector.

In 1801 a Frenchman, Joseph .. _ Marie Jacquard, builds a loom that weaves by reading punched holes stored on small sheds of hardwood. These plates are then inserted into the loom which reads the pattern and creates the weave. Powered by water, this

15 "machine" came 140 years before the development of the modem computer.

Shortly after the first mass-produced calculator (1820), Charles Babbage begins his lifelong quest tor a programmable machine based on the principles of punched cards, storing data in a memory and a sequence of instructions dearly set out in a programme. This machine will be released in 1830. By 1842, Ada Lovelace, his assistant, uses

20 Babbage's analytical engine to mechanically translate a short 'Written work. She is generally regarded as the first programmer.

In 1925, unaware of the work of Charles- Babbage, Vannevar Bush of MIT builds a machine he calls the differential analyzer, which is in fact the first analog computer. Using a set of gears and shafts, much like Babbage, the machine can handle simple

25 calculus problems but accuracy is a problem.

In 1945, Von Neumann performed an abstract study of computation that showed that a computer should have a very simple, fixed physical structure, and yet be able to execute any kind of computation by means of a proper programmed control without the need for any change in the unit itself.

30 J. Eckert and J. Mauchly heralded the computer era in 1946 by building the first

digital computer using parts called vacuum tubes. They named their invention ENTAC but these types of machines were too bulky and unreliable to be used in any but largest firms.

In 1947 and 1956 two further technological breakthroughs materialized the tendency towards miniaturization: the transistor, invented in Bell laboratories, and the

35 integrated circuit, invented by Jack Kilby. The secret of the new technology was to etch transistors and other components onto a thin silicon wafer, called a chip, in order to create an integrated circuit.

In 1956 FORTRAN. is introduced. Two additional languages, LlSP and COBOL are added in 1957 and 1958. Other early languages include ALGOL and BASIC.

40 Although never widely used, ALGOL is the basis for many oftoday's languages.

Over the last decades computers have undergone more transformations: MOS technology has been supplanted by C-MOS and RISC and laptops and powerful

computers no larger or thicker than an A4 notepad have become commonplace. Despite these transformations, however, the same basic pattern emerges: data is inputted using an

45 input device, usually a keyboard, a mouse, a pen or a scanner. This information is then stored in the computer's memory until the user needs to retrieve it. Once the retrieval of data is complete, the relevant information is either displayed on a screen (soft copy) or can be printed out by a printer (hard copy).

Progress in the area of software has not matched the great advances in hardware.

50 Software has become the major cost of many systems because programming productivity has not increased very quickly. New programming techniques, such as object-oriented programming, have been developed to help relieve this problem. Despite difficulties with software, however, the cost per calculation of computers is rapidly lessening, and their convenience and efficiency are expected [0 increase in the early future. The computer

55 field continues to experience huge growth. Computer networking, computer mail, and electronic publishing are just a few of the applications that have grown in recent years. Advances in technologies continue to produce cheaper and more powerful computers offering the promise that in the near future, computers 0r terminals will reside in most, if not all homes, offices, and schools.

INFO

~ FORTRAN - one of the first high-level programming languages, initially invented to allow a concise wording of numerical problems; other high-level programming languages: BASIC, COBOL, P:\SCAL, C, C++, JAVA: low-level programming languages: the assembly language (the assembler) and machine language (machine code)

~ LISP - programming language invented by John McCarthy in 1960 in order to process character rows and lists

,.. COBOL - programming language created in 1958 for financial administration program writing; it allowed large file processing, alphanumeric information handling, report editing

);- ALGOL - scientific programming language created in 1958 that obeyed three exigencies: to be as close 3S possible to regular mathematical notations; to be Ieuible enouuh to become an alaoritlun communication lanuuaue: to be

............. 1:: '-_.

compilable

" BASTe - programming language whose purpose was to provide scientific learning programming tool!': by means of an interactive environment

~ MOS, C-MOS - technology commonly used to manufacture integrated circuits

,. RISe - elementary processor architecture whose purpose was to obtain performances by using a regular set of instructions which allowed instruction pipeline processing.

1.

a) Gil-Ie synonyms/or the following words from the text:

Brief; machine (1. 4); dial CLJO); guest (I. 17); to handle (I. 24); computation (L 28); to herald (1. 30); bulky (L 32); to undergo (1. 42); however 0.45); to relieve (1. 53): growth (1. 57)

b) What do the following abbreviations stand/or?

MIT; ENIAC; FORTRAN; LISP; COBOL; ALGOL; BASIC; MOS; C-MOS; RISe

IL Match the following words (1 - 10) with their appropriate definitions (A - J):

I. Bulky

2. Silicon chip

3. Transistor

4. Reliable

5. Scanner

6. Laptop

7. To etch

8. To retrieve

9. Wafer

I O. Accuracy

A. a computer that can be earned easily

B. an essential component of a microprocessor

C. to recover or regain lost information or data

D. condition or quality of being true, correct or exact

E. taking up a lot of space

F. a thin, small disk

G. you can COWlt on it

H. the type of tecImology that made miniarurisation possible 1. an automatic electronic means of inputting data

J. to engrave as to form a design

Ill. The following names are related to the historyof computers, Read the above text once again and decide 't)/1O'S who ustng the list below. Two

names are not in the text:

1. Charles Babbage; 2. Blaise Pascal: 3. Bill Gates; 4. Vannevar Bush; 5_ Grace

Hopper; 6. Ada Lovelace. 7. Von Neumann: 8_ .J Eckert and J Mauchly

A_ The inventor of the first analog computer B. Allegedly the first prozranuner

_ _ _ t:-

C. The Inventor of the analytical engine and alleged father of computers

D. The one who developed the idea of keeping instructions for the computer inside the

computer's memory

E. Mathematician, inventor of a hand powered adding machine

F. Creator of the first spreadsheet program and former Microsoft CEO

G. Inventors of the ENIAC, the first digital mainframe H, The US army colonel who helped develop COBOL

Tv:

a) PI"III'n the table with the a'P"'ron .. ;nfn ,1''Itn~' a .... d inventions:

_._ .... t· ,,, _, -v.. ,"'&. .r1- "" 1./ 1.1 •....... , ........ '* ..... ~..., ,iJ... "".4.,...-1.·,· • ..,1" ..

i DATE PERSON ANDiOR INVENTION i

r- - - ~- .. -. ~~.' i B,bbage's calculating machine l

I 1946 --r~~-·-· -...... /

I 1947 i The invention of the in !

I I . - .. - . - - .. Laboratories I

f -- .. ---._. '-"'---'-'--'--- -.-.- .. -.- --_.- .. - -. -.- .. -- .. - .. --""-- .----r-~--~·.~--··- ---- .. - .. ~--.- ---.--.-.-- .. -------.- -- .. - ---- .. --. --,-,-",--1

I ,.. :.'.KlIhymvemedthe __ . I

i I I

i I I

i

I

L_ .

1956

i I

.. I._' .. -. ..._____ .. __ _. _l

b) Answer the/allowing questions:

!. What three modern principles were fundamental to Babbage 's theoretical machine?

2. Who wrote the first ever "programme"?

3. What was the general tendency after ENIAC?

V Fill in the blanks WiTh the words in the list:

binary, built, calculation. can, could, development. first, mechanically, most, moving, on, other. perforated. punched, world's.

Automatic (1) has a long history. The (2) calculators ,""ere (3)

......... in the early 17th century. The German mathematician Gottfried Leibnitz

speculated (4) the possibility of building a calculator using (5) balls to

represent numbers in (6) code. Self-playing musical instruments and (7) .

automata incorporated the notion of storing :1 sequence of instructions (8) .In

1725 Basile Bouchon invented a method of producing woven patterns 011 a draw loom

from instructions on a (9) paper tape. Jacquard later refined this method into a

highly successful automatic 100m controlled by (to) cards. (11) ......... of the

dements of a truly general-purpose computer (12) be found in the analytical

engine conceived by Babbage in 1835. In 1941 Konrad Zuse in Germany built the (13)

....... ,. first working stored-program computer. In the USA, the mathematician Howard Aiken, in association with IBM (International Business Machines), worked independently

on a large electromechanical calculator that (14) be programmed using paper

tape. Computers later based on the electronic thermionic valve were a major (15) .

VI. Fill i11 the gaps:

in the early fifties, computers were so 1) , .. __ , .. ,'" and 2) ,', .. " .... , that only very few biz ~'--P~'l:"S ~OU1,.l ~'\ them T'11~·· ,,_~,.l A) and were the

g. \"U111 <U Ie. '- !U J,I .".,""'" LL \:,11 , 11 c y U;:,CU"'t' ",",,','" "",',',',. a! u vv c !

first generation of computers, In 1947, the use of 5) instead of 6) ..

gave birth to the second generation of computers which were able to 7)

calculations ten times 8) ' .. than their 9) Second .. ' 10)

computers were Jess i I) .... " ... '1 J 2)" .. _ .. " .. and more iJ) .......... "

+1,,,,,, first ueneration computers With ~1,~ i ')\ 0"1 11\ circuits 1'11 the

LU<u1 ).J ,:,c - z:o l' lUll Ul ., II C:l • VY Llle L]} " .. ".,'". 1 ""1'" \". \" U l 1

mid-sixties computers became even 15) , and -even more 16) Yet

they could not sit on a desk and were still expensive. In the seventies, 17) .

. , "., microminiaturization, thousands of integrated 18) " ,.,. could be 19)

' , .. , on a chip, a tiny piece of silicon a few millimetres in 20) ,_' , ...

Unit i-A Brie.fHistoryofCBmpJIIeTS .

GRAMMAR SPOTlIGHT . ;,.

The Articles in English

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

~, '

Uses:

, " ~ .'

THE INDEFlNrrEARTICLE

Uses:

• Before a countable noun

e.g.; A cmnputer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions..

• Before nouns used as the representative of a class e.g.; Michael is aoomput.g programmer.

• Before names of origin

e.g..: Bill Gates;" the· aeato£ of the- fitst sp.readshed pI'ogram, former Microsoft COO and CWileatlydierichestmanODthe p~ isan American..

• Religion

e.g.; He is: a Catholic.

• Politics

e.g.: He is a RepubIiQm.

Beldimanfulia r

Unit} -A Brief History ojCumpHlel'S ,

THE ZERO ARTICLE

Uses:

•

Before abstract nouns: death, life, love, freedom, bate ek.' ," r ,~; .., ), ! _:," :'i!£ U f; e.g.; Most people fear death..

Before names with a general: meaning

e.g.: Computers. are widely used nowadays. "', ' , " ,

The GPS system my father, boqgbf'me larmy"birth&ty'tk c'irttJrig;..edge

:"~~~~~:~EZ:~:a~~

Before names of subjects'(ID'sbhOol)" , ,:f' ; ',: "':, , ' :;(! ,"I' :C':{ .:',";",,;': 4

e.g.: Computer science is a set of very efficienft6blS ~WIU'Cii:the' COmmon user canorgrui1ie,'prOtess; ~seritan(hi-a~&,#f~~:ofi!U:o~ti~';i ',::' -. "" Before names of means oftransport:bY)air/l}Y'bOat;'l).yb~~, bycar;b-y.t51~e, by

sea.by ship o",:;;!", i': "i',',,;:'" "';f:, "",!:'." ,',:,: 'r: ',"'1' ", ;':",,",,1',',1'" ,,;.,:..,-',,," "

"_~ ';iil': .. :»1 .s , ,',' j;';'( ,,;~:; " .. : r . ~ r , .v- ,H':

•

•

•

.J:: .:

.: ..

", ( .

• • , f

':'\:'.

"

: .. ' ,

'/., r,

,; .,',.,",.;

,.,.;

:, .r ..

,': - 'Vi

'!, ~

<. ;~.;, i~.:,

.. ', .;.,', ....

". . f .: ,,:. '!:. . .'. . -: ~ ~', -

,I,

,', ~ .

" ;

,.'

.. ~ . j : ' , ", .

.. ;,

8

Beldiman Julia

Unit 1 - A Brief'History of Computers

EXERCISES

L Translate into English:

Magistrala; placa andiO-; unUa1ea centrala de procesare; ~; cifia; 0- eroare; 0- grim; jetonul; majuscula; mufa; un nucleu; panglica (de imprimanta); versiunea; un portal; un releu; sliva; stmtul; 0- svcursata; un F;. t.eIecomanda.

II. Fill in the blanks with alanlthelzero article and motivate yom choice:

L Where are you going ....•.•..•.. next week?

We are staying at home, because we have to study hard to pass ••.•••...•.•

exams.

2 computer shop is closed: today. It is Sunday.

3. ...•.... sound card you bought is less reliable thatt .••. ...•. •.. one I have at

.......•.... heme,

4. She is teacher and works in one of those Sf;hooIsnear .........••• your house.

5. Numerical methods is one of __ ban:festsubjects in computer science faculty.

6. She' s visiting United States next montIL

7. I can't remember where,. but my best friend is studying in university in

France.

8. They have got two children: ..........•. boy and .••••.••. , .• girl ........•.•• girrs seven and ..•....•.... boy's nine.

9. How often does he go to London?

He goes to London once .•..•..•...• year.

10. How-much time do yon work .•.......•.• day?

I work 7 hours and , .•.. half every day.

1I. I've decided to go freelance and hire myself out as ...•.... , ... computer programmer.

12. Because of crisis, company Microsoft has been. fmeed to lay off

several thousand employ~.

13. . good manager is not so easy to find.

14 distrilrurors will probably boost the price of ...•........ software. when

..•••.•.... next version is released,

9

Unit 2

Input and Ou.tput Devices

~

,l.Jl

Inpat and output devices aUow the computer system to interact with the outside world by moving data into and out of the system. I/O refers to the communication between an information processiag system (such as a computer) and the outside worldpossibly a human or another information processing system.

S An input device convert'S incoming data and instructions into a pattern of

electrical signals in binary code- that ase comprehensible to a digital computer and sends them into the CPU. An output device reverses the process, translating the digitized signals into a form intelligible to the user.

Until the early 1960's" one of the most frequently used devices for providing input

10 data into a computer was the punched card, a major storage medium for computer programs and data. In 1890, Dr. Herman Hollerith recognised the' value of the punched cards for this purpose, devised a code for representing data on the cards and invented the necessary machines to meet Ius needs. Dr Hollerith went on to found a company to produce these machines, which in 1924 became IBM. Nowadays, punched cards are

15 rarely used.

Today, most programming and data entry is done directly onto magnetic tape or disk eliminating cards and card readers. The instructions, or data, are typed on a keyboard, which records the characters magnetically, and a monitor or VDU shows what has been typed.

20 Input devices may be classified into manual and automatic. TIle most common

manual input devices are:

• Keyboards, including concept keyboards; a concept keyboard is a flat board that contains a grid of buttons; each button can be programmed to do whatever you want; an overlay sheet with pictures or symbols is placed on the grid so that the

25 user can tell what pressing on different areas win do; concept keyboards are used when fast input is needed and are ideally suited to selecting from a limited range of choices such as fast food restaurants; primary schools often use them with young children; the overlay could be a picture of a farmyard; pressing on an animal would cause the computer to make the right animal noise; concept

30 keyboards are also very handy in locations where an ordinary keyboard might be damaged, e.g. by spillage or dust;

• Digital cameras, which take pictures and store them as a digital photographic image that can be read by a computer;

• Microphones, used to input sound information; they can also be used with a voice

35 recognition system which processes information or as part of security systems - only certain digitally stored voices will gain access

• Graphics tablets, which consist of a flat pad (the tablet) on which the user draws with a special pen;

• Scanners, which is a cheap and common way of getting images into a computer;

40 they can also be used with OCR software to scan in text.

The two most important automatic input devices are:

1

Beldiman Inlia

Unit 2 - Input and Output Devices

• Sensors

• Barcode readers

Barcodes represent different groups of vertical bars that can be read by a barcode

45 reader. Barcodes are printed on nearly every products that you can buy. The barcode contains the product details such as product name, size, manufacturer, country of origin.

The most common output devices are:

• Monitors, which include: desktop monitors, also known as CRT, and LCD's, also known as TFT's

50 • Printers, which may be classified into: laser printers (produce a very high quality

output, are very quiet and very fast); inkjet printers (offer black and white or colour printing with reduced levels of quality and speed); dot-matrix printers (not so common today; they are comparatively noisy and low quality)

• Plotters, which can be used to produce high quality, accurate A3 size or bigger

55 drawings; they are usually used for CAD and CAM applications such as printing out plans for houses orear parts.

2

Unit 2 =Inpu: and Output Devices

L

aj Give sYlIDllymsfur th'e julltJwing J.S1¥Jrds.j1!fJm tlte. text:

Device; to allow (1. 1); to convert (l.S); to provide (1. 9); purpose (1. 12); to devise (1. 12); to meet (1. 13)~ today (1. 16);. to classify (1. 20); to: be needed (1. 26); handy (1. J(}); to buy (1. 4&}

&} What do thefollowing abbreviations stand for?

IBM; VDU; CPU; CRT; LCD; TFT; CAD; CAM; CAE; OCR;QWER'I1'; AZERTY; EGA;GUl

II. Give as many examples as you can of input and output devices but do not repeat the ones that are already given in the text. Also write a short definition of each input or output device that you mention.

IlL Match the joOowing words (1 -14) with their appropriate definitions fA -N):

1. Keyboard

2. Trackball

3. Drivers

4. Card

5. Transducer

6. Modem

7. QWERTY

8. Light pen

9. Joystick

A. special software packages required by peripherals

B. component of the puck, which generates. an electric field

C. a component which increases the computer's capacity

D. dots per inch

E. a program which allows for faster transfer rates

F. the-measuring tool formodems

G. device used for accurate drawing, especially by artists

H. a peripheral used to translate information transferred through telephone lines or cable

L characters, per inch

3

Beldiman Iulia

Unit "2 =Input and Output Devices

10. Data compression J. the most common keyboard layout for Latin-based languages

11. Graphics tablet K. an input device used mostly for playing games

12. Baud rate L. an input device which works directly with the display

13. err

M. the primary input device used to communicate with the computer

N. an upside-down mouse

14. DPI

IV. Fill in the blanks in the text below:

To enter data into a computer there are several 1) 2) The

most common ofthese devices is the 3) It is just like a 4) and it can

be either 5) or 6) depending on the country you live in. Most

keyboards have several sets of 7) : the main set is the alphanumeric keypad

with all the alphabet letters, figures and a few other keys such as the 8) or caps

lock keys; it is actually the same set which you find on a 9) typewriter. Besides

this main block there are other 10) which are specific to computer keyboards:

the numeric keypad and the 11) 12) Instead of using the keyboard

you can also use a B) which helps you move the 14) on the 15)

............ and select functions by 16) the button(s) situated on the 17)

............ of it. 18) 19) and 20) 21) also belong

to the 22) 23) family but usually serve specific 24) : the

former are used to read 25) 26) , the latter to 27) an area

on a map displayed on the screen, for instance.

V. Fill in the gaps:

Once processed, the data can be outputted in several 1) The most common 2)

............ device is the 3) , often referred to as the 4) 5) 6)

............ (VDU for short) or monitor or even 7) 8) 9) .

4

(CRTforshort)_ Such a device Ja) . .• _ .. the usertavisualize the iRfonnati<m wlllch

is 11) __ •.. _ .. __ . _ and to: edit it if he wishes te, The data displayed on a screen is nsmilly

called a 12} .. .. B) .• .. __ . lfthe-user wants It 14) • __ . ._. __ 15) of

the data whicll is displayed 0& the screen. then. a 16} _ •....•...... is 11) . _ in order to

print the data on IS} _ __ 'There is. a 19) __ . ._ FaRge of primers. 20) ...•... .

today. 21} ..•.•.... 22) .. __ or X-Y plotters: are very 23) .•...•...•. _ to: architects

or to people working in fiefds where graphs are an important part of their business. 24)

.. __ ._ are beeoming- 25) ...• _ popular since you em 26} sounds,

masic and e.ven spoken language with their help,

VI. Read'the text beiow: Find the original- text by repltlcing the words or phrases' in italics by their syllonyms~ The original text is a letter written to the Wall Street Journal by a computer addicted person to complain about theirpolicy of using the word "hacker" only in a pejorative sense.

Although; apology; breaking; change; clever; crash; difference; explain; earlier; impression. insist on; kind; learning; let; meant; misuse; ordinary; perpetuated; public; reason; repeat; response; shameful; sincerely; specifically; that is to say; used; violence; wish

Dear Editor,

This letter is. not meant for publication, I): in spite of the fact that you can publish it if yon 2} want. It is 3} intended 4:} precisely fer you, the editor, not for the 5)community. I am a hacker, 6) i.e. I enjoy playing with ecmputers, working with,. 7} studying about, and writing S} smart computer programs. I am not a cracker. I don't make a practice of 9) cracking computer security. There's nothing 10) scandalous about the hacking I do. But when I tell people I am a hacker, people think. I'm admitting something naughty because newspapers such as :yOW's 11). iii-use the word «hacker". giving the 12}

5

Be1diman Iulia

Unit 2 - input and Output Devices

feeling that it means "security breaker" and nothing else. You .are giving hackers a bad name.

The saddest thing is that this problem is l3} extended deliberately. Your reporters know the ]4) discrepancy between "hacker" and "security breaker". They know how to make the distinction but you don't 15) allow them! You 16) persist in using "hacker" pejoratively. When reporters try to use another word, you 17) replace it. When reporters try to 18) clarify the other meanings, you cut it. Of course, you have a 19) motive. You say that readers have become 20) accustomed to your insulting usage of "hacker", so that YOll cannot change it now. Wen, you can't undo 2 1) former mistakes today but that is no excuse t022) reproduce them tomorrow.

If I were what you call a "hacker", at this point I would threaten to crack your computer and 23) break it. But I am a hacker, not a cracker. I don't do that 24) sort of thing! I have enough computers to play with at home and at work. I don't need yours. Besides, it's not my way to 25) retort to insults with 26) brutality. My 27) reply is this letter. You owe hackers an 28) excuse, hut more than that, you owe us 29) customary respect.

30) Frankly,

VlL Translate the following text into English:

Mimio Interactiv

Fiecare componenta a sistemului mimio este foarte usoara, dar totusi foarte rezistenta, usor de manuit si de transportat.

Bara interactivd Mimio Interactive Xi contine senzori infrarosu si pentru detectia ultrasunetelor, tehnologie patentata de mimio.

• Se poate manta vertical sau orizontal pe tabla alba.

• Se poate plia pentru a facilita transportal ~i depozitarea,

6

• Are 5 butoaae care potc0Rtrola.DJIJdyt imemctiv,. barn de iastrumente, notitele de pe ecran san diverse efecte in timpuJ ptezeI!ltmikJr.

Stiloul Munio Interactive se ccrmp:orta ca an raonse, deer pnteti controla: fimctrne caleulatoruIui dumneavoastra direct de la ta@ofa interactiva. Ma· mai este necesar sa va plimbafi de Ia tabla la cakulatoqrentm a pntea fclosi meuse-nl!

• Cele dona butoane de pe stHou an acel~i rol ca §i butoanele unui mouse, dick dreapta, click stanga,. drag and drop.

• Vfuful solid din tetlorr va asignra actimri signre ~ de precizie.

• Carcasa rezistenta asigmii proteetie Ia lovituri san soeari,

Mimio SmdifJ este 0 SHim de programe care activeazft· tabla interactiv;a. mimio si extinde aprcape nelimitat posibilitatile de a preda interactiv.

• Alegeti din galerie lec!ii pregatite pentru prezentarea in clasa, impfu1ita pe subieete ~i pe diferite mvele de dificultate. Le putep: folosi alja cum sunt sau le

-r

puteti medifica pentru a se adapta nevoilor dmnneavoast:riL

• Creati lectii dinamice integrand materiale audio, video, §l animatii Flash.

• Importali Iectii existente in. alte formate - PowerPoint,. Word. Excel si' Adobe Acrobat -- ill: softu1 mHnio Stadio.

• Disponibil pentru Wllldows, Macintosh ~i Linux.

Tabla interactiva mimio este meum sa reziste mai mu:fti anl,. m. condipt de utilizare activa. Daca apar vreodata probleme tehnice, compenenta def~Cta poate fi trimisa prin curier, eliminaad costurile mart provenite din apelarea serviciilor de pe suport telefonic,

7

Beldirnan julia

Unit 2 - Input and-Output Devices

GRAMMAR SPOTLIGHT Complex Noun Phrases

In grammar, (I noun phrase is a phrase whose head is a noun or a pronoun optionally accompanied by a set ofmodifiers.

EXERCISES

1. The following words have been scrambled. Arrange them to form complex noun phrases:

• New interface design user

• Level performance high

• Integrated access. digital

• Telephone Internet software

• 32-bit space address .

• Research human-computer interface

• Tools web-based search

• Front component page

• Extensions server page front

• Document office format interchange

• Earth orbit low

• Number serial electronic

• Application interface programming

• Common access user

ll. Arrange the following complex noun phrases in the correct order and then translate them into Romanian:

• Authoring web program

• Interface web user

• Server name domain

• Cache proxy server

8

Beldiman lulia

Unit 2 =Inpu: and Output Devices

• Map server-side image

• System profile default

• Compression standard algorithm

• Communication data equipment

• Simple management network protocol

• Services online commercial

• Page information Web

• Update Wmdows files

• Devices input alternate

• Colour active profiles

• Control drive disk.

m. Translate the following noun phrases into Romanian:

• File transfer access and management

• HTML logical character tag

• Number assigmnentmodule

• Short messaging service

• Object request broker

• Object-oriented programming

• Delimited field file

• Bit error rate

• Frequently asked questions file

• Internet access sharing

IV. Translate the following complex noun phrases into English:

• Unitatea centraIa de procesare

• Proiectare asistata de calculator

• Calitatea de a mentine sistemul stabil

• Variatii ale parametrnlui sensibil Ia tensinne

• Efortul de a aplica criteriuI de perfo1"ID3Ilpi. corespunzator

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Una 3 - The Processor

Unit 3 The Processor

A CPU or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs, which are actually sets of instructions. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s. The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples but their fundamental operation remains

5 much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are made for one or many purposes. This standardisation trend generally began in the era

10 of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the IC. Transistorized CPUs no longer had to be built out of bulky, unreliable, and fragile switching elements like vacuum tubes and electrical relays. With this improvement more complex and reliable CPUs were built onto one or several printed circuit boards containing discrete components. During this period, a method of

15 manufacturing many transistors in a compact space gained popularity. The IC allowed a large number of transistors to be manufactured on a single semiconductor-based die, or "chip". At first only very basic non-specialised digital circuits such as NOR gates were miniaturised into lCs. CPUs based upon these "building block" ICs, are generally referred to as SSJ devices. To build an entire CPU out of SSI ICs required thousands of

20 individual chips, but still consumed much less space and power than earlier discrete transistor designs. As microelectronic technology advanced, an increasing number of transistors were placed on ICs, thus decreasing the quantity of individual K's needed for a complete CPU. MSI and LSI ICs increased transistor counts to hundreds, and even thousands.

25 In 1964, IBM introduced its System/360 computer architecture which was used in

a series of computers that could 11m the same program with different speed and performance.

There are four steps that nearly all CPUs use in their operation: fetch, decode, execute and write back.

30 The first step, fetch, involves retrieving an instruction (which is represented by a

number or a sequence of numbers) from program memory. The location in program memory is determined by a PC, which stores a number that identifies the current position in the program. After an instruction is fetched, the PC is incremented by the length of the instruction word in terms of memory units. Often the instruction to be fetched must be

35 retrieved from relatively slow memory, causing the CPU to stall while waiting for the instruction to be returned.

In the decode step, the instruction is broken up into parts that have significance to other portions of the CPU. The way in which the numerical instruction value is interpreted is defined by the CPUs ISA. More often than not, one group of numbers in the

40 instruction, called the opcode, indicates which operation to perf 01111. The remaining parts of the number usually provide information required for that instruction, such as operands for an addition operation. Such operands may be given as a constant value (called an

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Unit 3 - The Processor

immediate value), or as a place to locate a value: a register or a memory address, as determined by some addressing mode.

45 After the fetch and decode steps, the execute step is performed. During this step,

various portions of the CPU are connected so they can perform the desired operation. If, for instance, an addition operation was requested, an ALU will be connected to a set of inputs and a set of outputs. If the addition operation produces a result too large tor the CPU to handle, an arithmetic overflow flag in a flags register may also be set.

50 The final step, writeback, simply "writes back" the results of the execute step to

some form of memory. Very often the results are written to some internal CPU register for quick access by subsequent instructions. Some types of instructions manipulate the pTOgram counter rather than directly produce result data. These are generally called '~Ul11pS" and facilitate behaviour like loops, conditional program execution (through the

S5 use of a conditional jump), and functions in programs.

After the execution of the instruction and writeback of the resulting data, the entire process repeats, with the next instruction cycle normally fetching the next-in sequence instruction because of the incremented value in the program counter.

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Unit 3 - The Processor

L

a) Give synonyms/or thejollmving words/rom the text:

To execute (a program) (1. .1); actually (1. 2); dramatically (1A); costly (1. 7); discrete (1. 10); basic (1. 17); entire (1. 19); fetch (1. 27); incremented (J. 32); to stall (1. 34); to handle (1. 48); subsequent (1. 51)

b) Whatdo the following abbreviations standfor? CPU; ic, SS!; MSl; LSI; PC; ALU; lSA; CU

IL Read the text and fill in the blanks with the appropriate word or phrase:

The Central Processing Unit (CPU for short) or processor is the very heart of any computer system. Microprocessors (or microchips) represent millions of electronic circuits etched on a single tiny piece of silicon. Whatever its size, a processor always implements the same architecture. Basically it consists of three main parts: the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), the Control Unit (CU) and Main Memory. The ALU, as its name implies, performs all-of the calculations 011 the data. The CU synchronizes all operations carried out by the computer via a clock-oscillator, a program counter, an index register and a stack pointer. Main Memory is used to store the data before and after processing, and is not to be confused with backing store or auxiliary memory which is a permanent storage medium onto which data can be recorded or [Tom which it can be retrieved. These units are linked by buses which convey the data to different locations in the computer system, both internally and externally. There are three main types of buses: the data bus, the address bus and the control bus. The data racing through these buses is buffered, i.e. stored temporarily in areas called buffers, before it is inputted or outputted before and after being processed. Such temporary storage areas are required to avoid "bottleneck" problems because all of the components. in a computer system don't work at the same

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Unit 3 - The Processor

speed. Think of the kind of problems you might encounter with components having different frequency cycles, a 2 GHz processor and a 667MHz device, for instance.

1. A microprocessor is often referred to as a , .

2. Millions of circuits can be on a wafer of .

3. The ALU carries out arithmetic and logical .

4. The purpose of Main Memory is to the data before and after its

processing.

5. The CU all of the operations carried out by the computer.

6. The purpose of the buses is to the data to different locations in a

computer system.

7. Temporary storage areas between the various components of a computer architecture

are called .

8 means 667 millions cycles per second.

III. Match the following words (1 - 11) with their appropriate definitions (A -K):

2. general-purpose register 3. address register 4.

index

register

5. accumulator

6. direct addressing 7. indirect addressing 8. 10. statusflag 11. stack

indexed addressing 9. carry

A. CPU storage register which contains the data word that is to be processed

B. Digit resulting from an addition result being greater than the number base

~ C. Register storing all the bits of an address which is then to be processed as a single unit

D. Register that can store data items of all kinds

E. Address register that is added to a reference address to provide the location to be addressed

F. Indicator of the state or result of an operation

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Unit 3 - The Processor

G. Way of addressing a memory location where the destination address is obtained by adding an offset word to a start address

H. Way of addressing a memory location where the address given in the instruction is the one to be used

1. Temporary storage where data items or tasks are added or retrieved ~ Temporary storage where data items or tasks are added or retrieved

K. Way of addressing data where the memory location to be addressed is contained in another address.

IV. Fill in the blanks in the text below:

Integer Range

The way a CPU represents 1) is a design choice that affects the most

basic ways in which the device functions. Some early digital computers used an electrical

model of the common 2) (base ten) numeral system to represent numbers

internally. A few other computers have used more exotic numeral systems like 3)

............... (base three). Nearly all modem CPUs represent numbers in 4) .

form, with each 5) being represented by some two-valued physical quantity

such as a "high" or "low" voltage.

Related to number representation is the size and precision of numbers that a CPU

can represent. In the case of a binary CPU, a bit 6) .. t:v: to one significant place

in the numbers a CPU deals with. The number of bits (or numeral places) a CPU uses to represent numbers is often called "word size", "bit width", "data path width", or "integer

precision" when dealing with strictly 7) . _. _ ... .... _ numbers (as opposed to 8)

............ _ .. point). This number differs between architectures, and often within different

parts of the very same CPU. For example, an 8-bit CPU deals with a 9) .. _. _ .. _ of

numbers that can be represented by eight binary digits (each digit having two possible 10) ........... _ ... ), that is, 28 or 256 discrete numbers. In fact, integer size sets a hardware limit on the range of integers the software run by the CPU can utilize.

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Unit 3 - The Processor

Integer range can also affect the number of locations in memory the CPU can 11) ................ For example, if a binary CPU uses 32 bits to represent a memory address, and each memory address represents one octet (8 bits), the maximum quantity of memory that CPU can address is 232 octets, or 4 GiB. This is a very simple view of CPU address space, and many designs use more complex addressing methods like paging in order to locate more memory than their integer range would allow with a flat address space.

Higher levels of integer range 12) more structures to deal with the

additional digits, and therefore more complexity, size, power usage, and general expense. It is not at all uncommon, therefore, to see 4- or 8-bit microcontrollers used in modern applications, even though CPUs with much higher range (such as J 6, 32, 64, even 128-

bit) are 13) The simpler microcontrollers are usually cheaper, use less

power, and therefore dissipate less heat, all of which can be major design considerations

for electronic 14) However, in higher-end applications, the benefits

afforded by the extra range (most often the additional address space) are more significant and often affect design choices. To gain some of the advantages afforded by both lower and higher bit lengths, many CPUs are designed with different bit widths for different portions of the device. For example, the IBM SystemJ370 used a CPU that was primarily 32 bit, but it used I28-bit precision inside its floating point units to facilitate greater 15) ............... and range in floating point numbers. Many later CPU designs use similar mixed bit width, especially when the processor is meant for general-purpose usage where a reasonable balance of integer and floating point capability is required.

JI;. Translate the following text into Romanian:

Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition

The bottom linc: Thanks to an expensive new motherboard requirement, Intel's new Core i7 desktop processors will remain enthusiast and professional-level parts until more affordable complementary hardware comes out later next year. Speed never comes

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Unit 3 - The Processor

cheap, however, and if you're willing to spend for it now, you'll find yourself in possession of the fastest CPU on the market.

Core i7 has enough architecture changes to require a brand new connection design between the chip and the motherboard. This is no small change, because Intel has stuck with the LGA775 (land grid array) chip socket since the days of Pentium 4. The new socket design, LGAI366, will; not accept any older Intel CPUs, nor will Core i7 work on any older motherboards.

Faster memory access

The reason for this platform shift has to do in part with a fundamental design change in Intel's CPU architecture. As has long been rumored, Intel has finally adopted an integrated memory controller into its Core i7 CPUs. What this means is that instead of the CPU communicating with a separate controller on the motherboard before it can talk to the system memory, Core i7 can save a step, and essentially receive data from the system RAM directly.

A potential complication here is that the new memory controller has three channels to the RAIV1. That means that unlike most desktop setups, which involve two or four memory sticks, Core i7 systems will want memory sticks in multiples of three. Hence why Intel shipped om test system with only 3GB of RAM (we got creative with a 2xl GB, 1x2GB RAM configuration, for 4GB total for testing), and why in high-end PCs that use the new X58 platform, 3GB, 6GB, and 12GB configurations will be common. X58 will also only support DDR3 RAM, whose prices have thankfully come down over the past year.

Four cores, sometimes eight

If you've followed Intel's chips designs over the years, the term "Hyperthreading" shouldn't be unfamiliar. This technology lets Intel simulate more processing threads on top of its old dual-core Pentium 4 chips. It abandoned that strategy with the Core 2 family, but Intel has resurrected it with Core i7, and it's why you'll see eight processing threads when you bring up Windows' system performance screen. Few clay-to-day programs will benefit from Hyperthreading, and it's more of a situational benefit for processing reliability and the scant few applications that can actually support so many threads. Core i7 will eventually hit eight native cores on a single CPU, or 16 processing

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Unit 3 - The Processor

streams with Hyperthreading, but Intel has not made it clear when that will happen. It may be worth the wait, if you know you'll need that much parallelism, but few consumers will.

We tested both SLI and Crossfire setups on om Core i7 test bed and found both worked without trouble, requiring nothing more than installing the hardware and appropriate graphics-driver software as you would normally. As for their performance, AMD has issued a series of so-called "hot-fix" drivers to improve compatibility and frame rates of its cards with various PC games, which suggests that its software still needs to work out a few kinks on X58. Nvidia has not been shy to point out this fact (its beta drivers have worked fine), but we also find it telling that all three of the high-priced Core i7 gaming desktops we're currently revlewmg come with multicard AMD configurations.

A quicker path

Finally, the last major change with Core i7 is the introduction of what Intel's calling the QuickPath Interconnect (QPI). Essentially this is the Intel version of AMD's Hyper'Iransport interface between the CPU and the chipset. The major impact of the QPI for consumers is that Intel uses different QPI ratings to distinguish the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition from the non-Extreme Core i7 chips. Rated by Gigatransfers per second (Gigatransfers, or GT, refers to a million transfers of data), the Extreme Edition comes in at 6.4GT/sec, where the non-Extreme versions handle only 4.8GTisec. In addition to that speed advantage, Intel also ships the Extreme version with an unlocked clock multiplier, which means it can be overclocked. The standard Core i'Z's will have to remain at their shipping speeds.

VL Translate the following text into English:

AMD vs, Intel - momente Istorice

Ca de obicei, remediul AMD con sUi in scaderea preturilor la varfurile de linie, pe care intotdeauna pare sa Ie lanseze Ia preturi aberante (~i dupa cum se dovedeste ulterior,

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Unit 3 - The Processor

nejustificate); De asemenea, AMD pare sa bam pasul pe tee in evolutia tehnologica. Adica parea, pfula fa lansarea platformei Spider.

De ce "platforma"? Pentru di vorbim de 0' triada unitara proeesor (AMD Phenom 9000) - subsistent video (A TI Radeon HD3800) - chipset (AMD 7-Series: 770 si 790X si 790FX), 111 variante.

Cum e posibil? Simplu, prin achizi~ionarea ATI. Ce aduce non? Procesoare quadcore - Intel le produce dejademult; super-scalabilitatesubsistem video, adica CrossFireX permitand instalarea a patru placi video in acelasi sistem - eati dintre voi aveti acum rnacar doua placi video in SLI sau Crossfire? Poate celmai important aport adus de Spider este integrarea tehnologiilor din procesor, placa video si placa de baza. Daca Spider este intr-adevar 0 platforma unitara, succesul pe termen lung poate fi garantat. Oricum, e penrru prima oara in istorie cand un singur producator face toate aceste compenente.

De viitor? Foarte posibil. Daca n Vidia nu va fi lasata deoparte (n Vidia e acum concurent al AMD pe segmentul placi grafice), Si daca preturile la Phenom scad. Oricum, un lucru nil se pare destul de clar: AMD n-a ereat nimic nou. A compus, din piese disparate si in urma unei achizitii majore (An), un tot unital' si, poate, monopolist. De vreme ce nu vorbim de 0 revolutie (in tehnologie ~i preturi), Spider are sanse egale de a fi un fiasco sauun succes. TimpuI ne va edifiea.

Parerea noestra

Pentru segmental high-end, j:ineti-va de Intel (!?i nVidia). Asta din partea unuia care "piloteaza" un sistem AMD + AT!. Pentrn segmentele inferioare, Al\1D are solutii ieftine ~i performante. Lupta preturilor ar putea face din AMD, via Spicier, 0 optiune valahila ~i pentru (high)middle-range .. high-end.

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Unit 3 - 77](: Processor

GRAMMAR SPOTLIGHT Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and {In adverb.:« verb and a preposition, ora verb, an adverb, and a preposition Phrasal verbs work semantically as an element, that is, they have their own sense, which is very often an alteration of the real sense of the verb. Still, the sense could change totally. For example:

e.g.: She came across his cousin at the gym. (Size met his cousin at the gym.)

In this example, we combined the verb to come with the preposition across to signifY that she out of the blue met his cousin at the gym. Even though the sense is very, different from the sense of come, you can perceive that their combination effortlessly makes you think of somebody bumping into somebody else, or two things obstructing each other in any manner.

Note that from time to time, the sense changes totally depending on whether the phrasal verb takes an object or not. As an example:

e.g.: Mary came across very well in the interview. (Mary made a good impact 011 them.)

In this example, across is used as an adverb, not a preposition, and as the phrasal verb doesn't take an object, the sense varies.

Lastly, there are some grammar rules you must learn about phrasal verbs. One of them controls the arrangement of the particles in the phrase. Let's check them:

Separable phrasal verbs could stay joined excluding when a pronoun is the object. III this case, the pronoun must go between the verb (lilt! the particle. Like this:

e.g.: Alike gave lip that stupid career = Alike gave that stupid career up = Mike gave it lip (OK)

But you cannot state Afi/ce gave lp it. (Incorrect)

Inseparable phrasal verbs always remain joined, 110 matter if you utilize a noun, a nOIl11 phrase, or a pronoun as an object:

He was looking after his daughter = He was looking after her (OK) He was looking his daughter after (Incorrect)

He was looking her after (Incorrect)

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Unit 3.- T7Je Processor

EXERCISES

20. In order to 1. Match the phrasal verb with the sentence that would most appropriately contain that verb. Pay attention to the tense:

to catch on to pore over to jot down to turn down to make of to set about to hook on to jump at to make up for to get behind send out shut down boot up wind up type in log on show off go dow" switch off back up run out of

1. I can no sense this: artificial neural network.

2. The personal computer industry is the concept of

multimedia.

3. Terri was able to almost everything. the teacher was

saying.

4. He tries to all the explanations about peripherals.

5. Dana with her studies.

6. Professor Thomas , lecturing 011' standard input

devices.

7. Harry spent some time the difference between a

mouse and a trackball.

8. David was astonished when he was for the network

administrator's position.

9. He promised to the bad marks he ha

got so far in computer science.

10-. Why do you always _ _ _ conclusions?

11. They a mailshor to all their existing customers.

12. Be extremely careful about accepting programs or other files during on-line chat

sessions: this seems to be one of the more common means that people .

............. ....... with virus or Trojan horse problems.

13. A young computer wiz is usually both curious and eager to .

........ .. .. . .. ..... his expertise by pointing out the flaws in the computer safeguards erected by others.

14. You must _ copies of your files on a different drive,

folder, or a medium to protect it against the destruction or loss of the original files in case of a hardware or a system failure.

15. To a computer is to load an operating system into

the computer's main memory or random access memory.

16. She is a very good typist. She approximately 100

characters per minute.

17. Because he forgot to his wi-fi card. he

............................................................ battery on his laptop very quickly.

18. The resources cannot be accessed unless you with a

super user account.

19. Printer sales have " in the last few months as

compared to those of mnlrifunctionals'.

20. In order to a server intricate procedures must be

followed.

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Unit 4 _:_ Neural Networks

Unit 4 Neural Networks

An artificial neural network is an information processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, to process information. The key element of this paradigm is the novel structure of the information processing system. It is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements (neurons)

5 working in unison to solve specific problems.

Artificial neural networks, like people, learn by example. An artificial neural network is configured for a specific application, such as pattern recognition or data classification, through a learning process. Learning in biological systems involves adjustments to the synaptic connections that exist between the neurons. This is true of

10 artificial neural networks as well.

Artificial intelligence and cognitive modeling try to simulate some properties of neural networks. While similar in their techniques, the former has the aim of solving particular tasks, while the latter aims to build mathematical models of biological neural systems.

15 In the artificial intelligence field, artificial networks have been applied

successfully to speech recognition, image analysis and adaptive control in order to construct software agents (in computer and video games) or autonomous robots. Most of the currently employed artificial neural networks for artificial intelligence are based on statistical estimation, optimization and control theory.

20 Neural networks, as used in artificial intelligence, have traditionally been viewed

as simplified models of neural processing in the brain, even though the relation between this model and brain biological architecture is debated.

Historically, computers evolved from the von Neumann architecture, which is based on sequential processing and execution of explicit instructions. On the other hand,

25 the origins of neural networks are based on efforts to model information processing in biological systems, which may rely largely on parallel processing as well as implicit instructions based on recognition of patterns of "sensory" input from external sources. In other words, at its very heart a neural network is a complex statistical processor (as opposed to being tasked to sequentially process and execute).

30 The tasks to which artificial neural networks are applied tend to fall within the

following broad categories:

~ Function approximation, or regression analysis, including time series prediction and modeling

~ Classification, including pattern and sequence recognition, novelty detection and

35 sequential decision making

~ Data processing, including filtering, clustering, blind signal separation and compression

Application areas include system identification and control (vehicle control, process control), game-playing and decision making (backgammon, chess, racing), pattern

40 recognition (radar systems, face identification, object recognition), sequence recognition (gesture, speech, hand-written text recognition), medical diagnosis, financial applications,

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Unit 4 - Neural Networks

data mining (or knowledge discovery in databases, "KDD"), visualization and e-mail spam filtering.

Neural networks, with their remarkable ability to derive meaning from complicated or

45 imprecise data, can be used to extract patterns and detect trends that are too complex to be noticed by either humans or other computer techniques. A trained neural network can be thought of as an "expert" in the category of information it has been given to analyze. This expert can then be used to provide projections given new situations of interest and answer "what if' questions other advantages include:

50 ~ Adaptive learning - an ability to learn how to do tasks based on the data given for

training or initial experience

~ Self-organization - an artificial neural network can create its own organization or representation of the information it receives during learning time

~ Real time operation - an artificial neural network computations may be carried out in

55 parallel, and special hardware devices are being designed and manufactured which take advantage of this capability

~ Fault tolerance via redundant information coding: partial destruction of a network leads to the corresponding degradation of performance. However, some network capabilities may be retained even with major network damage.

60

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Unit 4 - Neural Networks

L

a) Give synonyms for the following words from the text:

paradigm (1. 1); to be composed of (I. 4); to configure (1.7); adjustment (1. 9); to simulate (I. 11); currently (1. 18); estimation (1. 19); to debate (1. 22); pattern (I. 27); to fall within (I. 30); to analyze (1. 47); redundant (1. 57)

b) What do the following abbreviations stand for? AI; ANN; KDD; ApAI; GPAI; DARPA

c) Give a short definition for the following syntagms: blind signal separation (1. 36); data mining (I. 42)

IL Fill in the blanks:

A neural network is a - simulation of living nervous systems; it is

able to learn and can develop own "world model" conventional

computers, it is programmed to answers and, if it is wrong the first time, the

......... time it answers, it will change its , based on experience, until it

eventually gets the answer all the time.

A set of previously learned "characteristics" serves as the basis for the of

its own "characteristics" in response to inputs; in other words, the neural network can

have .. . .. .. Therefore, it can .. . . . . with situations where the may be

ambiguous or incomplete. Neural are being designed to carry tasks

typical for the most advanced biological systems. recognition, and

......... recognition are some of the where neural networks will be used.

IlL Translate the following text into Romanian and then match the words in italics with their synonyms:

accomplish, computation, create, distinguish, empower, identification, job, object, quest, refined

Artificial Intelligence is a term that in its broadest sense would indicate the ability of an artefact to perform the same kinds of functions that characterize human thought. The possibility of developing such an artefact has intrigued human beings since ancient times. With the growth of modem science, the search for Artificial Intelligence has taken two major directions: psychological and physiological research into the nature of human thought, and the technological development or increasingly sophisticated computing systems. In another sense, the term Artificial Intelligence has been applied to computer systems and programs capabJe of performing tasks more complex than straightforward programming, although still far from the realm of actual thought. The most important fields of research in this area are information processing, pattern recognition, gameplaying computers, and applied fields such as medical diagnosis. Current research in

3

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Unit 4 - Neural Networks

information processing deals with programs that enable a computer to understand written or spoken information and to produce summaries, answer specific questions, or redistribute information to users interested in specific areas of this information. Essential to such programs is the ability of the system to generate grammatically correct sentences and to establish links between words, ideas and associations with other ideas.

IV. Match the following English adjectives with their Romanian equivalents. Then, insert the adjectives in the right place in the text below:

A. steep

B. tedious

C. smooth

D. reliable

E. rugged

F. single

G. hazardous

H. accurate

1. exact

2. accidentat/denivelat

3. riscant

4. unic

5. fiabil

6. plictisitor

7. abrupt

8. neted

Robots are used for a variety of tasks, from factory floors to .

environments. In factories they replace human beings for repetitive and tasks

such as welding and spraying cars. They are more and and don't tire

easily; they often consist of a arm with two or three axes of freedom, which is

enough for what they are destined to do. Most of the robots in use today are designed to pick up an object and to move it somewhere else; that's why they are called pick-and-

place robots. Often mounted on wheels or tracks they can only move on surfaces

and cannot cope with big obstacles. However, researchers in robotics have in recent years developed robots which look like insects with a body and legs which give them the

ability to climb slopes or walk into areas. It is believed that these insect-

like machines will become the robots of the future, instead of the humanoid type often seen in sci-fi movies.

V. Translate the following text into English:

In retelele neuronale informatia nu mai este memo rata In zone bine precizate, ca In cazul calculatoarelor standard, ci este rnemorata difuz in toata reteaua. Memorarea se face stabilind valori corespunzatoare ale ponderilor conexiunilor sinaptice dintre neuronii retelei.

Un alt element important, care este, probabil, principalul responsabil pentru succesul modelelor conexioniste, este capacitatea retelelor neuronale de a rnvata din exemple. In mod traditional, pentru a rezolva 0 problema, trebuie sa elaboram un model (matematic, logic, lingvistic etc.) al acesteia. Apoi, pomind de la acest model, trebuie sa indieam 0 suceesiune de operatii reprezentand algoritmul de rezolvare a problemei.

Exista, [nSa, probleme practice de mare compiexitate pentru care stabiIirea unui algoritm, fie el ~i unul aproximativ, este dificila sau chiar irnposibila.

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Unit 4 - Neural Networks

Robots That Teach Themselves

Robots on production lines must be taught where to move. That is true in spades for robots that move silicon wafers in semiconductor manufacturing. Wafer-handling robots are carefully taught each location from which they retrieve wafers and where to deliver them. The teaching process is not a one-time affair. Robots must be taught after a tool is integrated in the semiconductor manufacturing process, as part of maintenance, and again after many repairs.

The process of teaching a robot is time consuming and takes a lot of skill and judgment. And of course the stakes can be large. An incorrectly taught point can later result in a damaged or broken wafer. To calibrate wafer-handoff positions, the technician doing the teaching must be able to direct the appropriate robot motion and determine teach points. This can be tricky. The teacher must manually jog the robot on the proper path to the teach point - typically with several hardware or software interlocks defeated. It is a situation ripe for human error and tool-damaging collisions.

To determine appropriate teach positions, the teacher must subjectively eyeball the location of the wafer handoff point to within +/- 0.25 mm. This usually takes place in a semiconductor manufacturing clean room, in a bunny suit, in the bowels of the semiconductor tool being calibrated. Small wonder that taught points commonly vary depending on the teacher's point of view, idiosyncrasies of the wafer transfer devices, and subtle differences in optimal handoff points for a given tool. All in all, there can be a substantial variation in points programmed from one session to another and even more deviation when someone new handles the teaching. The result: compromised reliability and wafers frequently worth tens of thousands of dollars are placed in jeopardy.

It can easily be a 6-hour job to manually teach a robot how to precisely place wafers. It is now possible, though, to let robots calibrate themselves through software. This approach can reduce the teaching process to about 20 minutes and eliminate the need for teaching skills.

The key to fast teaching is to have the robot automatically calibrate itself so it knows the geometry of its surroundings precisely. In a semiconductor tool equipped with Berkeley Process Control's Autocalibration technology, a technician presses a single button to execute a preprogrammed calibration route. That routine automatically finds critical wafer-handler physical reference features utilizing various application-specific sensing methods, including touch calibration. The control system thereby learns all of the wafer handoffpositions. There's no judgment or skill involved.

Plotting a Course

In the touch method of autocalibration technology, the robot is programmed to intentionally drive a part of a robot arm until it gently touches a known feature of the station or cassette. The controller also attempts to quickly determine just when the arm has touched the station.

The principle here is that some amount of motor torque is required to move the arm through free space. When the robot arm hits the obstruction, the motor driving the arm slows down. Thus the first indication that the arm has hit something is that the servomotor begins to slow.

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Unit 4 - Neural Networks

But at the first decline in velocity, the controller cannot tell whether the deceleration is a result of touching something or is a normal variation in the friction of bearings, belts and so on. (Any system will experience variations in motor torque from non - uniform friction in bearings, belts, screws and so forth). So the controller's closedloop software will respond by slightly increasing the motor current and, thus, motor torque.

Upon subsequent calculations of the servo velocity loop, the controller will have additional information about whether the robot arm has touched an obstruction. If the motor velocity again begins to increase, then the controller can deduce that it was friction and not an obstruction that caused the need for more motor torque. If, however, the servomotor continues to slow even with additional applied torque, then the controller deduces that the robot arm has found an obstruction. The controller notes the motor position while simultaneously reducing servomotor torque to ensure that contact with the tool is gentle.

It's possible to reduce the force generated during the intentional collision of the robot wand and the station by factoring in the background torque of the arm. Specifically, one measures the background torque for each robot axis to be touch-calibrated. The method is to first move the robot to a safe area where it can make short movements without touching anything. Then one-by-one, each motor is told to make a constant velocity move (usually the same velocity used in the calibration step). When the axis has reached the constant velocity (that is, it has finished accelerating), the machine controller samples the average motor torque. This average is made up of numerous instantaneous motor torques, each such torque being the output of the closed-loop control.

Once the sampling process is complete, the background torque value is determined by taking the simple average of these samples. The sampling frequency and the number of samples taken depend on the specific design of the machine. But a common sample size might be 100 measurements. The average background torque would therefore be about 0.01 of the total value.

The system stores the background torques it has calculated for each of the axes to be used during touch calibration. Then, as the arm moves toward the feature to be touched, the controller calculates a moving average of the torques it sees for each axis, and compares them to the stored background torques. The system can thus decide that it has touched something when this moving average exceeds some torque limit.

The torque limit equals the dynamic background torque plus a threshold limit.

The threshold limit is a value chosen to be larger than the torque variations seen while moving at the touch-sensing velocity. During the routine to quantify the dynamic background torque, the controller gauges the statistical variation of the torque samples and sets the threshold value at some multiple of the background torque.

Once the system senses the contact, it captures the current axis position and then moves away from the touch point.

During a typical calibration procedure, the robot has a rough idea of where features are located even before it touches them. That's because tool developers prime the controller with the positions of these items from CAD drawings or manual measurements.

Designers chose the features to be touched such that the motion to locate each one is isolated to one robot axis. This ensures en unlinked, independent coordinate.

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Beldiman Iulia

Unit 4 - Neural Networks

To accurately find a feature with touch calibration, it is important to note that most machines 'have semi rigid drive trains. The result is a certain amount of flexibility in each axis that calibration procedures must take into account. The way to cancel out this flexibility is by touching a feature from two opposite directions. In other words, make a positive velocity or directional move to determine a feature position, then a negative velocity or directional move to determine the same feature. In cases where it's not possible to touch a feature from both directions, it may be possible to touch a secondary feature with a known spatial relationship to the first.

To understand why the above "two-direction" technique cancels out flexibility, it is helpful to remember that the torque limit used for touch sensing is the summation of the background torque and a threshold limit. The summation of these two torques represents a constant applied tension. With regard to a semi rigid drive train, this reflects an equal tension on arm components when sensing in the positive and negative directions. It is this equal tension which makes it possible to cancel the effects of drive flexibility.

Finally, several types of robots are amenable to the autocalibration technique.

Some robots are designed with one motor per axis. Others are designed with one motor per link so that two or more motors must move in unison to move a single axis. Depending on the design of the robot, it is important to characterize the axis torques of all motors.

With just one motor per axis the technique simplifies into the monitoring of a single motor. In the case of multiple motors handling axis control, a good technique is to monitor the summation of the absolute values of the motor torque required to move the axis. ill cases where one motor puts out much more torque than the others involved in handling a single axis, it may be acceptable to monitor only the most powerful one. The determination of the preferable technique depends on the exact design of the machine.

Autocalibration technology has been implemented with a wide variety of robot designs. It has proven efficient with both legacy belt-drive designs and state-of-the-art direct-drive robots. Laboratory test data shows repeatability of better than 0.4 mm. in locating a wafer-transfer station using a modern direct-drive robot.

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Beldiman Iulia

Unit 4 - Neural Networks

GRAMMAR SPOTLIGHT The Adjective

Adjectives fall into two categories:

);> Descriptive - those which express an inherent quality (jmportant. clever. interesting) or a physical state such as age, colour, size (young. red. small)

);> Limiting - those which place restriction on the nouns they modify expressing distance, quantity, possession etc. ahis, much, !!!:J!}

);>

The order of adjectives

When two or more adjectives modify the same noun, their order should be as follows:

a) Adjectives describing a thing

number; attributive; age; size; shape; colour; origin; material; -ing + noun e.g.: two beautiful old square brown French wooden tables

b) adjectives describing a person

number; attributive; size; age; origin +0 noun e.g.: five pretty tall young Romanian girls

The comparison of adjectives

According to the way in which adjectives form the Comparative and the Superlative, they are divided into regular and irregular.

Within the regular adjectives there are two subclasses of adjectives which will form the comparative and the superlative as follows:

Monosyllabic adjectives (except: right, wrong, real)
Positive Comparative Superlative
-er the-est
tone Ioneer the longest
unsy, a IC a tjecttves
Positive Comparative Superlative
more + adjective the most + adjective
1-- beauti£ul more beautiful the most beautiful
difficult more_!!!fflcult the ,,!ost difficult
Some adjectives are irregular. Such adjectives are the f!!llowi~
Positive Comparative Superlative
good better the best
bad worse the worst
ill worse the worst
much more the most
many more the most Pl . It bl. di

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Beldiman Iulia

Unit 4 - Neural Networks

little less (lesser) the least

Within the irregular adjectives there are some that have double forms of comparison:

~ OLD 1- older - the oldest (for people and things)

. - elder (used only attributively) - the eldest (for the members of the same family)

e.g.: Our house is older than theirs.

My elder brother is a singer.

~ LATE { -Iater - the latest (the most recent)

l -latter (the second of two - opposite offormer) - the last (the final)

e.g.: Have you read the latest edition of the last play by Shakespeare? » FAR { - farther - the farthest (usually for space)

l -further - the furthest (for space and time)

e.g.: Leeds is ten miles farther / further.

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Beldiman Iulia

Unit 4 - Neural Networks

In acest caz, problema nu poate fi abordata folosind un calculator traditional, indiferent de resursele de memorie si timp de calcul disponibil. Caracteristic retelelor neuronale este faptul ea, pornind de la 0 multime de exemple, ele sunt eapabile sa sintetizeze In mod implicit un anumit model al problemei. Se poate spune ca 0 retea neuronala construieste singura algoritmul pentru rezolvarea unei probleme, daca ii furnizam 0 rnultime reprezentativa de cazuri particulare (exemple de instruire).

Inteligenta artificiala, ea si in eazul inteligentei biologice, se dobandeste printr-un proces continuu ~i de durata de invatare, de aceea problema lnvatarii ocupa un loe important in cercetarea masinilor auto-instruibile (machine learning). Prin invatarea automata se intelege studiul sistemelor capabile sa-si imbunatateasca performantele, utilizand 0 multime de date de instruire.

Sistemele eu inteligenta artificiala obisnuite au capacitati de invatare foarte reduse sau nu au deloe. In cazul acestor sisteme cunoasterea trebuie sa fie programata in interiorul lor. Daca sistemele contin 0 eroare, ele nu 0 vor putea eoreeta, indiferent de cate ori se executa procedura respectiva. Practic aceste sisteme nu-si pot imbunatati performantele prin experienta si nici nu pot lnvata cunostinte specifice domeniuIui, prin experimentare. Aproape toate sistemele eu inteligenta artificiala sunt sisteme deductive. Aceste sisteme pot trage concluzii din cunoasterea incorporata sau furnizata, dar ele nu pot sa genereze singure noi cunostinte.

Pe masura ce un sistem cu inteligenta artificiala are de rezolvat sarcini mai complexe, creste ~i cunoasterea ce trebuie reprezentata In el (fapte, reguli, teorii). In general un sistem functioneaza bine, In concordanta cu scopul fixat prin cunoasterea furnizata, dar orice rniscare in afara competentei sale' face ca performantele lui sa scada rapid. Acest fenomen este numit ~i fragilitatea cunoasterii, Una din directiile de cercetare in privinta masinilor instruibile este modelarea neuronala . Modelarea neuronala dezvolta sisterne instruibile pentru scopuri ,generale, care pornesc cu 0 cantitate mica de cunostinte initiate. Astfel de sisteme se numesc retele neuronale sisteme cu auto-organizare sau sisteme conexioniste.

Un sistem de acest tip consta dintr-o rete a de elemente interconectate de tip neuron, care realizeaza anumite functii logice simple, Un astfel de sistem lnvatii prin modificarea intensitatii de conexiune dintre elemente, adica schimband ponderile asociate acestor conexiuni. Cunoasterea initiala ce este furnizata sistemului este reprezentata de caracteristicile obiectelor considerate ~i de 0 configuratie initial a a retelei.

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