I1100

II.1 Von Neumann A

Architecture
At the end of 1945, John Von Neumann proposed the stored program concept and the construction of
EDVAC computer (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer)
was a binary computer rather than decimal, and was a stored-program
stored computer.
Von Neumann proposed to store both the program and data together in a memory. Thus, the computer
gains flexibility and speed. The vast majority of modern computers follow the Von Neumann model.

Bus
Memory CPU

Figure 6: Von Neumann Model

The program is a sequence of instructions provided to the computer for an eventual execution by the
processor. The role of the processor is to extract the instructions from the memory one by one, to interpret
them, and to execute them until the problem is solved. The instructions transfer is made through buses.

The Von Neumann architecture divides the computer into four distinct parts (see Figure 7):
7)

1) ALU (Arithmetic/Logic Unit): performs mathematical operations (+, -, ×, /) and logic

operations (=, <, >, and, or, not) requested by program.
2) Control Unit: interprets the instructions in memory and causes them to be executed.
3) Memory: stores both data (variables) and a program (a set of instructions).
4) Input/output Units (I/O): allow the computer to communicate and interact with the outside
world like a screen, a keyboard, etc.

The program to be executed is stored in memory during execution and program instructions are executed
sequentially.

1) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

The ALU is the computer unit that is responsible for performing calculations. It is integrated into the
CPU (i.e. the microprocessor). The ALU performs mathematical operations (+, -, ×, /), logic operations
(and, or, not, xor), and comparison operations (=, <, >).
I1100

Main Memory (RAM)

Program Data

Read Instruction Read operands Write result

Clock Operation Selection Arithmetic Logic

Program Control Unit

Unit Accumulator

Processor (CPU) Registers

Bus

Input Device Output Device

(Keyboard, mouse, disk) (Screen, printer, disk)

Figure7: Von Neumann Architecture

2) Control Unit
The control unit determines the order in which the instructions of a program should be executed and
controls the retrieval of the proper operands. It governs the flow of information through the system by
issuing control signals to different components.

Figure 8: Order of the operations performed by the control

unit
I1100

Processor (CPU)
CPU is the abbreviation for central processing unit commonly called processor, the CPU is the brain of
the computer (see Figure 9) where most calculations take place. It is the unit that performs the program
processing stored in the main memory inside a computer. CPU has two components: the arithmetic logic
unit (ALU) which performs arithmetic logic operations (+, -, /, x, and, or, etc.) and the control unit (CU)
which extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, calling on the ALU when
necessary.

Figure 9: Processor Example

The CPU also contains very fast and small memories called registers. A register may hold an instruction,
a storage address, any kind of data, or temporary results.

3)) Main memory (RAM)

The main memory is called Random Access Memory (RAM) is the area in a computer that stores
programs and data for quick access by the processor (CPU). In addition, it holds operating system
software necessary for a computer to function correctly. The computer can manipulate only data that is
main memory. Therefore, every program you execute must be copied from a storage device into main
memory. Everything in the memory is stored in binary.

The Buses
In computer architecture, a computer bus is a communication system that transfers data between
components inside a computer. A bus consists of a set of wires that carry binary signals. There are
three types of buses: a data bus for data transfer, an address bus for address transfer, and a control
bus for control signals transfer such as read from memory.

Let k be the size of the address bus (i.e. the bus is made of k wires) and let n be the size of the data bus,
the capacity of the main memory can be expressed either:

in number of memory words: the capacity = 2k memory words

or in bits (bytes, Kilobytes, etc.): the capacity = 2k * n bits

Example: Let k = 3 => the address bus is made of 3 wires (see Figure 10). Thus, the main memory has
2k = 23 = 8 words. Every word has a unique address. For example, the first word has the address
I1100

A2A1A0 = 000. In the figure, the size of the data bus is n = 8, so the word size is 8 bits (D 7D6 0)
and the memory capacity is = 8 x 8 = 64 bits.

Figure 20: Address bus vs. Data bus

4) Input/output Units
Input/output units (or peripherals) are devices that allow the computer system to communicate and
interact with the outside world and to store information (see Figure 11).

Input units bring information into the computer that will be coded and later on processed by
the CPU. Examples of input units: keyboard, mouse, scanner, webcam, microphone, cameras,
joystick, touchpads, pen input, electronic whiteboard, barcode reader, card reader, CDs,
sensors, and fingerprints reader.
Output units are devices that bring information out of a computer after being processed.
Examples of output units: monitor, printers, plotters, projectors, LCD projection panels,
speakers, beepers.
Some devices calle
called input-
input-output
input output devices provide both input and output of data such as hard
disks, diskettes, CD-RWs, pads, modem, touch screen, headsets, audio/sound cards, and
network cards.

There are I/O controllers interface between the many different I/O devices and the internal system
components: CPU, memory, and bus. A processor does not access external devices directly. Instead,
the processor uses a programming interface to pass requests to an I/O controller, which translates the
requests into the appropriate external signals.
I1100

Figure 10 : Input/output Units

Input/output Unit Examples

Keyboard: A computer keyboard is the main input device for computers. It is composed of keys set
that sends commands to the computer. There are QUERTY and AZERTY keyboards. User can enter a
symbol, a character, a digit or execute a particular function.

Computer screen: A computer screen or monitor is an output device that displays information in
pictorial form. Monitors are connected to the computer via different types of connectors like VGA
(Video Graphics Array), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia
Interface) connectors.
I1100

The first computer monitors used cathode ray tubes (CRTs). These monitors are voluminous, heavy
with high power consumption.

The liquid crystal displays (LCD) monitors replaced the CRTs. Nowadays, the monitors are found in
laptops, smartphones, digital cameras, and desktops. They are low in power consumption, have a lighter
weight and smaller physical size but has higher price versus a CRT.

The performance of a monitor is measured by luminance (candelas per square meter cd/m2), display
resolution (number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed, it us quoted as width ×
height, example: 1024 × 768), Dot pitch (the distance between pixels of same color in millimeters),
power consumption (in watts), Delta-E - (color accuracy measured in Delta-E), Viewing angle
(maximum angle at which images on the monitor can be viewed without excessive image degradation
measured in degrees), and monitor size (many ways to measure the size by knowing image area
[length×height] in inches note that 1 inch = 2.54 cm, aspect ratio (length:height) ex. 16:9, or the diagonal
measurement
measurement).

Computer printer: is an output device that allows a user to print items on paper such as letters,
computer programs, and pictures. There are many types of printers:

Dot matrix printer: uses a print head made of pins (between 9 and 24) that moves up-and-
down motion on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against
the paper. Every pin produces a dot and every character is made of multiple dots. The pins
are driven forward by a tiny electromagnet. This printer generally prints one line of text at a time. It has many
advantages such as low purchase cost, can handle multipart forms, cheap to operate, only needs fresh ribbons,
 I1100

low repair cost and the ability to print on continuous paper. However, it is noisy, with low resolution, and not
all can do color.
Inkjet printer: creates digital images by propelling droplets of ink onto paper, plastic or other substrates. The
ink comes in special ink cartridges which can be very expensive. It is the most commonly used type of printer,
and ranges from small inexpensive consumer models to expensive professional machines. The Inkjet printer
is used by people who print very little. It is quieter than dot matrix printer, prints good resolution photos
between 300 and 720 DPI (Dots Per Inch), no warm-up time is needed before printing, it can be very cheap
but the ink can also be rather expensive, and prints pages in color. It has an average printing speed and the ink
in the cartridges may dry up.
Laser printer: uses static electricity and a laser to melt the powder ink (called toner)
from a cartridge onto the paper. Most do not print colors. Very often, it is 2 to 3
times faster and more economical to use than the Inkjet printers that use more ink.
Laser printers typically cost a bit more than Inkjet and need more frequent
maintenance and cleaning. Their print quality is not as good as Inkjet printers. It is
good enough for text and charts but not ideal for photos.
Laser Printer

Dot matrix Printer Inkjet Printer Inkjet Printer case removed

Laser Printer

Plotter: is a large format Inkjet printer usually used to print to very large paper.
3D & 4D printers: 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) is the process of building a three-dimensional
object from computer-aided design (CAD) model or AMF file by successively adding material layer by layer.
4D printing uses the same technique of 3D printing and adds the dimension of transformation over time. The
printed product reacts with environment parameters (humidity, temperature, etc.) and changes its form
accordingly.

Plotter
4D Printer

3D Printer