Introduction to Computer System

Pre IGCSE
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What is electricity? ❖Electricity is a kind of energy.
❖Wires bring electricity.
❖The electricity flows along the wire.

Electricity ON and OFF

❖ Electricity can be ON or OFF.

❖ When the switch is ON, electricity can get
through. The light goes on.
❖ The OFF switch stops the electricity. The
light goes off.

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 Switches
❖ A computer works by electricity.
❖ Inside the computer there are millions of electrical switches.
❖ They are not switches like the light switches.
❖ They are not switches like the light switch.
❖ They are tiny switches that work by electricity and cannot be seen or touched.
❖ The switches inside the computer can be on and off.
❖ An off switch can be shown as the number 0.
❖ An on switch can be shown as the number 1.
❖ The switches are always changing.
❖ Electricity goes through the computer.
❖ The flow of electricity turns the switched on and off.

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 Digital
▪ Computers use the on-off switches to make electronic
numbers. That is all there is inside a computer. There
are millions and millions of electronic numbers.
▪ Everything inside a computer is made out of those
numbers.
▪ Digital means made out of numbers. Everything inside
a computer is digital

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 Computer Systems
❖When every a computer system is used, it is using a
system.
❖A computer system is a set of equipment that
works together to help in doing useful work.
❖A computer system must always have input
devices.
❖Input devices allow to put data into your computer.
✔A keyboard is an input device.
❖A computer system has output devices. Output
devices allow to see the results of work on the
computer.
✔A computer screen is an output device.
❖A computer system has storage devices to save the
works. 6
Introduction to Computer System
 Input Device

❖Input devices are hardware that allows

data to be entered into a computer.
❖It turns them into electrical signals that
the computer can be understand.

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 Input Devices
Keyboard Touchscreen
A keyboards has keys. Touch a key. The A touchscreen is used for input and output. It shows
keyboard sends a signal to the computer. It tells the choices on the screen. The screen can be
the computer which key is chosen. touched to make a choice.

Mouse
A mouse can roll about on the desk. The mouse
sends a signal to the computer. It tell the Microphone
computer when it moves. A pointer on the A microphone turns sound into electric signals.
screen moves about. The mouse has a button.
Clicking the button can make the choices. Camera
A camera turns pictures into electric signals.

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 Output Devices

❖ If the electricity inside a computer cannot be seen, how it be found out what is
inside the computer?
○ The answer is to use an output device.
❖ Output devices take the electricity from the processor. They turn the electrical
signals into things that can be seen and used.

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 Output Devices
Monitor Speaker and headphones
The screen or monitor of a computer is an
output devices. It takes information from Speakers and headphones make sound
the processor. It turns into colours and output.
shapes. Movement
A monitor makes visual output. That A computer can make a machine move.
means the output can be seen by human For example, a machine can clean the floor.
beings.
Printer
A printer gives the output on a paper. The
output can be kept after the computer is
switched off.
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 Inside the computer

❖ There is an electrical device inside the computer.

❖ It is called a processor.
❖ The processor uses on/off electrical signals.
❖ Everything that happens inside the processor is made of on/off electrical signals.

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 Processor

⮚At the center of the computer system is a processor.

⮚A processor does all the work in a computer system.
⮚A processor is small enough to fit on fingertip.
⮚Modern processors are so small they are called
microprocessors.
central processing unit contains all of the electronic circuitry a computer needs to carry out
all of the instructions provided by the computer programs running on the device.

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machine code is that a computer programming language consisting of binary instructions that the computer can understand without a need to carry out translation.

logic gate is a physical device or circuit that carries out a logical operation.

bus is communication line used to transfer s‌ignals from one part of a digital device to another for example, a set of wires used to transfer data around the inside
of a computer.

truth table is a table which shows all possible combinations of inputs and outputs for a logic gate.

HLL is a programming language, suchas Python, that is closer to human language than the language a computer understands.

LLL is a programming language, where the commands link directly to the instructions the processor can carry out.

Assembly langugae is LLL designed for a specific processor.

How the processor processes

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Central processing unit (CPU)
▪ Contains all of the electronic circuitry a computer needs to carry out all of the
instructions provided by the computer programs running on the device.

▪ Computer programs can be written in

▪ High-level languages (HLL)
▪ Low-level languages (LLL)

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Programming languages
High-level language
▪ A programming language, such as Python, that is closer to human language
than the language a computer understands

Low-level language
▪ A programming language, where the commands link directly to the instructions the
processor can carry out

Assembly language
▪ A low-level language designed for a specific processor

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 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
⮚The CPU is another name for the microprocessor.
⮚The CPU has three important parts:
1. The Control Unit
2. The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), and
3. The clock.

1. Control Unit
The control unit manages the work done by the CPU.
⮚When an instruction arrives at the CPU, it goes to the control unit.
⮚The control unit works out what the instruction means.
⮚The control unit makes sure that the other parts of the CPU do the work needed to carry out the
instruction.

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 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

2. ALU
⮚ALU does all the calculations in the CPU.
⮚The control unit sends instructions to the ALU.
⮚The ALU carries out the instructions.

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 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
3. Clock
⮚The internal clock helps the CPU manage the execution of each instruction in a
program.
⮚The CPU needs a certain number of clock ticks to carry out each instruction.
⮚The number of ticks carried out per second is measured in MHz (megahertz) or GHz
(gigahertz).
⮚1 MHz equals one million clock ticks per second.
⮚1 GHz equals one billion clock ticks per second.
⮚The clock in the CPU of computer ticks around 3 billions times every second.
⮚The more clock ticks there are every second, the more instructions the processor can
carry out in one second.

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 1 Hz 1 instruction per second

1 kHz 1000 instructions per second

1 MHz 1 million instructions per second

1 GHz 1 billion instructions per second

Instructions does not mean lines of code: it is the number of different

tasks of any types that the processor can carry out.
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Computer speed
1. Multicore processor
• A single core can process an instruction or
program on its own.
• CPUs can have more than one core so that
more than one program (set of instructions)
can be carried out at the same time.

• Some time and processing power needs to

be spent splitting jobs or instructions
between each core.

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Computer speed
2. Cache memory
• Cache memory is located on the same
chip as the CPU, and can be accessed
very quickly.
• The CPU will store frequently-used
instructions in cache so it has faster
access to them.
• With more cache memory available
more instructions can be accessed very
quickly, which improves the speed of
the computer.

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Computer speed
3. Random access memory (RAM)
• RAM is used to temporarily store
programs and data currently being used
by the processor.
• RAM is placed close to the CPU.
• RAM is much larger than cache memory,
however, and access times are still fast.
• The more data that can be stored in
RAM, the faster it can be accessed by
the CPU and the faster an instruction
can be carried out.

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Introduction to Computer System 23
 Registers
• Store data about memory locations, instructions and data used during execution of an
instruction.

1. Current instruction register (CIR)

•This register stores the current instruction being decoded and executed.
2. Accumulator(ACC)
•This register is used when carrying out ALU calculations; it stores data temporarily during the
calculations.
3. Memory address register (MAR)
•This register stores the address of the memory location currently being read from or written to.
4. Memory data/buffer register (MDR)
•This register stores data which has just been read from memory or data which is about to be written to
memory.
5. Program counter (PC)
•This register stores the address where the next instruction to be read can be found.

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 Buses
⮚The three parts of a CPU are joined together by connections called buses.
⮚Buses are high speed connections that carry data around inside the CPU.

1. Address bus

▪ carries details of an address location in memory which is being accessed so data can be
written into it or read from it

2. Data bus
▪ carries data signals around the inside of the device

3. Control bus
▪ carries control signals to different parts of the digital device telling them what task they need
to carry out next

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 Computer Memory
▪ A computer has a huge storage capacity. The storage capacity of a computer is
called its memory. It enables the computer to store data and instructions.
▪ Computer memory is measured in terms of bytes (like measuring distance in
kilometer, time in seconds, the memory is measured in bytes).
▪ Internally, data is converted into the smallest unit known as a bit. The computer
understands only two types of bits, 0 and 1. Bits are usually assembled into a group
of eight to form a byte.

1 Byte = 8 Bits

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 Memory and the CPU
❖ The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out
instructions.
❖ The computer’s memory is very close to the CPU.
❖ It is joined to the CPU by buses.
❖ Some people use the word “processor’ to mean the CPU and
the memory.
The computer’s memory is sometimes called:
⮚ the memory unit
⮚ IAS (Immediate Access Store)
⮚ RAM (Random Access Memory)

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 What is in memory?
Memory holds:
⮚The instructions that tell the computer what to do
⮚The data values that the computer needs.
The memory holds one more thing: the results of the CPU’s work.
When the CPU has completed an instruction, it sends the results back to memory.

How does memory works?

❖Memory is made of microscopic electrical circuits.
❖The circuits can be on or off.
❖Everything inside the memory is stored using these on/off signals.

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 Memory and Storage

❖Data is stored in memory as electrical signals. But if the electricity is turned

off, all the data will be lost.
❖A computer uses a device called a storage drive to save files.
❖A storage drive can save a large amount of information.

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Introduction to Computer System 30
 Primary memory (Internal memory)
RAM (Random Access Memory) ROM (Read Only Memory)
❖ It holds the information which is currently in ❖ Information can only be read from and not
used such as instructions for the computer, its written or changed onto it.
programs, and the data.
❖ The information it contains is the Basic
❖ Information can be read on RAM and written or Input-Output System or BIOS, which is used to
changed onto it. start the operating system.
❖ It is known as read/write memory. ❖ ROM is the built-in memory of a computer.
❖ It is a temporary in nature. ❖ The storage data does not disappear even
when the computer is shut down.
❖ The stored data disappears when the computer
is shut down. ❖ Thus, it is permanent in nature.
❖ROM is the memory created by the computer
manufacturer.

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 Secondary Memory (External Memory)

❖ When working on a computer, it stores information temporarily. As soon as it is shut

down, the information is lost. So, it requires a place to store data on a long-term basis.
❖ The memory where the data is stored on a long-term basis is called secondary
memory.
❖ The information stored is not lost even when the computer is shut down.
❖ It is stored at places other than the primary memory of a computer.

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 Advantages and Disadvantages
RAM Secondary Storage
Advantages ⮚ RAM is very close to the CPU. The ⮚ It can keep data and
CPU can get data and instructions instructions safe when the
from easily and quickly. computer is turned off.

Disadvantages ⮚ Its contents are lost when the ⮚ It is further away from the CPU.
computer is switched off. It takes longer for the CPU to
get data and instructions from
secondary storage than from
RAM.
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 The fetch-execute cycle
The CPU carries out instructions millions or even billions of times a second.
Every time it carries out an instruction it follows these steps.

❖Fetch: The control unit ‘fetches’ the instruction from RAM. The instruction travels down the bus
from RAM to the control unit.

❖Decode: The instruction is in the form of a binary number code. The control unit knows all the
binary number codes. The control unit ‘decodes’ the instruction, so it knows what to do.

❖Execute: The control unit sends a signal to the ALU to tell it what to do. The ALU carries out the
instruction. ‘Execute’ means carry out an instruction.

❖Save: If the instruction produces a result, then the ALU sends the results back to RAM.
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Work example

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