Scribd
Upload
23 views

Computer Architecture Introduction

Computer Architecture

Uploaded by

ijeracollins
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
23 views

Computer Architecture Introduction

Computer Architecture

Uploaded by

ijeracollins
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Computer Architecture

Introduction to computer system

A system is a group of interrelated interacting elements working together towards a


common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organised process.
A computer system has two types of components.
 The hardware components of a computer system are the electronic and
mechanical parts.
 The software components of a computer system are the intangible parts: the data
and the computer programs.

The major hardware components of a computer system are:


Interaction illustrated by the diagram below
 Processor
 Main memory
 Secondary memory
 Input devices
 Output devices

INPUT PROCESSOR OUTPUT

MEMORY
Processor

The processor is the "brain" of the computer system. It does the fundamental computing
within the system, and directly or indirectly controls all the other components.

Memory

The processor is the brain of the computer. All fundamental computing takes place in the
processor. Other components contribute to the computation (by doing such things as
moving data in and out of the processor), but the processor is where the fundamental
action takes place.
Unlike a human brain, which combines memory with processing power, a computer
processor has very little memory. It must rely on other components to hold data and
programs and to save results. The memory in a computer system is of two fundamental
types:

Main memory:
 Very closely connected to the processor.
 The contents are quickly and easily changed.
 Holds the programs and data that the processor is actively working with.
 Interacts with the processor millions of times per second.
Secondary memory:
 Connected to main memory through the bus and a controller.
 The contents are easily changed, but this is very slow compared to main memory.
 Used for long-term storage of programs and data.
 The processor only occasionally interacts with secondary memory.

Main memory is where programs and data are kept when the processor is actively using
them. When programs and data become active, they are copied from secondary memory
into main memory where the processor can interact with them. A copy remains in
secondary memory. Main memory is intimately connected to the processor, so moving
instructions from the program and data into and out of the processor is very fast. Main
memory is sometimes called RAM. RAM stands for Random Access Memory.
"Random" means that the memory cells can be accessed in any order.

When people say that a computer has "128 megabytes of RAM" they are talking about
how big its main memory is. One megabyte of memory is enough to hold approximately
one million characters of a word processing document. (There will be more about bytes
and megabytes later on in these notes.) Nothing permanent is kept in main memory.
Sometimes data are placed in main memory for just a few seconds; only as long as they
are needed.

Input and Output Devices


Input and output devices allow the computer system to interact with the outside world by
moving data into and out of the system. An input device is used to bring data into the
system.
Some input devices are:
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Microphone
 Bar code reader
 Graphics tablet

An output device is used to send data out of the system.


Some output devices are:
 Monitor
 Printer
 Speaker

Input/output devices are usually called I/O devices. They are directly connected to an
electronic module inside the systems unit called a device controller. For example, the
speakers of a multimedia computer system are directly connected to a device controller
called an audio card (such as a Soundblaster), which in turn is connected to the rest of the
system.

SOFTWARE

Software is the programs and data that a computer uses. Software is kept on some
hardware device such as a hard disk or floppy disk, but it itself is intangible. Software
consists of both programs and data. Programs are lists of instructions for the processor.
Data can be any information that a program needs: character data, numerical data, image
data, audio data, and countless other types

Types of Programs

There are two categories of programs. Application programs (usually called just
"applications") are programs that people use to get their work done. Computers exist
because people want to run these programs. Systems programs keep all the hardware and
software running together smoothly.

Application Programs Systems Programs

 Word processors  Operating system.


 Game programs  Networking system.
 Spreadsheets  Database system.
 Graphics programs  Programming language software.
 Web browsers  Web site server.
 Data backup.

You might also like