Module 3

Introduction To Computer System :

Structure & Processes
 Module Objectives
• At the end of the module, students should be able to:
– understand the concept and functions of a computer system
– identify the component of a computer
– identify the components of the central processing unit and
explain how they work together and interact with memory
– describe how program instructions are executed by the
computer
– explain how data is represented in the computer
– understand the concept of bit and byte
– identify the types of ports and connectors
 What is A Computer System ?

• A functional unit, consisting of one or more

computers and associated software, that uses
common storage for the execution of the
program.
• Consists of three components
– People
• Computer programmer
• Users/End-user
– Software
– Hardware
Functions Of A Computer System
 Components Of A Computer

Peripherals
Computer

CPU Input /
Output

Systems
Interconnection
i.e. bus

Main
Memory

Communication Lines
 Central Processing Unit
Stores data and programs

• Complex set of Secondary storage

electronic
circuitry
• Executes stored
program Makes
Sends
instructions data to
the CPU
Central Processing Unit processed
info
available
• Two parts Input Control
Unit
ALU
Unit Output

– Control unit
– Arithmetic/logic Registers

unit (ALU)
Processing
 Control Unit

• Directs the computer system to execute

stored program instructions
• Must communicate with memory and ALU
• Sends data and instructions from
secondary storage to memory as needed
 Arithmetic Logic Unit

• Executes all arithmetic and logical operations

• Arithmetic operations
– Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
• Logical operations
– Compare numbers, letters, or special characters
– Tests for one of three conditions
• Equal-to condition
• Less-than condition
• Greater-than condition
 Popular CPUs
Intel Advanced
Micro Devices
Pentium MMX Pentium IV (AMD)

Pentium III

Cyrix Motorola (Apple)

 Systems Interconnection (Bus)
• shared communication link
• set of wires used to connect multiple subsystems
• A Bus is also a fundamental tool for composing
large, complex systems
• The input/output bus provides a pathway so that the
microprocessor can communicate with input/output
devices

Processor
Input
Memory

Control

Data
path Output
 Input / Output Bus
• An input/output bus contains expansion
slots which hold expansion cards PCI slots
– ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot phased out
– PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots
– AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot  usually for
graphics card
– USB (Universal Serial Bus)
– PCI Express (PCI-E)  latest tech.

AGP slots PCI-E slots Expansion Card

 Data Storage and the CPU

• Two types of storage:

– Primary storage (memory)
• Stores data temporarily / volatile
• CPU refers to it for both program
instructions and data
• Holds input to be processed or holds
results of processing
– Secondary storage
• Long-term storage / non-volatile
• Stored on external medium, such as a disk
 The CPU and Memory

• CPU cannot process data from disk or input device

– It must first reside in memory
– Control unit retrieves data from disk and moves it into memory
• Items sent to ALU for processing
– Control unit sends items to ALU, then sends back to memory after
processing
• Data and instructions held in memory until sent to an
output or storage device or program is shut down
 Temporary Storage Areas

Registers Memory
• High-speed temporary • Also known as primary
storage areas storage / main memory
– located within the CPU – Often expressed as random-
• Work under direction of access memory (RAM)
– Not part of the CPU
control unit
– Accept, hold, and transfer • Holds data and
instructions or data instructions for processing
– Keep track of where the • Stores information only as
next instruction to be long as the program is in
executed or needed data is
stored operation
 The Machine Cycle

• The time required to

retrieve, execute,
and store an
operation
• Components
– Instruction time
– Execution time
• System clock
synchronizes
operations
 The Machine Cycle

• Instruction Time = I-Time

– Fetch – Gets the next program instruction from the
computer’s memory
– Decode – Figures out what the program is telling the
computer to do
• Execution Time = E-Time
– Execute – Performs the requested action
– Write-back (Store) – Writes (stores) the results to a
register or to memory
 How Computers Represent Data

OFF ON
OFF
ON
OR = 1 bit
0 1
= 1 Byte
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
OR
= 1 Byte
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

• Bit (Binary digit) – On or off state of electric current; considered the

basic unit of information; represented by 1s and 0s (binary numbers)
• Byte – Eight bits grouped together to represent a character (an
alphabetical letter, a number, or a punctuation symbol); 256 different
combinations
 Bits

1000 bits = 1 kilobit (kb)

1,000,000 bits = 1 megabit (mb)
1,000,000,000 bits = 1 gigabit (gb)

➼ Kilobits per second (Kbps), Megabits per

second (Mbps), and Gigabits per second
(Gbps) are terms that describe units of data
used in measuring data transfer rates
– Example: 56 Kbps modem
 Bytes

8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
1,048,576 Bytes = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1,043,741,824 Bytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1,099,511,627,776 Bytes = 1 Terabyte (TB)

• Kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte are terms

that describe large units of data used in measuring data
storage
–Example: 20 GB hard drive
• Each byte has 256 (28) possible values
 Storage Sizes

• Kilobyte: 1024 (210) bytes

– Memory capacity of older personal computers
• Megabyte: roughly one million (220) bytes
– Personal computer memory
– Portable storage devices (diskette, CD-ROM)
• Gigabyte: roughly one billion (230) bytes
– Storage devices (hard drives)
– Mainframe and network server memory
• Terabyte: roughly one trillion (240) bytes
– Storage devices on very large systems
 Coding Schemes

• Provide a common way of representing a

character of data
• Needed so computers can exchange data
• Common Schemes
– ASCII
– EBCDIC
– Unicode
 Representing Characters : Character Codes

➼ Character codes translate numerical data into

characters readable by humans
– American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII) – Eight bits equals one character; used by
minicomputers and personal computers
– Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
(EBCDIC) – Eight bits equals one character; used by
mainframe computers
– Unicode – Sixteen bits equals one character; over 65,000
combinations; used for foreign language symbols

ASCII =4
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0

EBCDIC =4
1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
 Inside the System Unit / Casing

➼ Motherboard (mainboard) – Large

printed circuit board with thousands
of electrical circuits
➼ Power supply – Transforms
alternating current (AC) from wall
outlets to direct current (DC)
needed by the computer
➼ Cooling fan – Keeps the system
unit cool
➼ Internal Speaker – Used for beeps
when errors are encountered
➼ Drive bays – Housing for the
computer’s hard drive, floppy drive,
and CD-ROM / DVD-ROM drives
 Outside the System Unit

Drive bays

On/off switch
BACK
Reset button

Indicator lights

FRONT

➼The front panel contains drive bays, various buttons, and

indicator lights
➼Connectors and ports are physical receptacles located
on the back to connect peripheral devices to the computer
 Types of Connectors / Ports
Mouse
port –
Special Data flows through eight wires allowing
the transfer of eight bits of data For graphics-intensive
serial port
simultaneously; faster than serial ports interaction
to connect
mouse.

keyboard Serial port – Data A 15 pin connector

Allows up to Also called jacks,
port - 127 devices flows in a series of used for monitors
Special sound card connectors
to be pulses, one after
serial port accept stereo mini-
connected at another one bit at
to connect plugs. Microphone,
a time. a time; slow data
keyboard. line-in, line-out, and
transfer rate. speaker connectors
are plugged into the
card.
 Other Types of Connectors

• Small computer system interface (SCSI) port

– A parallel interface that enables up to eight
devices to be connected to it
• 1394 (FireWire) port – A high-speed
connection for up to 63 devices
• Infrared Data Association (IrDa) port –
Infrared signals are used to communicate
between peripheral devices and the system
unit
 References

• Slides adapted from course materials of

Daley, B. “ Computers Are Your Future
2006, Complete Ed”. Prentice Hall, 2006.