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1 CS1FC16 Introduction To Computer Systems
1 CS1FC16 Introduction To Computer Systems
Hardware components
Central Processing Unit(CPU) - a composition of three primary subunits:
o Arithmetic/logic unit(ALU) - performs arithmetic and Boolean calculations
o Control unit – controls the processing of instructions and the movement of internal CPU
data from one register to another
Register – a small storage space for data used in the current process
o Interface unit – moves instructions and data between CPU and other hardware
components
Mass Storage – hard drive, flash drives, CDs, DVDs and so on. The advantages of mass storage
systems over main memory include less volatility, large storage capacities, low cost, and in many
cases, the ability to remove the storage medium from the machine for archival purposes. A
major disadvantage of magnetic and optical mass storage systems is that they typically require
mechanical motion and therefore require significantly more time to store and retrieve data than
a machine’s main memory, where all activities are performed electronically.
Input devices – keyboard, mouse
Output devices – monitor, printer, speakers
Buses – physical connection that makes it possible to transfer data from one location in the
computer to another
Internal memory:
o Random access memory(RAM) - computer's main memory, organized as individual,
addressable cells. In contrast to mass storage, the cells in RAM can be accessed
independently as required
o Read only memory(ROM) - constructed from special, non-volatile memory cells, this
memory can be accessed but not altered
Software components
System software – operating system, controls the overall operation of the computer and
performs those tasks that are common to computer systems in general provides the
infrastructure that the application software requires
Application software – all types of software programs that perform specific tasks
Software programs can be written in a high level language such as C, C++, Java. However, in order to be
executable, they need to be converted to machine understandable instructions.
Apart from high level programming languages, computer scientists can also use assembly language – a
low level programming language with a very strong correspondence to the machine code's instructions.
Each assembly code corresponds to a machine instruction with information of operation, operand and
addressing mode.
There is a mutual dependence between software and hardware. In order for a computer system to
work, hardware and software must work together. Software provides instructions to tell hardware what
to do. Hardware takes the instructions and carries out tasks.
Data (3rd component) - information in the computer system (for information representation see next
topic)
Communication (4th component) - almost all machines are interconnected nowadays, therefore
communications becomes the fourth component. There are portions of hardware and software
dedicated to computer networking.
A network card physically connects a computer to the network, either through wire or wireless
connection.
A communication protocol is a piece of software used to implement communication.
Computer security – a reference monitor in the operating system manages the security of its
elements.
Application security – concerned with security issues in the development cycle of an application