Ali's CSC101 Knowledge Base

c1d

Ch. 1 Introduction to Computers

Why we Should Learn about Computers

Computer Categories

Super Computers

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high costsgovernment A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercomputer

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Ch. 3 Storage

Storage System Characteristics

volatility

Random vs. Sequntial access

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Storage Media

Hardware

Ch. 4 Input and Output

Input Devices

Audio Input

Scanners and Readers

Pointing and Touching Devices

Output Devices

Display Devices

Printers

Audio Output

The World is Flat

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Flatteners 8, 9, 10

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Flatteners 4, 5, 6

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Ch. 2 System Processing

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Data and Program Represntation

Computers Language

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Computer people refer to these 0s and 1s as bits.Converting data to these 0s and 1s is called digital data representation.

Storage

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Calculated in B, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, and other possiblities.

Multimedia

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Computers can play multimedia via binary-based code

translated to the machine language

then shown in the monitor

Inside the System Unit

the Motherboard

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the main circuit board for a computer. it controls the CPU

CPU

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CPU is responsible for controlling the speed of the computer and it deals with many processing operations.CPU chips differ in many respects, such as what types of computer the CPU is designed for, its clock speed, and word size

Different Types

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i2 and i4. the higher, the better

Memory

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refers to chip-based storage. it contains 3 main things

ROM

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Read only memory. a type of nonvolative memory that stores nonerasable programs.

RAM

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twp types of Random Acess Memory, which is repsonsible for running programs temporarily

Volatile

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controls programs temporarily

Nonvolatile

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still under development

Register

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memory built into the CPU chip to hold data before or during processing.

Expansion Slots

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into which users can insertexpansion cards to give the computer added functionality.

ExpressCard Modules

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used to add functionality to the computer

Bus

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electronic path along which bits are transmitted.

Memory Bus

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moves data between the CPU and RAM

Frontside Bus

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connects the CPU tothe I/O bridge, which connects the CPU and memory to the rest of the bus architecture.

Expansion Buses

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include PCI, PCI Express (PCIe) bus, Universal SerialBus (USB), and FireWire

Ports

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used to connect peripheral devices to the computers

How the CPU works

FPU

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floating point unitperforms decimal arithmetic

ALU

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arithmetic/logic unitwhich performs integer arithmetic and logical operations on data

Control Unit

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directs the flow of electronictraffic between memory and the ALU/FPU and also between the CPU and inputand output devices.

The prefetch unit

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requests data and instructions before or as they are needed

decode unit

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decodes the instructions input into the CPU,internal cache stores frequently used instructions and data

bus interdace unit

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allows the various parts of the CPU to communicate with each other.

Machine Cycle

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The CPU processes instructions in a sequence called a machine cycle, consisting offour basic steps.

system clock

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synchronizes all of the computer’s activities.

Future Trends

A view

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Scientists work on many new stratigies to develop the computers, such as pipelining, multiprocessing, parallel processing.ways to develop is upgrading internet connection, using seconnd hard drive, etc....

Nanotechnology

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focuses on building computer components at the individual atomic and molecular levels.

Quantum

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possibilty

Optical Computers

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possiblity