ABSTRACTIONS, TECHNOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE OF COMPUTERS

Introduction
Computer architecture refers to those attributes of a system visible to a programmer. They are
also those attributes that have a direct impact on the logical execution of a program. Computer
organization refers to the operational units and their interconnections that realize the architectural
specifications. Examples of architectural attributes include the instruction set, the number of bits used
to represent various data types (e.g., numbers, characters), I/O mechanisms, and techniques for
addressing memory. Organizational attributes include those hardware details transparent to the
programmer, such as control signals; interfaces between the computer and peripherals; and the
memory technology used.

Technological Evolution of Computer Systems

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was amongst the first computing
system designed in the 1940s. In size, it was equal to the size of 3-4 double decker buses. With over
18,000 buzzing electronic switches called vacuum tubes. It was not close in computing abilities as
compared to a Laptop in the modern times. The invention of Integrated Circuits in 1958 made it all
possible to squeeze down all the electronic circuits into smaller and smaller packages to the modern
design where laptops are mere fraction of inches thick and very lightweight.
The simplest of computer requires about eight electronic switches to store a single byte
(character) of information. If there is a plan to build a simple computer with enough memory to store
a paragraph for example, which has about 450 characters, so it would require 450 × 8, about 3600
electronic switches. Considering the vacuum tubes used in the early 1940s, which were of the size of a
human thumb, one will end up building a large computer with large amount of power and heat
consumption.
In 1947, with the invention of transistors, which were a fraction the size of the vacuum tubes
and consumed less power, using transistors for computations became easier, but still the complex
circuits were not easy to handle. The invention of Integrated Circuits in 1958, changed the game. The
concept was to take the whole circuit, with all its components and the connections between them, and
recreate the whole thing in microscopically tiny form on the surface of a piece of silicon. Jack Kilby
and Robert Noyce invented the Integrated Circuit at the same time.
An integrated circuit (also called an IC or just a chip) is a complete electronic circuit
consisting of more than one individual components such as transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors,
and the conductive pathways that connect all the components, all made from a single piece of silicon
crystal.
Basic Components and Structure of a Computer System
Computer is an electronic machine that makes performing any task very easy. In computer,
the CPU executes each instruction provided to it, in a series of steps, this series of steps is called
Machine Cycle, and is repeated for each instruction. One machine cycle involves fetching of
instruction, decoding the instruction, transferring the data, executing the instruction. Computer system
has five basic units that help the computer to perform operations, they are input unit, output unit,
storage unit, Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and control unit. Figure 1.1 shows the structure of a
computer system.

Figure 1.1: Structure of a computer system

Input Unit: Input unit connects the external environment with internal computer system. It provides
data and instructions to the computer system. The input unit accepts data into the computer in an
organized manner for processing. Commonly used input devices are keyboard, mouse, magnetic tape
etc. Input unit performs following tasks:
1. Accept the data and instructions from the outside environment.
2. Convert it into machine language.
3. Supply the converted data to computer system.

Output Unit: The output unit connects the internal system of a computer to the external environment.
The output unit provides the results of any computation, or instructions to the outside world.
Similarly, the output produced by the computer after processing must also be kept somewhere inside
the computer before given it out in a readable form. Some output devices are printers, monitor etc.
Storage Unit: This unit holds the data and instructions. It also stores the intermediate results before
these are sent to the output devices. It also stores the data for later use. The storage unit performs the
following major functions:
a. Stores data and instructions before and after processing.
b. Stores intermediate results of processing.
The storage unit of a computer system can be divided into two categories namely primary and
secondary storage.
i. Primary Storage: This memory is used to store the data which is being currently
executed. It is used for temporary storage of data. The data is lost, when the computer is
switched off. RAM is used as primary storage memory.
ii. Secondary Storage: The secondary memory is slower and cheaper than primary memory.
It is used for permanent storage of data. Commonly used secondary memory devices are
hard disk, CD etc.

Arithmetic Logical Unit: ALU performs all the calculations of the computer system. The ALU can
perform basic operations such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication etc. Whenever
calculations are required, the control unit transfers the data from storage unit to ALU. When the
operations are done, the result is transferred back to the storage unit.

Control Unit: It controls all other units of the computer. It controls the flow of data and instructions
to and from the storage unit to ALU. Thus, it is also known as central nervous system of the
computer.

CPU: It is Central Processing Unit of the computer. The control unit and ALU are together known as
CPU. CPU is the brain of computer system. It performs following tasks:
a. It performs all operations.
b. It takes all decisions.
c. It controls all the units of computer.