A report submitted to the

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,

College of Engineering
University of Duhok
 Table of contents

Topics Page
1 The Minicomputer 2
2 The mainframe computer 3
3 What is Memory? 5
4 Types of computer memory 5
5 RAM (Random Access Memory) 6
6 ROM (Read Only Memory) 8
7 Q3\ Converting this number ……. 13
8 Q4\ Writing an inviting card 14
9 References 15

Q1\
The Minicomputer

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A minicomputer is a type of computer that possesses most of the features and capabilities of a
large computer but is smaller in physical size.

A minicomputer fills the space between the mainframe and microcomputer, and is smaller than
the former but larger than the latter. Minicomputers are mainly used as small or mid-range
servers operating business and scientific applications. However, the use of the term
minicomputer has diminished and has merged with servers. A minicomputer may also be called
a mid-range computer.

Figure 1: minicomputer

The mainframe computer

Mainframe computer likes as a big centralized machine that contains the large memory, huge
storage space, multiple high grade processors, so it has ultra-processing power compare to

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standard computer systems. So, mainframe computer system’s importance is increasing for large
scale organization, scientific research, consumer statistics, and census data, because it is capable
to execute multiple complex programs concurrently at the ultra-speed. Today, most eminent
vendors of mainframe computers are IBM, Hitachi, Amdahl, and Unisys.

Figure 2: Mainframe computer

Mainframe Computers
Very powerful, used by large organizations such a bank to control the entire business operation.
Very expensive!

Minicomputers
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 Cheap and easy to use. Often used as stand-alone computers or in a network. May be connected
to large mainframe computers within big companies.

Table 1: compression between Mainframe and Mini computers

S.N

O MAINFRAME MINICOMPUTER

In mainframe computer, large size of disk While in minicomputer, small size of disk is

1. is used. used.

Mainframe computers have large memory While minicomputers have small or less

2. storage. memory storage than mainframe computer.

The processing speed of mainframe While the processing speed of minicomputer is

3. computer is faster than minicomputer. slower than mainframe computer.

Mainframe computer is costlier than Whereas minicomputer’s cost is less or it is

4. minicomputers. inexpensive.

The first microcomputer was invented by The first successful mainframe computer is

5. the team leader Bill Pants. invented by IBM.

Mainframe computers support thousands Whereas minicomputers support hundreds of

6. or millions of users simultaneously. users at a time.

Q2\
What is Memory?
The essential component of the computer is its Memory. It is assembled on the motherboard as it
is a storage device used for storing data and instructions for performing a task on the system.

 A memory is used to store data and instructions. It is the storage space in a computer,
where data is to be processed and all the instructions are stored that are required for

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 processing. In simple words, it works just like a human brain where we can store
memories.
 Storage devices are hardware devices that are capable of storing and fetching data. Hard
drives or optical discs are an example of such storage devices.
 Without memory, the computer can't perform a single task.

Types of computer memory

There are two types of memories:

1. Primary memory
2. Secondary memory

Figure 3: Types of Computer Memory

1) Primary Memory (Main Memory)

It is also referred to as Main Memory. It is volatile. The reason behind is, Primary memory holds
only those data and instructions on which the computer is currently working that is it does not
store the data permanently.

 It also stores the operating system and data required to run the computer.
 It is a limited capacity memory and data or information is lost when power is switched
off. Primary Memory is generally constructed with a semiconductor device.
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  Registers are much faster than these memories but it is faster than secondary memory.
 It contains all the data and instructions that are required to be processed.

It is further divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

i) RAM (Random Access Memory)

The RAM (Random Access Memory) is where the operating system is loaded and also where
your applications are copied to when you load an application, such as a word processor or
database program.
 The main 'working' memory used by the computer
 When the operating system loads from disk when you first switch on the computer, it is
copied into RAM
 As a rough rule, a Microsoft Windows based computer will operate faster if you install more
RAM. Data and programs stored in RAM are volatile (i.e. the information is lost when you
switch off the computer)

It is Random Access Memory because of the random selection of memory locations. It performs
both read and writes operations on memory. It stores data temporarily.

If power failures happen in the system during memory access then you will lose your data
permanently. So, RAM is a volatile memory.

RAM categorized into following types:

a. DRAM
b. SRAM

a) SRAM (Static random-access memory)

It holds data in a static form, that is, as long as the memory has the power as the dynamic RAM,
it is not needed to refresh it again and again.

 Static RAM provides faster access to data and is more expensive than DRAM as each cell
must contain multiple transistors.
 SRAM does not use capacitors.

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  SRAM is also highly recommended for use in PCs, peripheral equipment, printers, LCD
screens, hard disk buffers, router buffers and buffers in CDROM / CDRW drives.

b) Dynamic RAM (Dynamic random-access memory)

It is a type of random-access memory used in computing devices. It is made up of capacitors and

transistors.

 This type of memory uses separate capacitors or transistors to stores each bit of data and
it has two states of value in one bit called 0 and 1.
 As compared with other RAM's it is less expensive.
 Data were written by DRAM at the byte-level.
 In DRAM, data is written at the byte-level and it reads data at the multiple-byte page
level.
 DRAM requires less power than other RAMs.

Figure 4: RAM (Random Access Memory)

Additional RAM information

As the computer boots, parts of the operating system and drivers are loaded into memory, which
allows the CPU to process instructions faster and speed up the boot process. After the operating
system is loaded, programs you open like the browser you're using to view this page are also
loaded into memory. If too many programs are open, the computer swaps the data in the memory
between the RAM and the hard disk drive.
A computer's performance is largely attributed to the amount of memory contained within it. If a
computer does not have the recommended memory to run the operating system and its programs,
it results in slower performance. The more memory a computer has, the more information and
software it can load and process quickly.

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History of RAM
The first form of RAM came about in 1947 with the use of the Williams tube. It utilized
a CRT (cathode ray tube); the data was stored on the face as electrically charged spots.
The second widely used form of RAM was magnetic-core memory, invented in 1947. Frederick
Viehe is credited with much of the work, having filed for several patents relating to the design.
Magnetic-core memory works through the use of tiny metal rings and wires connecting to each
ring. One bit of data could be stored per ring and accessed at any time.
However, RAM, as we know it today, as solid-state memory, was first invented
in 1968 by Robert Dennard. Known specifically as dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM,
transistors were used to store bits of data.

ii) ROM (Read Only Memory)

The ROM-BIOS (Read Only Memory - Basic Input Output System) chip is a special chip held
on your computer's system (mother) board.
It contains software that is required to make your computer work with your operating system.
 Read Only Memory (ROM) as the name suggests is a special type of memory chip that
holds software that can be read but not written to
 A good example is the ROM-BIOS chip, which contains read-only software
 Often network cards and video cards also contain ROM chips

ROM offers huge types of standards to save data as it is a permanent memory location. But it
works with the read-only operation. whenever power failure occurs during the ROM memory
work in computers then no data lose happens.

 It is Used where the programming requires no change and also in embedded systems or.
 It is Used in peripheral devices and calculators.

Types of Read Only Memory (ROM)

a. PROM (Programmable read-only memory)

b. EPROM (Erasable Programmable read only memory)
c. EEPROM (Electrically erasable programmable read only memory)

a) PROM (Programmable read-only memory)

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Developers created a type of ROM known as programmable read-only memory (PROM) because
Creating ROM chips from scratch are time-consuming and very expensive.

 It can be coded by the user. Once coded, the data and instructions in it cannot be changed.
 It is used to store permanent data in digital electronic devices.
 It can be bought at a low cost as compared to other RAMs.

b) EPROM (Erasable Programmable read only memory)

This is the type of memory that can be reprogrammed. We can erase data from it and reprogram
it that is erase all the previous data by using high voltage Ultraviolet light.

 It is required to erase each cell in EPROM.

c) EEPROM (Electrically erasable programmable read only memory)

The data can be erased and reprogrammed by applying an electric charge. There is no need for
ultraviolet light and we can erase only portions of the chip.

 It was a replacement for PROM and EPROM chips and later it is used for computer's
BIOS.
 Configurations parameters are stored by using EEPROM. In modern computers, they
replaced BIOS CMOS memory.
 It is required that data to be written or erased by EEPROM one byte at a time.

More modern types of ROM—such as PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM

(Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable
Programmable Read-Only Memory)—may be reprogrammed, with or without erasure of earlier
data. They are still described as "read-only memory" because the reprogramming process is
generally infrequent, comparatively slow, and often does not permit random access writing to
individual memory locations. Despite the simplicity of mask ROM, economies of scale and field-
programmability often make reprogrammable technologies more flexible and inexpensive, so
that mask ROM is rarely used in new products.

Use of ROM for data storage

Since ROM (at least in hard-wired mask form) cannot be modified, it is really only suitable for
storing data which is not expected to need modification for the life of the device. To that end,
ROM has been used in many computers to store look-up tables for the evaluation of
mathematical and logical functions (for example, a floating-point unit might tabulate the sine
function to facilitate faster computation). This was especially effective when CPUs were slow
and ROM was cheap compared to RAM.

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Notably, the display adapters of early personal computers stored tables of bitmapped font
characters in ROM. This usually meant that the text display font could not be changed
interactively. This was the case for both the CGA and MDA adapters available with the IBM PC
XT.
The use of ROM to store such small amounts of data has disappeared almost completely in
modern general-purpose computers. However, Flash ROM has taken on a new role as a medium
for mass storage or secondary storage of files.

Speed of ROMs
Reading speed

Although the relative speed of RAM vs. ROM has varied over time, as of 2007 large RAM chips
can be read faster than most ROMs. For this reason (and to make for uniform access), ROM
content is sometimes copied to RAM or "shadowed" before its first use, and subsequently read
from RAM.

Writing speed

For those types of ROM that can be electrically modified, writing speed is always much slower
than reading speed, and it may require unusually high voltage, the movement of jumper plugs to
apply write-enable signals, and special lock/unlock command codes. Modern NAND Flash
achieves the highest write speeds of any rewritable ROM technology, with speeds as high as
15 MiB/s (or 70 ns/bit), by allowing (indeed requiring) large blocks of memory cells to be
written simultaneously.

ROM images
The contents of ROM chips in video game console cartridges can be extracted with
special software or hardware devices. The resultant memory dump files are known as ROM
images, and can be used to produce duplicate cartridges, or in console emulators. The term
originated when most console games were distributed on cartridges containing ROM chips, but
achieved such widespread usage that it is still applied to images of newer games distributed on
CD-ROMs or other optical media.
ROM images of commercial games usually contain copyrighted software. The unauthorized
copying and distribution of copyrighted software is usually a violation of copyright laws (in
some jurisdictions duplication of ROM cartridges for backup purposes may be considered fair
use). Nevertheless, there is a thriving community engaged in the illegal distribution and trading
of such software. In such circles, the term "ROM images" is sometimes shortened simply to
"ROMs" or sometimes changed to "romz" to highlight the connection with "warez."

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History of ROM
The simplest type of solid-state ROM is as old as semiconductor technology itself.
Combinational logic gates can be joined manually to map n-bit address input onto arbitrary
values of m-bit data output (a look-up table). With the invention of the integrated circuit came
mask ROM. Mask ROM consists of a grid of word lines (the address input) and bit lines (the
data output), selectively joined together with transistor switches, and can represent an arbitrary
look-up table with a regular physical layout and predictable propagation delay.

In mask ROM, the data is physically encoded in the circuit, so it can only be programmed during
fabrication. This leads to a number of serious disadvantages:

1. It is only economical to buy mask ROM in large quantities, since users must contract
with a foundry to produce a custom design.
2. The turnaround time between completing the design for a mask ROM and receiving the
finished product is long, for the same reason.
3. Mask ROM is impractical for R&D work since designers frequently need to modify the
contents of memory as they refine a design.
4. If a product is shipped with faulty mask ROM, the only way to fix it is to recall the
product and physically replace the ROM.

Subsequent developments have addressed these shortcomings. PROM, invented in 1956, allowed
users to program its contents exactly once by physically altering its structure with the application
of high-voltage pulses. This addresses problems 1 and 2 above, since a company can simply
order a large batch of fresh PROM chips and program them with the desired contents at its
designers' convenience. The 1971 invention of EPROM essentially solved problem 3, since
EPROM (unlike PROM) can be repeatedly reset to its unprogrammed state by exposure to strong
ultraviolet light. EEPROM, invented in 1983, went a long way to solving problem 4, since an
EEPROM can be programmed in-place if the containing device provides a means to receive the
program contents from an external source (e.g. a personal computer via a serial cable). Flash
memory, invented at Toshiba in the mid-1980s, and commercialized in the early 1990s, is a form
of EEPROM that makes very efficient use of chip area and can be erased and reprogrammed
thousands of times without damage.

All of these technologies improved the flexibility of ROM, but at a significant cost-per-chip, so
that in large quantities mask ROM would remain an economical choice for many years.
(Decreasing cost of reprogrammable devices had almost eliminated the market for mask ROM
by the year 2000.) Furthermore, despite the fact that newer technologies were increasingly less
"read-only," most were envisioned only as replacements for the traditional use of mask ROM.

The most recent development is NAND flash, also invented by Toshiba. Its designers explicitly
broke from past practice, stating that "the aim of NAND Flash is to replace hard disks,"[1] rather
than the traditional use of ROM as a form of non-volatile primary storage. As of 2007, NAND
has partially achieved this goal by offering throughput comparable to hard disks, higher tolerance
of physical shock, extreme miniaturization (in the form of USB flash drives and tiny microSD
memory cards, for example), and much lower power consumption.

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 Figure 5: ROM (Read Only Memory)

Q3\

Converting this number:

0YB8
To:

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 A) Decimal number (48 89 66 56)

B) Binary number (00110000 01011001 01000010 00111000)

Figure 5: ASCII, Hex, Binary, Decimal, Base64 converter

Q4\

1-

Midsummer’s Eve

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 You are invited to a party on 21St June, from 6:30 pm to midnight at
The Laurels
Chestnut Avenue
Oakfield
Fancy dress RSVP

a) Which word has to be inserted? midnight

b) Which word has to be amended? July
c) Which word has to be deleted? NO

2- Use the following words to complete the sentences.

Centered italics bold

a) RSVP is in bold
b) The invitation has been Centered
c) Midsummer’s Eve is in italics
References:

1. The first lecture of our course prepared by, Jeeman A Khorsheed

2. Jacob, Bruce, Spencer Ng, and David Wang. 2007. Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM,
Disk. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. 

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3. Milliman, Jacob, and Arvin Grable. 1988. Microelectronics, 2nd ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill. 
4. White, Ron. 2008. How Computers Work, 9th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Pub. 
5. Young, Roger. 2002. How Computers Work: Processor and Main Memory. Bloomington,
IN: 1st Books. 
6. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4615/minicomputer

7. http://digitalthinkerhelp.com/mainframe-computer-definition-with-their-example-types-and-

uses/

8. https://www.includehelp.com/operating-systems/types-of-computer-memory.aspx

9. https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/ascii-hex-bin-dec-converter.html

10. https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/r/ram.htm

11. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Read-only_memory#History

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