Topic 2

Computer Organisation
Revision Notes

Nikos Giankos
Computer Science Teacher
Table of Contents
2.1 Computer organization...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Computer architecture ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.1 Outline the architecture of the CPU and the functions of the ALU and the CU and the registers within the CPU 3
2.1.2 Describe primary memory ..................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.3 Explain the use of cache memory .......................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.4 Explain the machine instruction cycle ................................................................................................................... 4
Secondary memory ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
2.1.5 Identify the need for persistent storage .................................................................................................................. 4
Operating systems and application systems ........................................................................................................................ 4
2.1.6 Describe the main functions of an operating system.............................................................................................. 4
2.1.7 Outline the use of a range of application software ................................................................................................. 5
2.1.8 Identify common features of applications .............................................................................................................. 5
Binary representation .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.9 Define the terms: bit, byte, binary, decimal, hexadecimal ..................................................................................... 6
2.1.10 Outline the way in which data is represented in the computer............................................................................. 6
Simple logic gates ............................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.11 Define the Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XOR .......................................................... 7
2.1.12 Construct truth tables using the above operators ................................................................................................. 7
2.1.13 Construct a logic diagram using AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XOR gates .............................................. 8

Page 2 of 8
2.1 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
Computer architecture
2.1.1 Outline the architecture of the CPU and the functions of the ALU and the CU
and the registers within the CPU
CPU: the Central Processing Unit, is the brain of the computer. This highly compact and powerful chip controls all the
peripheries and processes inside the computer and does the calculations on the data the system handles.

ALU: the Arithmetic Logic Unit, is a circuit that is part of the CPU and does all the arithmetic calculations.

CU: the Control Unit, is the control circuit of the CPU. It handles the loading of new commands into the CPU and the
decoding of these commands. Also, it directs the data flow and the operation of the ALU.

Registers: they are small, very fast circuits that store intermediate values from calculations or instructions inside the CPU.
They are often referred to as cache memory inside the CPU. There are two types of these memory we need to know: The
Memory Address Register (MAR) and the Memory Data Register (MDR) The MAR register holds the address of the
next memory cell that data will need to be read from or written to, while the MDR holds data that will be written to the
RAM or that was read from RAM. The MAR gives the address the data of the MDR will be read from or written to.

We are expected to be able to draw a diagram with the CPU, ALU, CU, MAR and MDR!

Page 3 of 8
2.1.2 Describe primary memory
Random Access Memory (RAM): memory unit that can be read to and written from at any location. Therefore, it is used
as primary memory in computers to hold data and instructions. It is volatile, so it loses its contents when power is turned
off.

Read-Only Memory (ROM): memory unit that can only be read from. It is non-volatile, so it keeps its contents when
power is turned off. Used to store the BIOS (today UEFI) of the computer, the small control program that directs turning on
the computer.

2.1.3 Explain the use of cache memory

A type of small, high-speed memory inside the CPU used to hold frequently used data, so that the CPU needs to access the
much slower RAM less frequently.

2.1.4 Explain the machine instruction cycle

The machine instructions cycle is also called the fetch-execute cycle. It consists of the steps: fetching the next instruction,
decoding the instruction, executing the instruction. Often, a fourth step is added between the decoding and executing
steps, called getting data, but because computers ultimately deal with data all the time, this step is often left out. This
process is repeated all over again until the computer is turned off.

The role of data bus: data is transferred from or to the RAM using this bus.
The role of address bus: this bus tells the RAM from which location data will be needed to be read or written to.

Secondary memory
2.1.5 Identify the need for persistent storage
Persistent storage is needed to store data and programs after the computer is turned off. Otherwise, all the programs and
data would be need reinstalled every time the computer is restarted. Also, RAM is limited in a computer while large amounts
of secondary storage are relatively cheap, so storing unused data and programs in secondary storage is useful to make space
for running ones.

Operating systems and application systems

2.1.6 Describe the main functions of an operating system
Memory management: managing the usage of RAM by the single programs using the computer. To allow programs to be
less concerned with computer architecture. Each program gets a space - a page - in RAM to run in. In this space the program
believes it has all the computer for itself (it uses logical memory addresses that are then translated into physical memory
addresses by the OS). Also, memory management manages the swapping of memory pages. When RAM gets full.

Page 4 of 8
Control and monitoring of system functions: The OS controls the working of the peripherals and creates an abstraction
of them for the programs to use. This way, the programs only need to be concerned with the tasks they are supposed to carry
out and not with the different architectures of different computers and peripherals.

Distributing resources between competing programs:

This means running multiple programs on the same computer. Since computers can generally do only one or two things this
is accomplished by time sharing.

File management
This is a central feature to operating systems allowing files to be stored in hierarchy of directories or folders in a directory
tree. Common systems include NTFS, FAT32, ext3.

User interface
The most common forms of interface are the Graphical User interface (GUI) and the command line interface (CLI).

Security
Operating systems handle security in a number of ways.
1. Account privileges can be set up to provide different users access to varying levels and authenticated with such methods
as username and password/biometrics/smart cards etc.
2. Recording of user activity e.g., who opened what file and when.

Networking
Modern OS's support a variety of networking protocols, hardware and applications so that they can communicate with
different OSs.

2.1.7 Outline the use of a range of application software

Word processor: A program to create and edit continuous texts
Spreadsheet: A program to manage calculations on complex amounts of data
Desktop Publishing: A program to edit media in a way to be published, like magazines, books or posters
Computer Aided Design (CAD): Software to digitally design and edit parts to be manufactured. Often includes a Computer
Aided Manufacturing (CAM) module to be able to use the model to directly produce a prototype.
Web browser: An application software for accessing the World Wide Web.

2.1.8 Identify common features of applications

• Possibility to terminate the application
• Possibility to save current working
• Toolbars
• Dialogue boxes
• Menus
• User interface (GUI) components

Page 5 of 8
Binary representation
2.1.9 Define the terms: bit, byte, binary, decimal, hexadecimal
Bit: smallest unit in computers, either a 1 or a 0
Byte: a group of 8 bits
Binary: computers use the binary (base 2) number system
Decimal: This is the number system we use (base 10)
Hexadecimal: Base 16 number system. It has a base that is a power of 2, so we can use it to make reading binary codes
shorter and thus easier to read. 4 binary characters grouped together give a hexadecimal character.

2.1.10 Outline the way in which data is represented in the computer

Computer work with the binary number system, so everything in them is represented in 1s and 0s. So, the data that we want
to store in the computer needs to be encoded in 1s and 0s. For different media types, different encodings exist.

Text needs to be also transformed into 0s and 1s. To do this, a character set is used. A character set is a collection of
characters and the binary codes that represent them. Today, the most used character sets are ASCII and UTF.
• ASCII: stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It uses 7 (later 8) bits to encode the
characters, so in total 28=256 different characters can be represented.
• UTF: is a superset of ASCII. It was developed because people realized that the 256 characters of ASCII are not
enough to satisfy our need for a suitable number of characters. The goal of the maker of UTF is nothing less than
to represent all character humans have ever used.

Strings: representation of characters in a continuous bit chain

Integers: representation of numbers in computers. Whole numbers. Negatives can be represented by the 'two's complement'
method.

Two's complement
Computers have difficulties dealing with signed numbers. Why? Because that adds a lot to the complexity of the calculations
because it implies having a negative and a positive 0. To overcome this problem, the number line is divided in two parts
with 0 in the middle. Left of 0 are the number from the upper half of the number line in descending order while right from
0 are the lower half of the number line in ascending order, like on the picture below.

This way makes dealing with negative numbers easier. For example, if 5 is subtracted from 2, the value of -5 can be added
to two, with any carry above the 8th bit discarded:

As you can see these add up to 253, which is the value of -3. By the way, this works in any number system, even in our
decimal system.

Page 6 of 8
The problem with this representation is when you try to add values where the result goes out of the borders of the number
line. For example, if you would try to add 28 to 127 in our example 8-bit integer, you would correctly add 00011100 to
01111111:

But, 10011011 is not 155, in our number line it corresponds to -100! As you can see, by adding to values that give more
than 127, we accidentally have gotten into the -ve values of the number line, because the 8th bit is a sign bit. This is called
an overflow.

Floats: representation of fractions within the computer. It is a special version of the scientific notation. It consists of a sign
bit, the mantissa, the number itself, and the exponent which states how many characters left or right of the number the radix
point 'floats'. The radix point is the version of the decimal point that can be applied in any number system. In the 64-bit
float, 1 bit is used for the sign, 52 are used for the mantissa and 11 are used for the exponent.

Simple logic gates

2.1.11 Define the Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XOR
AND: true only if both of the inputs are true
OR: true if at least one of the inputs are true
NOT: inverts a value, makes a false from a true and vice versa
NAND: NOT + AND gates together. False if both the inputs are true, otherwise true
NOR: NOT + OR gates together. Only true of both of the inputs are false, otherwise true
XOR: exclusive OR. Only true if only one of the inputs is true, otherwise false

2.1.12 Construct truth tables using the above operators

A truth table is a table listing all the connections in a logic circuit and can thus be used to trace output to different inputs.

Page 7 of 8
 a b c d e f g h i
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1

2.1.13 Construct a logic diagram using AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XOR
gates
There is nothing much to say to this…… Just get the logic right.
The IB do not require us to draw the specific symbols for the gates, we should just draw a circle and write the name of the
gate into it.
However, expected to draw straight lines and 90° angles.

Page 8 of 8