What Is A Computer?

A computer is an electronic device, operating

under the control of instructions (software)
stored in its own memory unit, that can
accept data (input), manipulate data
(process), and produce information (output)
from the processing. Generally, the term is
used to describe a collection of devices that
function together as a system.

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COMPUTER HARDWARE
 Computer hardware refers to the physical or tangible
parts of the computer including the digital circuits
inside the computer.
 Some examples of hardware include the keyboard,
mouse, monitor etc.
 The hardware devices are capable of storing,
executing system instructions and controlling other
logical outputs

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 COMPUTER SOFTWARE
 Computer Software is a set of instructions or programs
which enable the computer to perform a specified task.
 Computer software –a collection of computer programs
and related data that provide the instructions for telling a
computer what to do and how to do it.
 software refers to one or more computer programs and
data held in the storage of the computer for some
purposes.

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BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A COMPUTER SYSTEMS

.
PRIMARY STORAGE

INPUT DEVICE OUTPUT

CPU DEVICE

SECONDARY STORAGE
 Major Components of a
Computer System
 Processor (CPU)
 Runs program instructions

 Main Memory
 Storage for running programs and current data

 Secondary Storage
 Long-term program & data storage (hard disk, CD, etc)

 Input Devices
 Communication from the user to the computer(e.g. keyboard,

mouse)
 Output Devices
 Communication from the computer to the user (e.g. monitor,

printer, speakers)
 Parts of a PC
 System Unit - the metal box that houses the
processor, main memory, and secondary
storage devices.
 Input and output devices - attached to the
system unit via a device controller.
 The terms "input" and "output" tell you if
data flow is into or out of the system unit.
 Abbreviated to “I/O”
 Computer Systems
System Unit
Output device
Output device

Output device

Input device

Input device
 The Processor
 The processor is the "brain" of the computer system.
 Main processor is called the Central Processing Unit (CPU).
 A particular computer will have a particular type of
processor, such as a Pentium or a SPARC chip.
 Co-processors assist the CPU with some of the processing
functions. Examples:
 Math co-processors handle heavy duty math processing
 Graphics coprocessors speed up the display of graphics
onto the monitor
 Component Interaction
The CPU controls all of the other resources within the system,
in order to accomplish a task.
 The CPU
The CPU is a silicon chip that contains
millions of tiny electrical components.

The CPU’s three main parts are:

 Control Unit
 Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
 Registers
Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Performs arithmetic and

Arithmetic / Logic Unit
logical calculations and
decisions
Coordinates
Control Unit processing steps

Small, fast
Registers storage areas for
instructions and
data
 Registers
 Registers are small, fast memory within the CPU

 Different registers hold different things

 instructions and addresses of instructions
 data (operands)
 results of operations
 Memory
Computer Memory - millions/billions of on/off
charges 

Divided into:
 Bits 0 or 1
 BytesGroups of 8 bits A byte is the smallest unit
of storage. (Can hold one text character)
 Words Groups of bits/bytes (8, 16, 32, 64-bits)
 Memory
Storage is usually too large to be expressed in bytes or
words. Instead we use:
 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes (210 bytes)
 Megabyte (MB) = 1024 x 1024 bytes or
one million bytes (220 bytes)
 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes or
one trillion bytes (230 bytes)
 Terabyte (TB) = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
one quadrillion bytes (240 bytes)
 Main Memory
 Each computer has a specific word size
 Word sizes vary from computer to computer.
 Word size is an even multiple of a bytes.
 Each word within memory can hold either
 data or
 program instructions
 Main Memory Characteristics
 Very closely connected to the CPU.
 Contents are quickly and easily changed.
 Holds the programs and data that the
processor is actively working with.
 Interacts with the processor millions of times
per second.
 Temporal storage of data i.e loses its
contains when there is no power (volatile)
 Secondary Storage
Characteristics
 Connected to main memory through a bus and a
device controller.
 Contents are easily changed, but access is very
slow compared to main memory.
 Only occasionally interacts with CPU.
 Used for long-term storage of programs and data.
 Much larger than main memory (GBs vs. MBs).
 Program Instructions
 Programs instructions are stored in secondary storage
(hard disks, CD-ROM, DVD).
 To process data, the CPU requires a working area
 Uses Main Memory
 Also called: RAM (random access memory), primary
storage, and internal memory.
 Before a program is run, instructions must first be copied
from the slow secondary storage into fast main memory
 Provides the CPU with fast access to instructions to
execute.
 Access to Instructions

The hard disk is too slow to provide instructions to the CPU.

So programs are first loaded into main memory, which is much faster.
The CPU can then access the instructions more quickly.