COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND ORGANIZATION
Basic Computer Organization:
Introduction to Computer System:
A computer is an electronic device that takes instructions and data from a user as input,
processes them, and produces some meaningful output as a result. Computers are a
combination of hardware and software. Computer systems work on the IPO (Input-Process-
Output) Model.
Hardware are physical components which can be seen and touched (tangible). Examples
of hardware include CPU, mouse, keyboard, monitor, motherboard, cables, CPU case,
power supply unit, RAM, graphics card, sound card etc.
Various hardware components are interconnected together using a pathway called 'Bus',
that facilitates the transfer of data.
Software is a set of instructions or programs designed to perform specific tasks or solve
particular problems on a computer or device. The software is intangible, i.e cannot be
touched.
Components of computer system: -
Secondary
storage
Storage device
Primary
memory
Input Control Unit Output
device device
Arithmetic
Logic Unit (ALU)
(central processing unit)(CPU)
INPUT DEVICE:
The device through which control signal are send to computer are termed as input
device. These devices are convert the input data to a digital form that is acceptable by
computer system.
Some examples of input devices include keyboard,mouse,scanner etc.
OUTPUT DEVICE:
The device that receives data from a computer system for display, physical
production is called as output [Link] convert digital information to human
readable form.
Example: Monitor, Projector, headphone, speaker, printer etc.
CPU:
CPU stands for central processing unit.
CPU is the main control centre and processing unit, it is also called the brain of the
computer as it guide, control and govern the performance of the computer.
The CPU has some sub component that helping out the processing of a task, these
are:-
i) Arithmetic logic unit(ALU)
ii) Control unit (CU)
iii) REGISTER
i)ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT: -
ALU performs all the four arithmetic operation (+,-,*,/) and some logical (<,>,=,<=.>=,!
=) operation.
When two numbers are required to added these numbers are send from memory
to ALU where addition takes place and the result put back in the memory, in the
same way logical operation were performed.
For logical operation also the numbers to be compared are sent from memory to
ALU where all comparison takes place and the result return to the memory.
ii)CU(control unit):-
CU stands for control unit.
CU is like manager or key component of the CPU.
First, it will take the instruction from main memory, then fetches the instruction,
decode and execute the instruction and the result are sent back to main memory
or output unit.
iii)REGISTER: -
Register are small unit of data holding places.
The CPU uses register to temporarily hold some important processing
information during processing takes place.
MEMORY UNIT: -
The location where the computer stores data, instructions, and programs is called
the Memory.
Computer memory is organized into memory cells, each of which stores a fixed
amount of data, typically represented in binary as 0s and 1s.
The Memory of a computer is divided into Primary, Cache and Secondary Memory.
PRIMARY MEMORY: -
The primary memory is directly accessible by the CPU.
It is a high speed memory which can closely match the operational speed of the CPU.
Due to the high speed, the cost of primary memory is high and the storage capacity
of primary memory is lower in comparison to the secondary memory.
Program and data are loaded into the primary memory before processing.
CPU interacts directly with the primary memory to perform read and write operation.
There are two kinds of primary memory, namely RAM and ROM.
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM): -
RAM, also known as the main memory, is a volatile memory, i.e the contents of
memory are lost as soon as the power to the system is switched off.
It is the main memory with which the CPU can interact directly
It stores the instructions and data which are to be processed by the CPU shortly
The addresses on the RAM can be accessed in a random order, hence the name,
Random Access.
READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM): -
ROM is a non-volatile memory.
The purpose of ROM is to store the software instructions required for starting up the
computer.
The startup process is also called bootstrap or booting the computer.
It loads a software called Basic Input Output System (BIOS).
Turning off the computer does not have any effect on ROM.
Non-volatile memory cannot be changed by users.
CACHE MEMORY: -
Cache memory is a special very high-speed memory.
It is used to speed up the CPU.
Cache memory is extremely fast memory type that acts as a buffer between RAM and
the CPU.
It reduces the average time to access data from main memory.
Cache memory is costlier than main memory.
Cache memory
MAIN
CPU MEMOR
Y
SOFTWARE: -
Till now, we have studied about the physical component and hardware of the
computer system. But the hardware is of no use on its own. Hardware needs to be
operated by a set of instructions and these set of instruction are referred to as
software.
Some examples of software include operating system like ubuntu, windows, MS word,
LibreOffice, video player, photo editor.
A document or image stored on the hard disk or pen drive is referred to as a softcopy.
Once printed, the document or an image is called a hard copy. Once printed, the
document or an image is called a hard copy.
And the software is broadly classified into three categories:
i) system software
ii) programming tools
iii) application software
i) SYSTEM SOFTWARE: -
System software is the software that control and manage computer system
and its hardware.
It control all operation like reading data from input device, transmitting the
processed information to output device.
The system software further classified in to three types:
i) Operating system
ii) System utility
iii) Device driver
i) Operating system:-
An operating system serves as an interface between the
user and the hardware.
The purpose of the operating system is to provide an
environment in which user can execute the program.
It is also ensured that the computer hardware use in
efficient manner.
Operating system example: Linux, Windows, MacOs, ubuntu,
Android.
ii) System utilities:-
System utilities are the programs designed to perform
maintenance of the work on a computer system to help in
smooth functioning.
Some utilities are attached with Operating system
example:disk defragmentation tool.
And some utilities are not attached with operating system
example: antivirus software.
iii) Device driver:-
A device driver is a special program that helps a computer
to run and control a specific device like printer ,mouse,
keyboard etc.
A computer has many device attached to it , the operating
system can not handle every because each device is
different.
So, the device driver takes care of it’s own device and
helps it work properly.
A device driver works like a bridge between the device and
operating system.
With out device driver , the operating system can not use
this device properly.