Computer

... a fast electronic calculating machine that accepts

digitized input information, processes it according to a list
of internally stored instructions, and produces the
resulting output information.

EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 2

Basic Functional Units

Note: These are not hard divisions. Some designs might

combine components (e.g. microcontrollers, like Arduino,
actually combine processor and memory)
EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 3
Processor
Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Contains several functional units
for performing actual operations
on data (i.e. addition,
multiplication, AND, OR, etc.)
Has internal fast memory called
registers to contain operands
Control Unit / Controller
The conductor of the processor Both ALU and Control are
orchestra integrated on a single chip,
making them many times
Traditionally referred to as faster than other devices in
Central Processing Unit the system
(CPU) EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 4
Memory
Instructions
Explicit commands that govern
transfer of information within and
outside the computer.
Specify operations to be performed
on (input) data.
Two classes:
Data
Primary storage or Main memory:
Encoded digital information
fast memory that contains programs
Operands for the instructions or data that are currently executed
Secondary storage: cheaper, slow
Main memory is usually memory that contains programs or
data not currently executed or those
slower than processors but which are not accessed frequently
faster than I/O devices EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 5
Input / Output
Interface to the world
Human operator
Other computers

Includes a very wide

array of devices with
varying speeds and
capabilities

Slowest compared to the

processor and memory
EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 6
 Basic Operational Concepts
Perform 1024 + 123
Described by the program stored in memory locations 8 to 11
Data is stored in memory locations 666 and 667 respectively

10
8
11
9
Operands and result can be
temporarily stored in
registers (i.e. R1, R2, R3) 1024
123
The Program Counter (PC)
is a special register which
keeps track of currently
executing instruction

1147
EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 1147 7
Hardware-Software Hierarchy
System software
Handles basic I/O operations
Allocates storage and memory
Provides sharing of computer (and resources)
among multiple applications
Most important examples: Compiler
and the Operating System

Application Software
Perform intended functions
or operations of computer
Usually written in
high-level language
These are your typical programs!
EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 8
High-level and Machine Language
The first programmers used pure
binary (machine) language
This became tedious, resulting in the
development of symbolic notation
(assembly language)
An Assembler translates assembly into
machine language
Aside from encoding symbolic instruction
notation, the assembler also computes
necessary addresses
Assembly language limitations forced
programmers to think like machines
(limits algorithm development)
Development of high-level
programming languages avoided
these limitations
A compiler translates high-level into
assembly
No one-to-one correspondence between
high-level and assembly! EEE 105: Lecture 0x0 9