Parts of the Computer System
Hardware
Software
Data
User
The Information Processing Cycle
Essential Computer Hardware
Processing Devices
Memory Devices
Input Devices
2. Lecture 03: Roadmap
Parts of the Computer System
Hardware
Software
Data
User
The Information Processing Cycle
Essential Computer Hardware
Processing Devices
Memory Devices
Input Devices
1A-2
3. Parts of the Computer System
Computer systems have four parts
Hardware
Software
Data
User
1B-3
4. Parts of the Computer System
Hardware
Mechanical devices in the computer
Anything that can be touched
Software
Tell the computer what to do
Also called a program
Thousands of programs exist
1B-4
5. Parts of the Computer System
Data
Pieces of information
Computer organize and present data
Users
People operating the computer
Most important part
Tell the computer what to do
1B-5
11. Cont.
MotherBoard also called System Board
Adaopter cards, process Chips, Memory
Chips.
Small chips of silicon
Circuits are attached on chips.
Circuits have microscopic path for current
flow.
Transistors and capcitors.
Transistors open and close for electricity
flow.
1B-11
12. Essential Computer Hardware
Input devices
Allows the user to interact
Input devices accept data
Keyboard, mouse
1B-12
13. The Keyboard
The most common input device
Must be proficient with keyboard
Skill is called keyboarding
3A-13
14. The Keyboard
How keyboard works
Keyboard controller detects a key press
Controller sends a code to the CPU
Code represents the key pressed
Controller notifies the operating system
Operating system responds
Controller repeats the letter if held
3A-14
15. The Mouse
All modern computers have a variant
Allows users to select objects
Pointer moved by the mouse
Mechanical mouse
Rubber ball determines direction and speed
The ball often requires cleaning
3A-15
16. The Mouse
Optical mouse
Light shown onto mouse pad
Reflection determines speed and direction
Requires little maintenance
3A-16
17. The Mouse
Interacting with a mouse
Actions involve pointing to an object
Clicking selects the object
Clicking and holding drags the object
Releasing an object is a drop
Right clicking activates the shortcut menu
Modern mice include a scroll wheel
3A-17
19. The Mouse
Mouse button configuration
Configured for a right-handed user
Can be reconfigured
Between 1 and 6 buttons
Extra buttons are configurable
3A-19
21. Variants of the Mouse
Trackballs
Upside down mouse
Hand rests on the ball
User moves the ball
Uses little desk space
3A-21
22. Variants of the Mouse
Track pads
Stationary pointing
device
Small plastic rectangle
Finger moves across
the pad
Pointer moves with the
pointer
Popular on laptops
3A-22
23. Variants of the Mouse
Track point
Little joystick on the keyboard
Move pointer by moving the joystick
3A-23
24. Devices for the Hand
Pen based input
Tablet PCs, PDA
Pen used to
write data
Pen used as
a pointer
Handwriting
recognition
On screen keyboard
3B-24
25. Devices for the hand
Touch screens
Sensors determine
where finger points
Sensors create an X,Y
coordinate
Usually presents a
menu to users
Found in cramped or
dirty environments
3B-25
26. Devices for the hand
Game controllers
Enhances gaming experience
Provide custom input to the game
Modern controllers offer feedback
Joystick
Game pad
3B-26
27. Optical Input Devices
Allows the computer to see input
Bar code readers
Converts bar codes to numbers
UPC code
Computer find number in a database
Works by reflecting light
Amount of reflected light indicates number
3B-27
28. Optical Input Devices
Image scanners
Converts printed media into electronic
Reflects light off of the image
Sensors read the intensity
Filters determine color depths
3B-28
29. Optical input devices
Optical character recognition (OCR)
Converts scanned text into editable text
Each letter is scanned
Letters are compared to known letters
Best match is entered into document
Rarely 100% accurate
3B-29
30. Audiovisual Input Devices
Microphones
Used to record speech
Speech recognition
“Understands” human speech
Allows dictation or control of computer
Matches spoken sound to known phonemes
Enters best match into document
3B-30
31. Audiovisual Input Devices
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI
Connects musical instruments to computer
Digital recording or playback of music
Musicians can produce professional results
3B-31
32. Audiovisual Input Devices
Digital cameras
Captures images electronically
No film is needed
Image is stored as a JPG file
Memory cards store the images
Used in a variety of professions
3B-32
33. Essential Computer Hardware
Processing devices
Brains of the computer
Carries out instructions from the program
Manipulate the data
Most computers have several processors
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Secondary processors
1B-33
35. Cont.
Processors have two main parts
1.Control Unit
Interpret each instruction and take
appropriate action
Traffic Control
1.Arithmetic logical unit
Perform arithmetic operation
And comparison too.
1B-35
36. Cont.
Registers
High speed storage
Temporary hold data
Different registers hold specific data
e.g Store fetching detail from where ALU
performs computation
Sytem Clock
1B-36
37. Cont.
Heat Sinks:
Small ceramic or metal absorbs heat and
disperse heat.
Heat Pipes:
Heat sinks consume more space
Liquid Cooling:
Flow of liquid that transfer heat fluid radiator
type grill which cools the liquid and return
to processor.
1B-37
39. Essential Computer Hardware
Memory devices
Stores data or programs
Random Access Memory (RAM)
main memory
Volatile
Stores current data and programs
More RAM results in a faster system
Read Only Memory (ROM)
Permanent storage of programs
Holds the computer boot directions
1B-39
41. Cont.
Types of RAM:
• DRAM: Chips need to be re-energized.
i. SDRAM: faster, use system clock
ii. DDR SDRAM: transfer twice data for each
clock.
iii.Rambus DRAM: use rambus channel,
pipelining, parallel channels.
1B-41
42. Cont.
SRAM: need not to be re-energize, use
transistors instead of capacitors.
Cache uses SRAM technology.
Megnatoresistive RAM(MRAM):
Use magnetic pattern than electric charges.
More capacity, faster, consume less power.
1B-42
43. Cont.
Types of ROM:
Data can not be modify.
PROM: data is microcode
EEPROM:
Erase micocode by electrical signals.
Cache:
L1 cache: on processor. Stores 8KB to
128KB.
1B-43
44. L2 Cache:
On processor.
64KB to 16 MB
L3 cache: on moterboard.
2MB to 6MB
1B-44
45. Essential Computer Hardware
Storage devices
Hold data and programs permanently
Different from RAM
Magnetic storage
Floppy and hard drive
Uses a magnet to access data
Optical storage
CD and DVD drives
Uses a laser to access data
1B-45
48. DRAM
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a type of
random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate
capacitor within anintegrated circuit. The capacitor can be either
charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the
two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1. Since capacitors
leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor
charge is refreshed periodically. Because of this refresh
requirement, it is a dynamic memory as opposed to SRAM and
other static memory
1B-48
Editor's Notes
Teaching tip
Suggest to your students that the majority of people who purchase computers do so because of software. They want to email, or type letters. Nearly every reason given to purchase a computer is based on software needs.
Teaching tip
A good exercise to relate the importance of making data meaningful is to list some random numbers on the board. Then ask what they mean. Without a title, the numbers have no meaning. Once a title is presented, the numbers make sense.
Teaching tip
It is helpful to walk through a simple program to demonstrate the cycle. I often use a simple arithmetic problem to show this cycle.
Teaching tip
It is helpful to have examples of input and output devices in class. Stories of obscure input output devices are typically well received by the students.
Teaching tip
Table 5A.3 presents the ASCII code. An exercise that never fails to amuse students is to use the Alt and the number pad to enter letters into an application. As before, open MS Word. Have students hold down the Alt key and type an ASCII value into the number pad. Once they release the Alt, the letter appears. This is a useful skill when the keyboard breaks. Challenge the students to explore numbers above 128.
Insider information
Douglas Englebart patented the first mouse in 1970 as the “X-Y position indicator for a display system.” The name mouse comes from the tail on the device.
Insider information
The term track point is copyrighted by IBM.
Teaching tip
Microsoft has a demonstration of the tablet PC pen based input. Point your browser to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/evaluation/tours/default.mspx and follow the tours.
Discussion point
Discuss the information kiosks at local malls. Many offer limited Internet access. Have students discuss what could happen to the computers if the malls were to provide keyboards to the mall shoppers.
Teaching tip
Microsoft’s Force Feedback joysticks vibrate. In driving games, when the player hits another car, the joystick will vibrate.
Insider information
For more information on the UPC code and a searchable database, visit http://www.upcdatabase.com/. A working UPC is 071662000240, which represents a 24 count box of Crayola Crayons.
Teaching tip
Spend a few minutes here discussing computer screen colors. A good website to look at colors is http://www.radok.com/web-safe-colors_rgb.html. To demonstrate how computers generate color, use the custom color creator in Paint.
Teaching tip
Many companies ask for a plaintext resume. This is a resume, typed in Courier or other easy to read font, with no formatting. The intent is to allow the company to scan the resume for future searching. OCR technology makes this possible. For more information, see the website http://www.quintcareers.com/scannable_resumes.html.
Insider information
Two common products are IBM’s Via Voice and Scansoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking. More information for ViaVoice can be found at http://www-306.ibm.com/software/voice/viavoice/. More information regarding Dragon is located at http://www.scansoft.com/naturallyspeaking/.
Teaching tip
The interaction between a CPU and secondary processors is much like the interaction between a boss and subordinate. The boss tells the subordinate what to do but not necessarily how to accomplish the task. The subordinate only bothers the boss when guidance or more data is needed.
Insider information
Intel, the manufacturer of popular CPUs, originally made RAM for mainframe and minicomputers. Today Kingston is a leading RAM manufacturer.
Chapter 5 discusses ROM and the BIOS. Refer your students to this chapter if they desire more information.
Insider information
A new CD technology is emerging. A shorter wavelength blue laser beam is being used to burn CD’s. This allows more data to be saved on a disk. The technology is in it’s infancy but should be mature in the near future.
Chapter 11 of the text provides more detail regarding storage devices.
DVD writers are available for purchase. They have not been standardized yet. Several competing formats are vying for acceptance. Of these, the DVD+RW seems to have the strongest support.