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History of the development of computers
History of the development of computers
History of the development of computers
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computer architecture
Computer architecture covers the design of system software,
such as the operating system (the program that controls the computer), as
well as referring to the combination of hardware and basic software that
links the machines on a computer network. Computer architecture refers to
an entire structure and to the details needed to make it functional. Thus,
computer architecture covers computer systems, microprocessors, circuits,
and system programs. Typically the term does not refer to application
programs, such as spreadsheets or word processing, which are required to
perform a task but not to make the system run.
In designing a computer system, architects consider five major
elements that make up the system's hardware: the arithmetic/logic unit,
control unit, memory, input, and output. The arithmetic/logic unit performs
arithmetic and compares numerical values. The control unit directs the
operation of the computer by taking the user instructions and transforming
them into electrical signals that the computer's circuitry can understand.
The combination of the arithmetic/logic unit and the control unit is called
the central processing unit (CPU). The memory stores instructions and
data. The input and output sections allow the computer to receive and
send data, respectively.
Different hardware architectures are required because of the
specialized needs of systems and users. One user may need a system to
display graphics extremely fast, while another system may have to be
optimized for searching a database or conserving battery power in a laptop
computer.
In addition to the hardware design, the architects must consider
what software programs will operate the system. Software, such as
programming languages and operating systems, makes the details of the
hardware architecture invisible to the user. For example, computers that use
the C programming language or a UNIX operating system may appear the
same from the user's viewpoint, although they use different hardware
architectures.
When a computer carries out an instruction, it proceeds
through five steps. First, the control unit retrieves the instruction from
memory—for example, an instruction to add two numbers. Second, the
control unit decodes the instructions into electronic signals that control the
computer. Third, the control unit fetches the data (the two numbers).
Fourth, the arithmetic/logic unit performs the specific operation (the
addition of the two numbers). Fifth, the control unit saves the result (the
sum of the two numbers).
Early computers used only simple instructions because the
cost of electronics capable of carrying out complex instructions was high.
As this cost decreased in the 1960s, more complicated instructions
became possible. Complex instructions can save time because they make
it unnecessary for the computer to retrieve additional instructions. For
example, if seven operations are combined in one instruction, then six of
Processor (CPU) – The processor, also known as the Central Processing Unit runs the operating system and other applications. It is constantly receiving data from the user or other active software. The data is then processed and then an output is produced which either will be displayed on screen or stored by an application.
For over thirty years, since the beginning of the computing age, the Gordon Moore's equation for the number of chip transistors doubling every eighteen months has been true (Leyden). However, this equation by its very nature cannot continue on infinitely. Although the size of the transistor has drastically decreased in the past fifty years, it cannot get too much smaller, therefore a computer cannot get much faster. The limits of transistor are becoming more and more apparent within the processor speed of Intel and AMD silicon chips (Moore's Law). One reason that chip speeds now are slower than possible is because of the internal-clock of the computer. The clock organizes all of the operation processing and the memory speeds so the information ends at the same time or the processor completes its task uniformly. The faster a chip can go (Mhz) requires that this clock tick ever and ever faster. With a 1.0 Ghz chip, the clock ticks a billion times a second (Ball). This becomes wasted energy and the internal clock limits the processor. These two problems in modern computing will lead to the eventual disproving of Moore's Law. But are there any new areas of chip design engineering beside the normal silicon chip. In fact, two such designs that could revolutionize the computer industry are multi-threading (Copeland) and asynchronous chip design (Old Tricks). The modern silicon processor cannot keep up with the demands that are placed on it today. With the limit of transistor size approaching as well the clock speed bottleneck increasing, these two new chip designs could completely scrap the old computer industry and recreate it completely new.
A Founding Father, a Renaissance Man, and a jack of all trades. Benjamin Franklin was truly one of the greatest Americans during the 18th century. He was one of the framers of the Constitution, and helped draft the Declaration of Independence and end the Revolutionary War. He also invented many things and made many scientific discoveries. Benjamin Franklin’s life was filled with many great accomplishments, which led to him becoming one of the most influential and talented people during American History.
Every year, innocent people are given prison sentences to crimes they did not commit. Statistics are kept by the Criminal Justice Department on the number of wrongful convictions but according to research, it has been estimated to 5% of the cases tried have resulted in a false conviction. Reasons due to false convictions are misidentification from a witness, false confessions, forensic mistakes, DNA testing, coercion, and more. A number of ideas will be argued as possible solutions to help lower the number of wrongful convictions that are given the innocent people who fall trapped to this system. A study by Barry Scheck [2008] on forensic evidence revealed that not more than 20% of the felony cases involved biological evidence [Scheck, 2008, p.4]. Although the number seems low, the proper handling and testing of biological evidence can offer some hope to an innocent suspect. Other variables that lead to wrongful convictions are false statements and confessions. Which that can be taken from suspects through questionable actions of methods. [Leo, Ofshe, 1998] or that pooled from jailhouse snitched, informants, or cooperators. Many people believe that the use of evidence has been corrupted in the system while others believe that cases where evidence is used are deviations from the typical process. “Eyewitness misidentifications were a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions.” The knowledge that a free citizen could be unreasonably sentenced to prison or executed by the State is totally opposed the thought of shrewd treatment likely in the United States. DNA is the leading cause to wrongful convictions. If the problem is to be talked and fixed, it must first be understood; not as it is seen, but as it is. It is difficult to express...
It was the OJ Simpson case which should have taken centre stage for scientific evidence. It was the DNA to which was found at the crime scene and in OJ Simpsons home and Ford Bronco to which carried prosecutors beyond motive, means and opportunity to the point where they could say they had direct physical proof that he was the killer. The majority of jurors who spoke publicly about acquitting OJ believed he was innocent although had concern about the investigative elements such as the scientific
The debate over whether or not the design|architecture} design or the CISC architecture is best has been occurring for several years. whether or not design|architecture} design with its tiny however economical instruction set or the CISC architecture with its massive and straightforward to use instruction set is best has been arduous to work out. during a time once new chips ar free nearly monthly, corporations wish to create certain they need the sting over the competition. they require their chips to be designed with speed in mind. several chips have used either the Reduced Instruction Set pc or the advanced Instruction Set pc since the start of the pc era however whether or not one is best has ne'er been a clear-cut issue. They each have strengths and weaknesses. we tend to ar progressing to discuss the advantages and downsides of every design and verify that is that the higher design.
Von Neumann architecture, or the Von Neumann model, stems from a 1945 computer architecture description by the physicist, mathematician, and polymath John von Neumann and others. This describes a design architecture for an electronic digital computer with a control unit containing an instruction register and program counter , external mass storage, subdivisions of a processing unit consisting of arithmetic logic unit and processor registers, a memory to store both data and commands, also an input and output mechanisms. The meaning of the term has grown to mean a stored-program computer in which a command fetch and a data operation cannot occur at the same time because they share a common bus. This is commonly referred to as the Von Neumann bottleneck and often limits the performance of a system.
The Von-Neumann Architecture that describes a general structure that a computer’s hardware should follow when processing data. The Von Neumann architecture has different entities that it uses to process the information/data. These are input/output (i/o), main memory and the processing unit, which are connect via buses, buses are used to connect all components together in order for them communicate. The processing unit is broken down into several sub-systems these are as followed, Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Program Control Unit (CC), and the Program counter. (Computer Organization I, n.d.).
The First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers, beginning around the end of World War 2, and continuing until around the year 1957, included computers that used vacuum tubes, drum memories, and programming in machine code. Computers at that time where mammoth machines that did not have the power our present day desktop microcomputers. In 1950, the first real-time, interactive computer was completed by a design team at MIT. The "Whirlwind Computer," as it was called, was a revamped U.S. Navy project for developing an aircraft simulator.
The fist computer, known as the abacus, was made of wood and parallel wires on which beads were strung. Arithmetic operations were performed when the beads were moved along the wire according to “programming” rules that had to be memorized by the user (Soma, 14). The second earliest computer, invented by Blaise Pascal in 1694, was a “digital calculating machine.” Pascal designed this first known digital computer to help his father, who was a tax collector. Pascal’s computer could only add numbers, and they had to be entered by turning dials (Soma, 32). It required a manual process like its ancestor, the abacus. Automation was introduced in the early 1800’s by a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage. He created an automatic calculation machine that was steam powered and stored up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Unlike its two earliest ancestors, Babbage’s invention was able to perform various operations. It relied on cards with holes punched in them, which are called “punch cards.” These cards carried out the programming and storing operations for the machine. Unluckily, Babbage’s creation flopped due to the lack of mechanical precision and the lack of demand for the product (Soma, 46). The machine could not operate efficiently because technology was t adequate to make the machine operate efficiently Computer interest dwindled for many years, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that people became interested in them once again.
Computer Engineering Computer engineering is a relatively new field of engineering and is one of the fastest growing fields today. Computer engineering is one of today’s most technologically based jobs (Basta 71).The field of computer engineering combines the knowledge of electrical engineering and computer science to create advanced computer systems. Computer engineering involves the process of designing and manufacturing computer chips processors, memory systems, central processing units, and of peripheral devices . Computer engineers work with CAD(computer aided design) programs and different computer languages so they can create and program computer systems (Gelenter 82). Computer engineers use today’s best technology to create tomorrow’s.
Choosing a career is very important in a person’s life. Over the past two decades, many professions have change significantly with the influx of technological developments. One needs to think about the things that interest them and what kind of lifestyle they want to have. Some things a person should think about are what qualifications are needed, what type of training is necessary, and the future need of the career they choose. Some other things to consider would be how much money they will make, what is the probability of advancement, and does the career satisfy their need for an enjoyable life.
System units are commonly mistaken as the Central Processing unit (CPU). System units sometimes called “computer chassis”, “base units” or “Tower cases” however are simply the housing for the integral parts of a computer. System units usual house all components of a computer excluding the monitor, Keyboard and mouse. System Units are a very simple component of the computer because they do none of the actual computing. They are usually just a square or rectangular prism made of some type of plastic or metal that hold all of the vital parts of a computer in a secure manner. Other than that there is not much to be said about the system unit.
A computer is a combination of several parts. These parts are Random Access Memory (RAM), a Central Processing
The central unit is the basic part of the computer and includes all the main computer parts. It is the heart of the computer system. It is responsible for executing, or running the software. The software programs are translated into a series of codes made up of 1s to 0s that the CPU can understand. Every code means a certain operation should take place.