Unit 5 - Hardware and Computer Architectures Flashcards Preview

Introduction to Computer Science > Unit 5 - Hardware and Computer Architectures > Flashcards

Flashcards in Unit 5 - Hardware and Computer Architectures Deck (29)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What is the standard computer architecture used today called?

A

Von Neumann architecture

2
Q

What are the basic components of a computer?

A

A processor and memory storage, input and output.

3
Q

What are the two types of functions that bits have in memory?

A

Data and instructions. Context tells a computer which is which.

4
Q

Which part of the CPU performs calculations and executes logic operations?

A

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU).

5
Q

What does the Control Unit of a processor do?

A

It controls operation of the ALU and communication with input and output. It also interprets and carries out processor instructions.

6
Q

What is a register?

A

Internal memory storage for a CPU. They are very small, 64 bits for newer processors.

7
Q

Name five design registers in the Von Neumann architecture

A

Program counter (PC), contains the memory address of the next instruction to read from memory

Memory Address Register (MAR), contains the address of the current instruction in memory

Memory Data Register (MDR) Contains the contents of the memory address that the MAR is pointing to, and data to be transferred.

Accumulator (AC) contains data that have been processed or about to be processed.

Current Instruction Register (CIR) contains the current binary instruction being executed.

8
Q

What is a data bus?

A

A connection used for data transfer between CPU and input/output.

9
Q

What is the address bus?

A

A bus that is used for data transfer, sending memory addresses.

10
Q

What is a control bus?

A

Carries instructions and special signals from devices such as their status.

11
Q

What is a data bus?

A

It sends and receives data to the CPU.

12
Q

What is the input output system?

A

It is the architecture of CPU, memory, input and output and the system buses that connect them: control bus, address bus, data bus.

13
Q

What can memory be used for?

A

Data and instructions.

14
Q

What is a CPU memory cache used for?

A

Small data storage that is very close to the CPU and thus very fast.

15
Q

What are keyboards used for?

A

Converting keystrokes into electrical signals, and then into binary code.

16
Q

What is the mouse used for?

A

Moving the mouse creates electrical signals which are converted into binary coordinates.

17
Q

What is IOP?

A

Input output processing. It’s processing the data e.g. from a keyboard or microphone before being sent to the computer. It’s an interface between system and devices.

18
Q

What are the functions of an operating system?

A

Provide an interface

Control the hardware

Run applications

19
Q

What is a Command Line Interface?

A

CLI, later became the GUI (Graphical User Interface). CLI is a screen where all input and output is text.

20
Q

What are drivers?

A

They let the Operating System talk to devices.

Long ago you had to specify the IRQ (interrupt request) and I/O port address. A standard PC design had up to 16 IRQ’s.

21
Q

What does the device controller do?

A

Signal the interrupt, is responsible for the binary input and output to a device.

22
Q

What is a cluster?

A

Used for high performance computing. It is a group of identical servers sharing the workload. If you supersize it, you get a supercomputer.

23
Q

What is parallel processing?

A

Breaking down tasks into subtasks and assigning them to different CPU’s. They are linked in parallel.

24
Q

What are FLOPS?

A

Floating point operations per second. It is how you measure computing power. Modern desktops clock 1100 gigaFLOPs. The SuperMUC-NG clocks at 26 petaFLOPS.

25
Q

What does the Program Counter register do?

A

Program counter (PC), contains the memory address of the next instruction to read from memory

26
Q

What does the Memory Address Register do?

A

Memory Address Register (MAR), contains the address of the current instruction in memory

27
Q

What does the Memory Data Register do?

A

Memory Data Register (MDR) Contains the contents of the memory address that the MAR is pointing to, and data to be transferred.

28
Q

What does the Accumulator register do?

A

Accumulator (AC) contains data that have been processed or about to be processed.

29
Q

What does the Current Instruction Register do?

A

Current Instruction Register (CIR) contains the current binary instruction being executed.