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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 20 hours
    Level: Intermediate

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • There is more to computers and processors than simply PCs. In fact computers are ubiquitous in everyday life. This unit challenges how we view computers through the examples of processors in kitchen scales...
 

1 Computers and processors: introduction

  • 1 Computers and processors: introduction Resource
  • Computers have become a vital part of everyday life. It is almost inconceivable that you could spend a day without at least one event being influenced by a computer. Perhaps the word ‘computer’ automatically...
 

2 Computers and computer systems

  • 2.1 Processors Resource
  • Figure 2 shows an advertisement for a personal computer (PC) published in February 2004. The main features of the computer are listed in this advert. The first item on the list is ‘Intel® Pentium®...
  • 2.2 Memory Resource
  • You should now be beginning to build up a picture of what a computer is: you know it needs input and output devices to communicate with the world outside and a processor to carry out the instructions that...
  • 2.3 Computer systems Resource
  • So far, I have introduced the major components of a computer, namely a processor along with input and output devices, plus main and secondary memory. I now want to explore three of these components a little...
  • 2.4 Computer systems (contd) Resource
  • As I have already mentioned, the functional blocks shown in Figure 3 relate very closely to, even though they are not necessarily identical with, the computer's physical components. The computer's physical...
 

3 Some facts about processors

  • 3.1 Processor statistics Resource
  • In Sections 3.1 and 3.2 you are going to find out a little more about one of the key components of a computer: the processor, which manipulates data according to a list of instructions called a program....
  • 3.2 What does a processor look like? Resource
  • So what do these devices that are manufactured in such vast quantities look like? Processors are manufactured as integrated circuits. Essentially they are circuits, around the size of a fingernail, which...
 

4 Representing data and instructions inside a computer

  • 4.1 Switches Resource
  • I have just indicated that a processor is made up of millions of electronic components manufactured as one very complex circuit. The majority of these components act as switches that can exist in one of...
  • 4.2 Representing data Resource
  • But if all the data and computer instructions within a computer are represented by 1s and 0s, how can this limited set of conditions be used to represent, for instance, every letter of the alphabet that...
 

5 Examples of computers

  • 5.1 The personal computer Resource
  • Over the following screens you will look at three different examples of computers: a PC, which is obviously a computer, and a set of electronic kitchen scales and a digital camera, which are not so obviously...
  • 5.2 Electronic kitchen scales Resource
  • A set of electronic kitchen scales is shown in Figure 7. Their basic operation is relatively simple. When they are switched on and, for example, a 500-gram object is placed in the scalepan, the display...
  • 5.3 Digital camera Resource
  • The last computer I am going to look at is the embedded computer in a digital camera.
  • 5.4 Conclusion Resource
  • You have seen that although the three products you have looked at are very different types of computer, they all embody the same basic functionality and a version of Figure 3 can be drawn for each product...
 

6 A look to the future

  • 6 A look to the future Resource
  • So what will computers do for you next? Perhaps they will be the key to solving transport problems. Driverless cars, controlled by computers, are under development. If these ever come to fruition perhaps...
 

7 Computer programs

  • 7.1 Introduction Resource
  • Earlier on I indicated that in order for a processor to perform a defined function it needs to be supplied with a list of instructions called a program. In this section I shall explore this idea a little...
  • 7.2 Operating systems Resource
  • You have already seen that operating systems organise the sharing of resources. But they do much more than this; they ensure the efficient running of a computer by:
  • 7.3 Using flowcharts to describe a task Resource
  • Application programs are designed to perform specific tasks. These tasks range from the relatively simple to the extremely complex. In this section you will look at what is involved in planning a program...
  • 7.4 Using flowcharts to describe a task (contd) Resource
  • Now consider what happens when you are weighing, for example, flour on a set of scales. You slowly add more flour to the scalepan until you reach the desired weight. As you do this the display constantly...
 

References and Acknowledgements

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