- Input 2. Output 3. Memory 4. Datapath 5. Control
Five classic components of a computer
- design for Moore’s Law 2. Use abstraction to simplify design 3. Make the common case fast 4. Performance via parallelism 5.performance via pipelining 6. performance via prediction 7. Hierarchy of memories
eight great ideas in computer architecture
a binary representation of machine instructions
Machine language
a class of computers with the highest performance and cost, they are configured as servers and typically cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars
supercomputer
A command that computer hardware understands and obey
Instruction
a computer designed for use by an individual usually incorporating a graphics display, a keyboard, and a mouse
personal computer
a computer inside another device used for running one predetermined application or collection of software
embedded computer
a computer used for running larger programs for multiple users, often simultaneously, and typically accessed only via a network
server
a display technology using a thin layer of liquid polymers that can be used to transmit or block light according to whether a charge is applied
Liquid crystal display
a form of memory that retains data even in the absence of a power source and that is used to store programs between runs
Nonvolatile memory
a form of nonvolatile secondary memory composed of rotating platters coated with a magnetic recording material. Because they are rotating mechanical devices, access times are about 5 to 20 milliseconds
Magnetic disk
a liquid crystal display using a transistor to control the transmission of light at each individual pixel
Active-matrix display
a mechanism that conveys the result of a computation to a user, such as a display, or to another computer
Output device
a mechanism through which the computer is fed information, such as a keyboard
Input device
a microprocessor containing multiple processors (“cores”) in a single integrated circuit
multicore microprocessor
a nonvolatile semiconductor
Flash memory
a portable language such as C, C++, Java or visual basic that is comprised of words and algebraic notation that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language
High-level programming language
a program that translates a symbolic version of instructions into the binary version
Assembler
a program that translates high-level language statements into assembly language
compiler
a small, fast memory that acts as a buffer for a slower, larger memory
Cache memory
a symbolic representation of machine instructions
Assembling language
Also called a called a chip. A device combining dozens to millions of transistors
Integrated circuit
also called a processor. The active part of the computer, which contains the datapath and control and which adds numbers, tests numbers, signals I/O devices to activate, and so on.
Central processor unit (CPU)
also memory built as an integrated circuit but faster and less dense than DRAM
Static random access memory (SRAM)
