Unit 1.

Introduction

Computer Structure
E.T.S.I. Informática
Universidad de Sevilla

Jorge Juan-Chico <[email protected]> 2010-2021

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 Learning outcomes
●
Understand what a computer is (from a technical point of view).
●
Recognize the simplicity of the computer structure.
●
Understand the basic computer functions.
●
Distinguish among hardware, software and firmware.
●
To know the how computers have evolved.
●
Recognize computer generations.
●
Understand the scale of computer performance evolution.
●
Understand the importance of computer families.

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 Bibliography
●
Recommended readings
– History of computing hardware (wikipedia)
– History of personal computers (wikipedia)

Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica - Universidad de Sevilla 3

 Contents
●
Introduction to computers
– Computer definition
– Overall computer structure
– Basic computer functions
– Hardware, software and firmware
●
Brief history of computing
– Computer generations
– Moore's Law
– Computer families

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 Computer definition

What distinguishes computers from other Is “general-purpose”: can be

human-made machines? “programmed” to do different tasks.

Are all computers designed to do No. There are application-specific

different tasks? computers. The programming is not
supposed to be changed.
Still, they can be re-programmed. Eg:
the mobile phone.

What kind of operations does a computer Simple mathematical operations.

actually do?

Why are computers so useful, then? Complexity by combining simple

operations.
Very fast processing speed.
Manipulate huge amounts of data.

Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica - Universidad de Sevilla 5

 Computer definition
●
A machine that is “general-purpose” in nature.
●
The specific task done by the computer can be easily changed by
“programming”.
●
Even if the computer only really does a few simple mathematical
operations, it can solve complex problems by:
– Combining simple operations by “programming”.
– Doing the basic operations very fast.
– Using numeric representation of any type of data.

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 Overall computer structure
Computer Does calculations
Moves data around
Takes decisions
Central
Processing
Unit
Stores data and
“programs”

Interconnection
System
Transfer data between
computer elements
Input/Output
Memory
System

Sends/receives data
from the outside world

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 Hardware, Software and Firmware

Today, Software
Engineering can be as
complex as Hardware
Applications Engineering
Software

Operating System Coordinates execution of

other software

Hardware

This interface is very

interesting

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 Hardware, Software and Firmware
●
Hardware
– Physical elements building the computer, mainly electronic circuits.
●
Software
– Computer programs that may be executed by the computer's CPU.
●
Firmware
– Software that is hardly ever changed.
●
Software of application-specific computers.
●
Permanent low-level software: boot loaders, BIOS, etc.
●
Other “permanent” software (in non-volatile memory).

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Image courtesy of Computer History Museum www.computerhistory.org / wikipedia.org
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zen2_Matisse_Ryzen_7nm_Core_Die_shot.jpg

Brief computer history

Pentium 4 - 2001 (42M tts)

ENIAC - 1946 (18000 valves)

AMD Zen2 chiplet -2019 (3900M tts)

Cell - 2006 (234M tts)
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 Computer generations

Generation Years Technology

Mechanical
Zero 1942 - 1945
Electromechanical

First 1945 - 1955 Vacuum tubes

Second 1955 - 1965 Transistors

Integrated circuits
Third 1965 - 1970
(chips)

VLSI chips
Fourth 1970 - ? Microprocessor
Personal computers
By Kguirnela - Own work, CC BY 3.0 By Christian Taube - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3820451 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1503038

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 Zero Generation (1642-1945)

Abacus (3500 a.c.) Pascaline

●
Calculation need. ●
Blaise Pascal (1642)
●
Still in use today! ●
Addition and substraction.

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Zero Generation (1642-1945)

Difference Engine
●
Charles Babbage (around
1820)
●
Additions and
subtractions.
●
Designed to compute
tables of numbers (eg.
navigation).
●
Not built until 1990!

Image courtesy of Computer History Museum

www.computerhistory.org

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 Image courtesy of Computer History Museum
www.computerhistory.org

Zero Generation (1642-1945)

Analytical Engine.
Charles Babbage (1834)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Babbages_Analytical_Engine,_1834-1871._(9660574685).jpg

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine#/media/File:PunchedCardsAnalyticalEngine.jpg 14
 Zero Generation (1642-1945)
●
Analytical Engine. Charles Babbage (1834)
– First digital computer in history.
– Already has the structure of a modern computer
●
Storage unit
●
Computation unit
●
Input/output devices
– Programmable: general purpose.
– Programmed by punched cards.
●
Ada Augusta Lovelace is the first programmer.
– Not (completely) built yet!

Charles Babbage is considered “the father of the computer”.

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 Zero Generation (1642-1945)

Z1. Konrad Zuse (1936)

– Mechanical programmable calculator.
– Military secret.
– Destroyed during the bombardment of Berlin in WWII (1943).
– Rebuilt in the 80's by the author.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zuse_Z1.jpg
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Zero Generation (1642-1945)

●
Mark I. Howard Aiken
(1944)
– First general purpose
computer in the USA.
– Electro-mechanical
(relays).
– Memory: 72 words of 23
decimal digits.
– Instruction time: 6s
– Military applications

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 First Generation (1945-1955)

COLOSSUS
●
UK (1943)
●
First electronic digital
computer.
●
Military secret until ~1970.
●
Used to decipher Enigma
encoded messages.

A Colossus Mark 2 codebreaking computer being operated by

Dorothy Du Boisson (left) and Elsie Booker (right), 1943
ENIGMA Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica - Universidad de Sevilla
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer#/media/File:Colossus.jpg 18
 First Generation (1945-1955)
●
ENIAC. John Mauchley and J. Presper Eckert (1946)
– Start of the modern history of computing.
– 5000 operations/s.
– 18000 valves, 1500 relays, 30 tons, 140 KW

Image courtesy of Computer History Museum

www.computerhistory.org Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica - Universidad de Sevilla 19
 First Generation (1945-1955)
●
Other first generation computers
– John von Neumann.
●
Modern computer structure.
●
EDSAC. Maurice Wilkes (1949)
●
IAS. von Neumann (1952)
– UNIVAC. Mauchley y Eckert (1951)
●
First commercial computer.
●
Companies and universities start to use computers.
– IBM 701, 704, 709 (1953)
●
General purpose computers.
●
Scientific applications.
●
Commercial success.

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Second Generation (1955-1965)

Invention of the transistor

(1956)
– John Bardeen
– Walter Brattain
– William Shockley.

●
Bell Labs (AT&T)
●
Nobel price in 1956

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 Second Generation (1955-1965)
●
PDP-1. Kenneth Olsen. DEC (1961)
– Firt mini-computer.
– Introduction of the CRT terminal.
– Great commercial success and use at universities.

●
PDP-8. DEC (1965)
– Improved PDP-1: smaller, faster and cheaper.
– Single bus architecture (omnibus).
– Great commercial success: ~50000 units sold.

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Second Generation (1955-1965)

DEC PDP-8 (1965)

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 Second Generation (1955-1965)
●
IBM 7090 y 7094 (1962)
– Transistors version of the IBM 709
– Scientific applications.
– Market leader in the 1960's.
●
IBM 1401 (1961)
– Cheaper, business-oriented version.
●
CDC-6600 (1964)
– First highly-parallel processing machine.
– Ten times faster than IBM 7094.
●
Borrows B5000 (1963)
– First computer designed to be programmed in a high-level programming
language (Algol 60).

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Second Generation (1955-1965)

IBM 7090

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 Third Generation (1965-1970)
●
Use of Integrated Circuits (IC's)
– Tens to thousands transistors in a single chip.
– Faster, smaller and cheaper.
●
IBM System/360 (1964)
– Introduces the concept of Computer Family.
– Compatible units up to the mid 1980's.
●
Models: 370, 4300, 3080 and 3090.
●
DEC PDP-11 (1970)
– Successor of the popular PDP-8.
– Most famous computer in the 1970's.
– Great expansion at universities.
– Linked to the history of C language and the UNIX operating system.

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 Third Generation (1965-1970)
Ken Thompson (sitting) and Dennis Ritchie working together at a PDP-11

Peter Hamer, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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 Third Generation (1965-1970)

IBM 360 Model 20 (1966)

By Ben Franske - DM IBM S360.jpg on en.wiki, CC BY 2.5

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1189162

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 Fourth Generation (1970-?)

Busicom 141-PF
Large Scale of Integration (LSI) Integrated
Circuits
●
Intel 4004 (1971)
– First processor in a single chip
(microprocessor)
●
Intel 8008 (1972)
– First 8-bit processor
●
Intel 8080 (1974)
●
Motorola 6800 (1975)
●
Zilog Z80 (1976)
●
...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Intel_C4004.jpg
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 Fourth Generation (1970-?)
●
Minicomputers sold as kits (1975)
– MITS Altair 8800
●
Microsoft is founded (1975)
– BASIC interpreter for Altair 8800

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altair_8800_Computer.jpg
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 Fourth Generation (1970-?)

Cray-1
●
Cray-1 (1976)
– First supercomputer with vector
architecture.
●
Apple II (1977)
– First successful personal
computer.
●
Intel 8086/8088 (1978)
– 16-bit processors.
– IBM-PC family.
●
Motorola 68000 (1979)
– Apple Macintosh family.

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 Moore's Law

"Integrated Circuit density doubles every 18 months."

(Gordon Moore, 1964)

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Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica - Universidad de Sevilla 33
 Moore's Law

Exercise
Compare the Intel Pentium 4 of 2001 had 42Mttors and the AMD Zen2 chiplet of 2019
has 3900Mttors. Starting with the transistor count of the Pentium 4:
a) At what date (year and month) should we have expected to reach 3900Mttors in a
single chip?
b) What is the expected transistor count achievable in a single chip as of 2019?
c) Does the Zen2 chiplet has the transistor count predicted by the Moore's Law (more or
less)? If not, why is that? (May be more than one reason).

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 Computer families
●
IBM Mainframes
– IBM System/360 (1964-1977)
– IBM System/370 (1970-1990)
– IBM System/390 (1990-2000)
– z/Architecture (2000-...)
●
IBM PC (1982-...)
– Intel 8086/80286/80386/80486/Pentium/Pentium II/III/IV ...
– AMD 8086/80286/80386/80486/K5/K6/K6-II/K7/K8/...
●
Apple Macintosh (1984-...)
– Motorola 68000/20/30/40
– IBM/Motorola PowerPC 601/603/604/G3/G4/G5
– Intel Core Duo ...

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 Computer families. IBM-PC

IBM-PC/XT 5160 (1983) IBM-PC/AT 5170 (1984)

IBM-PC 5150

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ibm_pc_5150.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ibm_px_xt_color.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_PC_AT.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desktop_personal_computer.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:MSI_laptop_with_English_Wikipedia_screenshot_20100614.jpg

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