CHAPTER 1 COMPUTER SYSTEM ORGANIZATION

Introduction

Computers are seen everywhere around us, in all spheres of life. May it be the field
of education and research, travel and tourism, weather forecasting, social
networking, ecommerce or any other, computers have now become an indispensable
part of our lives. The manner, in which computers have revolutionised our lives
because of their accuracy and speed of performing a job, is truly remarkable. Today
no organization can function without a computer. In fact various organizations are
trying to become paper free owing to benefits of computers. But the computers of
today have evolved over the years from a simple calculating device to the portable
high speed computers that we see today.

What is Computer?

Compute + tor
Compute= Calculation
Tor = to perform

Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the
user and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called
program) and gives the result (output) and saves output for the future use. It can
process both numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.

A computer has four functions

a. accepts data Input

b. processes data Processing

c. produces output Output

d. stores results Storage

Input (Data):
Input is the raw information entered into a computer from the input devices. It is the
collection of letters, numbers, images etc.
Process:
Process is the operation of data as per given instruction. It is totally internal process
of the computer system.

Output:
Output is the processed data given by computer after data processing. Output is also
called as Result. We can save these results in the storage devices for the future use.

Basic computer organisation

Computer organization is concerned with how the various components of computer

hardware operate and they are interconnected to implement the architectural
specification.
Let’s discuss various components of computer organization.

All of the components of a computer system can be summarized with the simple
equations.
COMPUTER SYSTEM = HARDWARE + SOFTWARE+ USER

• Hardware = Internal Devices + Peripheral Devices

All physical parts of the computer, tangible parts (components that we can touch
and feel) are known as Hardware.

• Software = Programs which help to run the system, and to work upon them.
Software gives “intelligence” to the computer.

• USER = Person, who operates computer.

Generation of computer:

First Generation (1940-56):

The first generation computers used vaccum tubes & machine language was used for
giving the instructions. These computer were large in size & their programming was
difficult task. The electricity consumption was very high. Some computers of this
generation are ENIAC, EDVAC, EDSAC & UNIVAC-1.
Second Generation(1956-63):
In 2nd generation computers, vaccum tubes were replaced by transistors. They
required only 1/10 of power required by tubes. This generation computers
generated less heat & were reliable. The first operating system developed in this
generation.

The Third Generation(1964-71):

The 3rd generation computers replaced transistors with Integrated circuit known as
chip. From Small scale integrated circuits which had 10 transistors per chip,
technology developed to MSI circuits with 100 transistors per chip. These computers
were smaller, faster & more reliable. High level languages invented in this
generation.

The fourth Generation(1972- present):

LSI & VLSI were used in this generation. As a result microprocessors came into
existence. The computers using this technology known to be Micro Computers. High
capacity hard disk were invented. There is great development in data
communication.

The Fifth Generation (Present & Beyond):

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in
development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are
being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to
make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and
nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come.

ARCHITECTURE OF COMPUTER
Input Devices: Those devices which help to enter data into computer system. Eg.
Keyboard, Mouse, Touchscreen, Barcode Reader, Scanner, MICR, OMR etc. These
devices are not only used to enter data but they serve another important function
also, that is they convert the entered data into machine language (binary form).

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

Once the information is entered into the computer by the input device, the processor
processes it. The CPU is called the brain of the computer because it is the control
centre of the computer. As the CPU is located on a small chip, it is also called the
microprocessor. It first fetches instructions from memory and then interprets them
so as to know what is to be done. If required, data is fetched from memory or input
device. Thereafter CPU executes or performs the required computation and then
either stores the output or displays on the output device. The CPU has three main
components which are responsible for different functions – Arithmetic Logic Unit
(ALU) , Control Unit (CU) and Memory registers.

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

The ALU, as its name suggests performs mathematical calculations and takes logical
decisions. Arithmetic calculations include addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division. Logical decisions involve comparison of two data items to see which one is
larger or smaller or equal.
Control Unit
The Control unit coordinates and controls the data flow in and out of CPU and also
controls all the operations of ALU, memory registers and also input/output units. It
is also responsible for carrying out all the instructions stored in the program. It
decodes the fetched instruction, interprets (understands) it and sends control signals
to input/output devices until the required operation is done properly by ALU and
memory.

CU functions are as follows:

 Controls sequential instruction execution
 Interprets instructions
 Guides data flow through different computer areas
 Regulates and controls processor timing
 Sends and receives control signals from other computer devices
 Handles multiple tasks, such as fetching, decoding, execution handling and
storing
 results

Memory Registers
A register is a temporary unit of memory in the CPU. These receive data/
information and then this data/information is held in them as per the requirement.
Registers can be of different sizes(16 bit , 32 bit , 64 bit and so on) and each register
inside the CPU has a specific function like storing data, storing an instruction,
storing address of a location in memory etc. The user registers can be used by an
assembly language programmer for storing operands, intermediate results etc.
Accumulator (ACC) is the main register in the ALU and contains one of the
operands of an operation to be performed in the ALU.

Memory-
It facilitates the remembrance power to computer system. It refers to the physical

devices used to store programs (sequences of instructions) or data (e.g. program

state information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other
digital electronic device. The term primary memory is used for the information in
physical systems which are fast (i.e. RAM), as a distinction from secondary memory,

which are physical devices for program and data storage which are slow to access
but offer higher memory capacity. Primary memory stored on secondary memory is

called virtual memory. Primary Memory can be categorized as Volatile Memory &
Non-Volatile Memory.
Memory Registers
A register is a temporary unit of memory in the CPU. These receive data/ information
and then this data/information is held in them as per the requirement. Registers can
be of different sizes(16 bit , 32 bit , 64 bit and so on) and each register inside the
CPU has a specific function like storing data, storing an instruction, storing address
of a location in memory etc. The user registers can be used by an assembly
language programmer for storing operands, intermediate results etc. Accumulator
(ACC) is the main register in the ALU and contains one of the operands of an
operation to be performed in the ALU.

MEMORY
It facilitates the remembrance power to computer system. It refers to the physical
devices used to store programs (sequences of instructions) or data (e.g. program
state information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other
digital electronic device. The term primary memory is used for the information in
physical systems which are fast (i.e. RAM), as a distinction from secondary memory,
which are physical devices for program and data storage which are slow to access
but offer higher memory capacity. Primary memory stored on secondary memory is
called virtual memory. Primary Memory can be categorized as Volatile Memory &
Non-Volatile Memory.

Memories are made up of registers. Each register in the memory is one storage
location. Storage location is also called as memory location. Memory locations are
identified using Address. The total number of bit a memory can store is its capacity.
A storage element is called a Cell. Each register is made up of storage element in
which one bit of data is stored. The data in a memory are stored and retrieved by the
process called writing and reading respectively.
Memory unit is the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit. This
storage capacity is expressed in terms of Bytes.
The following table explains the main memory storage units −

S.No. Unit & Description

1 Bit (Binary Digit)

A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or an active state of a component in an
electric circuit.

Nibble
2
A group of 4 bits is called nibble.

Byte
3 A group of 8 bits is called byte. A byte is the smallest unit, which can represent a data item or a
character.

Word
A computer word, like a byte, is a group of fixed number of bits processed as a unit, which
4 varies from computer to computer but is fixed for each computer.
The length of a computer word is called word-size or word length. It may be as small as 8 bits
or may be as long as 96 bits. A computer stores the information in the form of computer words.

Units of Memory:
The smallest unit is bit, which mean either 0 or 1.
1 bit = 0 or 1
1 Byte = 8 bit
1 Nibble = 4 bit
1 Kilo Byte = 1024 Byte= 210 Byte
1 Mega Byte = 1024 KB= 210 KB
1 Gega Byte = 1024 MB= 210 MB
1 Tera Byte = 1024 GB= 210 GB
1 Peta Byte =1024 TB= 210 TB
1 Exa Byte =1024 PB= 210 PB
1 Zetta Byte = 1024 EB= 210 EB
1 Yotta Byte = 1024 ZB= 210 ZB

MEMORY Types: System memory are generally categorised as Primary and

Secondary. The Primary memory, includes RAM and ROM. It is also termed as
internal memory or main memory because it is an integral part of the computer
system architecture. Secondary memory includes all the storage devices that may be
attached to the system as per requirement, like Hard disk, CD, DVD, pen drive etc.
The secondary memory is also termed as external memory, as it is attached
externally as per requirement.

PRIMARY MEMORY
The main features of primary memory, which distinguish it from secondary memory
are −
• It is accessed directly by the processor
• It is the fastest memory available
• Each word is stored as well as
It is volatile, i.e. its contents are lost once power is switched off
As primary memory is expensive, technologies are developed to optimize its use.
These are broad types of primary memory available.

.
Volatile/Internal Memory(RAM)
(Random Access Memory)
Volatile memory is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored
information.
RAM, or random access memory, consists of one or more memory modules that
temporarily store data while a computer is running. RAM is volatile memory, meaning
it is erased when the power is turned off. Therefore, each time you start up your
computer, the operating system must be loaded from secondary memory (such as
a hard drive) into the primary memory, or RAM. Similarly, whenever you launch
an application on your computer, it is loaded into RAM.
The operating system and applications are loaded into primary memory, since RAM
can be accessed much faster than storage devices. In fact, the data can be
transferred between CPU and RAM more than a hundred times faster than between
the CPU and the hard drive. By loading data into RAM, programs can run
significantly faster and are much more responsive than if than constantly accessed
data from secondary memory.
Most modern semiconductor volatile memory is either Static RAM or dynamic RAM.
All data or program we need to work upon needs first to be loaded onto RAM.
DRAM (Dynamic RAM)
Each memory cell in a DRAM is made of one transistor and one capacitor, which
store one bit of data. However, this cell starts losing its charge and hence data
stored might get lost. So it needs to be refreshed thousand times a second, which
takes up processor time. However, due to small size of each cell, one DRAM can
have large number of cells. Primary memory of most of the personal computers is
made of DRAM.
SRAM (SRAM)
Each cell in SRAM is made of a flip flop that stores one bit. It retains its bit till the
power supply is on and doesn’t need to be refreshed like DRAM. It also has shorter
read-write cycles as compared to DRAM. SRAM is used in specialized applications.

ROM
ROM stands for Read Only Memory. As the name suggests, ROM can only be read
by the processor. New data cannot be written into ROM. Data to be stored into ROM
is written during the manufacturing phase itself. They contain data that does not
need to be altered, like booting sequence of a computer or algorithmic tables for
mathematical applications. ROM is slower and hence cheaper than RAM. It retains
its data even when power is switched off, i.e. it is non-volatile. ROM cannot be
altered the way RAM can be but technologies are available to program these types
of ROMs
• PROM(Programmable Read Only Memory): PROM stands for programmable
ROM. It can be programmed only be done once and read many. Unlike RAM,
PROMs retain their contents without the flow of electricity. PROM is also non volatile
memory. The significant difference between a ROM and a PROM is that a ROM
comes with pre-written by the computer manufacturer whereas PROM manufactured
as blank memory. PROM can be programmed by PROM burner and by blowing
internal fuses permanently
EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory): EPROM is pronounced
ee-prom. This memory type retains its contents until it exposed to intense ultraviolet
light that clears its contents, making it possible to reprogram the memory. Also
termed as UVEPROM
• EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory): EEPROM
can be burned (programmed) and erased by first electrical waves in a millisecond. A
single byte of a data or the entire contents of device can be erased. To write or erase
this memory type, you need a device called a PROM burner.
However, handling electric signals is easier and safer than UV rays.

Cache Memory: (CASH)

The Cache Memory (Pronounced as "cash") is the volatile computer memory which
is very nearest to the CPU so also called CPU memory, all the Recent Instructions
are Stored into the Cache Memory. It is the fastest memory that provides high-speed
data access to a computer microprocessor. Cache meaning is that it is used for
storing the input which is given by the user and which is necessary for the computer
microprocessor to perform a Task. But the Capacity of the Cache Memory is too low
in compare to Memory (random access memory (RAM)) and Hard Disk
Cache memory improves the speed of the CPU, but it is expensive. Type of Cache
Memory is divided into different level that are L1,L2,L3:

The L1 and L2 cache are embedded register in the computer microprocessor (CPU).
The Instructions that are required by the CPU that are firstly searched in L1 Cache,
then in L2. L3 is usually a separate static RAM (SRAM) chip.