Computer Architecture Flashcards

Flashcards for Computer Architecture Lecture

Computer Architecture

Design and structure of components in a computer.

Von Neumann Architecture

Processor separate from memory with input and output mechanisms, allowing different programs to run without rewiring.

Bus

Printed, conductive high-speed channels connecting memory, processor, and I/O devices.

Motherboard

Printed circuit board where computer components are soldered.

CPU

Central Processing Unit; the chip that performs calculations and controls the computer's operations.

Control Unit

Manages the flow of data and interaction between components of the CPU.

ALU

Arithmetic Logic Unit; executes arithmetic and logical operations.

Registers

Small, high-speed storage locations within the CPU used to hold data and instructions.

Program Counter (PC)

Register that holds the address of the next instruction to be executed.

Memory Address Register (MAR)

Register that holds the address of the memory location being accessed.

Memory Data Register (MDR)

Register that holds the data being read from or written to memory.

Current Instruction Register (CIR)

Register that holds the current instruction being executed.

Accumulator (ACC)

Register that stores intermediate results of arithmetic and logical operations.

L1 Cache

A small, fast memory cache located within the CPU.

Clock

Crystal oscillator that generates timing signals for CPU operations.

Square Wave

Wave shape produced by clock oscillations, interpreted as highs (1) and lows (0).

Rising Edge

Time taken for a square wave signal to change from low to high, during which next instruction is fetched.

CPU Speed

Number of instruction cycles a CPU can process in one second, measured in Hertz (Hz).

GPU

Graphics Processing Unit; located on the motherboard to allow CPU to be fully used to process instructions.

Rendering

Generating an image from data.

Parallelism

Thousands of processors work on small pieces of rendering simultaneously.

Core

Processing units in a CPU that executes instructions, containing 1 ALU and 1 control unit.

Overclocking

Increasing the clock speed of a processor beyond its rated speed.

Stored Program Concept

Programs/data/instructions are stored separately to the processor but in the same device case.

Cloud Computing

The use of computing resources over the internet.

Public Cloud

One company sets up the cloud and other companies buy the use of sections of that cloud.

Private Cloud

Cloud infrastructure operating exclusively for one company.

Multi Cloud

Infrastructure from multiple public clouds.

Hybrid Cloud

Company uses a public cloud for some things and sets up its own private cloud.

Instruction Set

Complete set of instructions that program a processor at chip level.

Low Level Language

Machine dependent language with direct access to memory locations in a processor.

Machine Code

Binary instructions in the instruction set that a computer can directly execute.

Assembly Code

Mnemonics that represent each machine code instruction; needs to be translated by assembler.

Byte Code

Intermediate code (partially compiled) between the source and machine code; platform independent.

High Level Language

User friendly programming language abstraction (e.g., Java, Python).

Translator

Translates source code into machine code so it can be directly executed by a processor