Chapter 5 Vocab

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60 Terms

1

address space

The maximum amount of memory that a computer can physically hold; determined by the size of the address field

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2

Arithmetic Logic Unit

computer subsystem that performs mathematical and logical operations such as addition, subtraction, and comparison for equality

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3

bus

(1) a path for electrical signals; (2) LAN topology in which all nodes are connected to a single shared communication line

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4

cache hit rate

The percentage of the time that the information needed is in cache memory

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5

cache memory

A high-speed memory unit that keeps a copy of memory cells with a high likelihood of access in the near future

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6

Central Processing Unit

The part of the computer consisting of the control unit and the ALU

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7

CISC machine

Complex Instruction Set Computer; a machine that has a very large and complex instruction set

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8

cluster computing

independent systems, such as mainframes, desktops, or laptops, are interconnected by a local area network (LAN) like the Ethernet or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet; also called MIMD parallel processing

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9

Computer Organization

the branch of computer science that studies computers in terms of their major functional units and how they work

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10

control unit

The computer subsystem that fetches and executes instructions stored in the memory of the computer

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11

data path

The ALU circuits, registers, and interconnections between components

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12

destructive store

When you store a new value in a memory cell and destroy its previous contents

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13

direct access storage devices

A mass storage device in which each unit of information is associated with a unique address, but the time to access each piece of information may not be the same

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14

fetch/store controller

The component that determines whether a value will be placed into memory or copied from memory

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15

functional units

Subunits of a computer that perform tasks such as instruction processing, information storage, computation, and data transfer

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16

grid computing

A MIMD model in which the individual processors can be computer systems belonging to a wide range of groups or individuals

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17

Hierarchy of Abstractions

A series of abstractions, each one more detailed and each one showing lower level components of a system

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18

I/O controller

A special-purpose device that controls the operations of an input/output device

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19

input/output

The devices that allow a computer system to communicate and interact with the outside world, as well as to store information

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20

instruction register

The register that holds a copy of the instruction to be executed

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21

instruction set

set of all operations that can be executed by a processor

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22

interrupt signal

A signal sent by the I/O controller to the CPU to let it know that it has completed an I/O operation

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23

latency

The time required to rotate the disk to the beginning of the desired sector

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24

level of abstraction

An alternate perspective or a different way to view a system

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25

machine language

The programming language that a processor is able to directly understand and execute; written in binary

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26

mass storage systems

Systems or devices where information is kept for long periods of time and not lost when the computer is not being used

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27

memory

Th functional unit of a computer that stores and retrieves instructions and data being executed

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28

memory access time

The time it takes to fetch or store the contents of a single memory cell

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29

memory address

The unique numeric identifier for a memory cell

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30

Memory Address Register

The memory register that holds the address of the cell to be fetched from or stored into

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31

memory cell

The minimum unit of memory access

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32

Memory Data Register

The memory register that holds the data value to be stored or the data value that was just fetched

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33

memory width

The number of bits in a single memory cell

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34

MIMD parallel processing

multiple instruction stream/multiple data stream; a parallel processing model in which multiple processors all work independently on their own program to solve a single problem; also called cluster computing

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35

nanosecond

one billionth of a second

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36

non-destructive fetch

When you access the contents of a memory cell and copy it, but do not destroy it

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37

Non-Von Neumann architecture

Computer designs based on models other than the standard Von Neumann architecture

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38

nonvolatile memory

Memory that does not lose its contents even when the power is turned off

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39

parallel algorithms

Algorithms that exploit the presence of multiple processors to solve a single problem

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40

parallel processing

Building computers with two or more processors that work in parallel

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41

principle of locality

When you access a memory cell, it is likely that you will also access memory cells nearby very soon

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42

processor

A system that is composed of the ALU together with the control unit

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43

program counter

A register that holds the address of the next instruction to be executed

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44

quantum computing

A field of computer design using the principles of quantum mechanics in which a single bit of information can be not just a 0 or a 1 but in both states at the same time.

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45

Random Access Memory

A memory structure in which each cell has an address and it takes the same amount of time to fetch or store any cell

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46

read-only memory

A memory structure that can only be accessed, not written into or changed

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47

register

A special, high-speed storage cell

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48

RISC Machine

Reduced Instruction Set Computer; a machine that has a very small and simple instruction set, but where each instruction is highly optimized and executes very quickly

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49

sector

A disk storage unit containing an address, a data block, and a fixed number of bytes; sectors are arranged in concentric tracks on a disk

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50

seek time

The time required to move the read/write head to the correct track

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51

sequential access storage device

A mass storage device in which information is located by sequentially searching all the information that is stored

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52

sequential execution

One instruction at a time is fetched from memory to the control unit, where it is decoded and executed

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53

SIMD parallel processing

single instruction stream/multiple data stream; a parallel processing model in which multiple processors all execute the same instruction on their own local data

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54

stored program

The instructions to be executed by the computer are represented as binary values and stored in memory

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55

track

A single concentric circle of information on a disk

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56

transfer time

The time required to read the desired sector into main memory.

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57

vector

an ordered collection of values

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58

volatile memory

Memory that loses its contents when the power is turned off

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59

Von Neumann Architecture

The computational model designed by John Von Neumann and first implemented in the EDSAC computer of 1947; the structure and organization of virtually all modern computers

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60

Von Neumann bottleneck

The inability of sequential, one-at-a-time processors to handle extremely large problems in a reasonable time scale

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