CIS 1 Lecture Notes. Chapter 1 What is a computer?

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1 CIS 1 Lecture Notes Chapter 1 What is a computer? 1

2 The User s View of a Computer System Application Software Operating System Software CPU & other Hardware 2

3 The User s View 3

4 What is a computer? A computer is an electromechanical device which can be programmed to change (process) information from one form to another. Electromechanical - It runs on electricity and it has mechanical components. 4

5 The computer system A computer system includes: 1. Hardware - the physical components which make up a computer system 2. Software (or programs) - the instructions that tell the computer what to do 5

6 The components of a computer system Hardware Components the system unit the processor memory permanent storage devices input devices output devices Software Components system software including operating system software application software development software 6

7 The Hardware Components of a Computer System INPUT SYSTEM UNIT OUTPUT PERMANENT STORAGE 7

8 Examples of Hardware Components Input Processing Output Storage 8

9 Examples of Hardware Components 9

10 Some Simple Definitions application software - software which lets the user accomplish a specific task like word processing, spreadsheets, or drawing pictures. 10

11 system software - software manages, controls, and maintains the computer operating system software - system software which manages the overall operation of the computer system such as: Windows 95/98 Macintosh OS NeXT Linux Windows 2000 OS/2 Windows NT Be Windows ME IRIX Windows XP UNIX Solaris 11

12 Operating System Software 12

13 Application Software 13

14 Types of computers 1. General Purpose Computers 2. Special Purpose or Dedicated Computers 3. Embedded Computers 14

15 1. General Purpose Computers - computers in which the user can modify the computer system, by adding additional hardware and especially software, in order to accomplish a variety of tasks examples: supercomputers, workstations and microcomputers (PCs and Macs) 15

16 2. Special Purpose or Dedicated Computers - complete computer systems, with a specific purpose and perform only the task for which they were designed examples: Game systems such as Sony Playstation, information kiosks 16

17 3. Embedded Computers - computers which are found inside consumer goods in order to enhance them examples: VCR, Cell Phone 17

18 Categorizing computers by size and function 1. Supercomputer 2. Server 3. Workstation 4. Personal Computer (Microcomputer) 5. Terminal or Computing Appliance Some older terms: Mainframe, Minicomputer, Microcomputer 18

19 Supercomputers IBM BlueHorizion Supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (at the University of California, San Diego) is the 52nd most powerful computer in the world. (and one of the 10 most powerful in a University) 19

As of Jan 2003, #4 in world built by IBM (at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) 1,000 times faster than Deep Blue It s the size of two basketball courts 8,192 copper processors 6.

20 As of Jan 2003, #4 in world built by IBM (at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) 1,000 times faster than Deep Blue It s the size of two basketball courts 8,192 copper processors 6.2 terrabytes of memory 12.3 trillion calculations/second (teraflops) (translation: In one second it can solve what a human being with a calculator would take 10 million years) about 1/5 the speed of current #1 20

21 Server A Server is a machine that is designed to provide services for many people. Because it is typically more powerful than a desktop computer (in order to efficiently serve all of its clients), the term server has become synonymous with a powerful computer. Dell PowerEdge 6650 Server (from $5,499) up to 4 processors 512MB to 32GB RAM 365GB or more storage (this is not their top of the line product) 21

Workstation - A general-purpose computer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer,

22 Workstation - A general-purpose computer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry out several tasks at the same time. HP AlphaStation ES40 ($15,000) 4 64 bit processors 32GB RAM 22

23 Personal Computer A general-purpose single-user computer designed to be operated by one person at a time. 23

24 terminal (or Computing Appliance) a minimal computer with a connection to another computer s processor, storage and other devices. WebTV appliance This one from RCA has a msrp of $99.00 hooks up to your TV and phone line 24

Parts of the Computer System. Parts of the Computer System. Parts of the Computer System. Essential Computer Hardware. Information Processing Cycle

Parts of the Computer System. Parts of the Computer System. Parts of the Computer System. Essential Computer Hardware. Information Processing Cycle Looking Inside the Computer System NOS 116, 118, 218, 222 Handout 10 Hardware & Software Computer systems have four parts Hardware Software Data User 1 1B-2 Hardware Mechanical devices in the computer