Introduction to Computer

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of

instructions stored in its own memory that can accept data (input), process
the data according to specified rules, produce information (output), and
store the information for future use.

Types of Computers

There are four types of computer:

1. Microcomputers - Personal Computers

Microcomputers sit on, beside or under a desk. They process data

quickly and are designed for one user. The cost is relatively low, depending
on the type, model and features. These computers are found in small
businesses, schools and homes. The size of the components that can be
used in or with a computer have decreased significantly as well as
becoming more cost effective, There are many different types of programs
that can be used with a microcomputer, there are generally two types of
microcomputers: the PC (personal computer) based on the original IBM
machine, or the Macintosh designed by Apple.

Microsoft Office is available for both the PC and Apple machines. The
software works exactly the same on either machine. The majority of
companies use PCs to handle their work requirements. This may primarily
be due to the wide variety of software programs available to the PC
machine and the relative lower cost of a PC as compared to an Apple
machine.
 2. Supercomputer

A supercomputer is considered to be the fastest type of computer

available. It is very expensive due to the amount of information that needs
to be processed on a daily basis. The first supercomputer was created in
1958 with tremendous advancement in technology over the past years.
Supercomputers generally have specialized software programs installed
and are typically used for scientific and engineering tasks such as
forecasting weather, nuclear energy research, resource exploration, or
animation. Supercomputers put all its power into running and performing
calculations on a few programs as quickly as it can. Typically, it can handle
very large databases and perform a huge number of calculations very
quickly.

3. Mainframe computers

Mainframe computers are large enough to fill an entire room and require a
large capital investment. They can simultaneously handle hundreds of
different programs and users without sacrificing performance. They
process large volumes of data at an incredible speed. Mainframes are
commonly found in government agencies or large organizations, e.g.,
telephone companies, credit card companies, airlines, or universities. For
instance, you access a mainframe computer whenever you use your
bankcard at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Mainframe computers
can sometimes be called centralized systems as they control the flow of
data to and from computers or terminals.

4. Minicomputers

Minicomputers can fill part of a room, and often cost tens of thousands of
dollars. They process data at a slower rate and in smaller volumes than the
mainframe computers. Several people can use a minicomputer
 simultaneously; but as the number of users increases, each user would
notice a reduction in speed. Minicomputers are commonly found in
medium-sized manufacturing companies, legal or accounting firms, and
department store where the scanners in a grocery store would link to a
minicomputer.
Three basic characteristics differentiate MP:
1. Instruction set : the set of instruction that the Mp can execute.
2. Band width : the number of bits processed in single instruction .
3. Clock speed : given in mega hertz (MHz) the clock speed determines how
many instructions per second the processor can execute.
Computer Components
Any kind of computers consists of Software and Hardware:
 Software
Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and
instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that
provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and
application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.

 Hardware:
Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements that constitutes
a computer system. Computer hardware refers to the physical parts or
components of a computer such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc. all
of which are physical objects that can be touched.

Basic Blocks of a microcomputer

All microcomputers consist of (at least):
1. Microprocessor Unit (MPU) MPU is the brain of microcomputer
2. Program Memory (ROM)
3. Data Memory (RAM)
4. Input / Output ports
5. Bus System
 RAM:
Random Access Memory (RAM): is a memory scheme within the
computer system responsible for storing data on a temporary basis, so that
it can be promptly accessed by the processor as and when needed. It is
volatile in nature, which means that data will be erased once supply to the
storage device is turned off. RAM stores data randomly and the processor
accesses these data randomly from the RAM storage. RAM is considered
"random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you
know the row and column that intersect at that cell.

ROM:

Read Only Memory (ROM): is a permanent form of storage. ROM stays

active regardless of whether power supply to it is turned on or off. ROM
devices do not allow data stored on them to be modified.

Input Devices:
Input device is any peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment to
provide data and control signals to an information processing system such
as a computer or other information appliance.
Input device Translate data from form that humans understand to one that
the computer can work with. Most common are keyboard and mouse.

Output devices
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to
communicate the results of data processing carried out by an information
processing system (such as a computer) which converts the electronically
generated information into human-readable form.
 Bus System

 A Bus is a common communications pathway used to carry

information between the various elements of a computer system
 The term BUS refers to a group of wires or conduction tracks on
a printed circuit board (PCB) though which binary information
is transferred from one part of the microcomputer to another
 The individual subsystems of the digital computer are connected
through an interconnecting BUS system.

There are three main bus groups:

 Address Bus
 Data Bus
 Control Bus

Address Bus: The address bus consists of 16, 20, 24, or more parallel
signal lines(unidirectional). On these lines the CPU sends out the address
of the memory location that is to be written to or read from. The number
of address lines determines the number of memory locations that the CPU
can address. If the CPU has N address lines then it can directly address 2 N
memory locations.
 Data Bus: The data bus consists of 8, 16, 32 or more parallel signal
lines (bidirectional). As indicated by the double-ended arrows on the
data bus line, the data bus lines are bi-directional. This means that the
CPU can read data in on these
lines from memory or from a port as well as send data out on these lines
to memory location or to a port. Many devices in a system will have
their outputs connected to the data bus, but the outputs of only one
device at a time will be enabled.

Control Bus: The control bus consists of 4-10 parallel signal lines. The
CPU sends out signals on the control bus to enable the outputs of
addressed memory devices or port devices. Typical control bus signals
are memory read, memory write, I/O read, and I/O writer. To read a byte
of data from a memory location, for example, the CPU sends out the
address of the desired byte on the address bus and then sends out a
memory read signal on the control bus.

Bit: is a binary digit that can have the value (0) or(1) .

Byte: is defined as 8-bit.

Nibble: is a half byte or 4-bit.

Word: is a two bytes ,or 16 bit.

Kilo byte: is (210) bytes = 1024 bytes.

Mega byte: is (220) bytes=1048576.

Giga byte: is (230) bytes

The total number of memory location addressable by given:

CPU =2X
X = number of address bit.
210 = 1024 =1k
211 = 2k
212 = 4k

8085 :

Know as no pipelined

Fetch1 Exec1 Fetch2 Exec2

8086 :

Pipelining: It is the fetching the next instruction while the current

Instruction is under execution.

Fetch1 Exec1
Fetch2 Exec2
Fetch3 Exec3
 The Difference between 8085 and 8086 Mp

8085 8086
8-bit Mp Data bus 16-bit Mp Data bus
16-bit address bus 20-bit address bus
Clock speed 3MHz Clock speed 5,8,10 MHz
Has 5 flags Has 9 flags
Not support pipeline support pipeline
Not support memory segmentation support memory segmentation
Has 6500 Tr Has 29000 Tr
64 KB Memory used 1MB Memory used