Introduction to

Computer Architecture

Diane S. Puspos – Arayata

Department of Engineering
Cavite State University – CCAT Campus
Organization and
Architecture
Computer Architecture
Refers to those attributes of a system visible to the programmer
or, put another way, those attributes that have a direct impact on
the logical execution of a program.
Examples are the instruction set, the number of bits used to
represent various data types, I/O mechanisms and memory
addressing techniques.
Organization and
Architecture
Computer Organization
Refers to the operational units and their interconnections that
realize the architectural specifications.
Examples are the control signals, interface between computer
and peripherals and the memory technology being used.
 Structures and Functions
Modern computers contain millions of electronic components. The key to
describing such systems is to recognize their hierarchical nature,
∙ They are set of layers or levels of interrelated subsystems.
∙ Each level consists of a set of components and their inter-relationship.

The behavior of each depends only on a simplified, abstracted

characterization of the system at the next lower level. At each level, the
designer is concerned with:
❖ Structure
The way in which the components are interrelated.
❖ Function
The operation of each individual component as part of the structure
Function
Figure 1 depicts the basic functions that a computer can
performs.

In general terms, there are only four:

∙ Data Processing – computer must be able to process
data
∙ Data Storage – it is also essential that a computer
stores data. Even if the computer is processing data on
the fly
∙ Data Movement – computer must be able to move data
between itself and the outside world.
∙ Control – there must be control of the first 3 functions.
Structure
Figure 2 is the simplest possible depiction of a computer. The
computer interacts in some fashion with its external environment.
In general, all of its linkages to the external environment can be
classified as peripheral devices and communications lines.
Structure
Four structural components of a computer
1. Central Processing Unit (CPU) – Control the operation of the
computer and performs its data processing functions; often
simply referred to as processor.
2. Main Memory – stores data.
3. I/O – moves data between the computer and its external
environment.
4. System interconnection – some mechanism that provides for
communication among CPU, main memory, and I/O. A
common example of system interconnection is by means of a
system bus consisting of a number of conducting wires to
which all the other components attach.
Structure
Main structural components of the CPU
1. Control Unit – Controls the operation of the CPU and
hence the computer.
2. Arithmetic and Logic Unit(ALU) - performs the computer’s
data processing functions
3. Registers – provides storage internal to the CPU
4. CPU interconnection – Some mechanism that provides for
communication among the control unit, ALU, and
registers.
Evolution of Computer System
Generation Approximate Date Technology Typical Speed
(Operation per second)
1 1946-1957 Vacuum Tube 40,000
2 1958-1964 Transistor 200,000
3 1965-1971 Small and 1,000,000
Medium-Scale
integration
4 1972-1977 Large-scale 10,000,000
integration
5 1978- Very-large-scale 100,000,000
integration

Table 1. Computer
Generation
The First Generation: Vacuum Tube
❖ ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator)
Designed and constructed under the supervision of John Mauchly (
a professor of electrical engineering at the University of
Pennsylvenia) & John Presper Eckert (one of his graduate students)
at the University of Pennsylvenia.
It was the world’s first general purpose electronic digital computer.
The project was a response to US wartime needs during the World
War II. In 1943 the Army accepted the proposal and work began on
the ENIAC.
It was a decimal rather than a binary machine. Its memory consisted
of 20 “accumulators” each capable of holding 10-decimal. A ring of
10 vacuum tubes represented each digit.
The major drawback of the ENIAC was that it had to be programmed
manually by setting switches and plugging and unplugging cables.
The ENIAC was completed in 1946.
The machine continued to operate under BRL (Army’s Ballistic
Research Laboratory) until 1955, when it was disassembled.
The First Generation: Vacuum Tube
❖ The von Neumann Machine
In 1946, von Neumann and his colleagues began the design
of a new stored program computer, the IAS computer at the
Princeton Institute for advance studies.
The IAS computer is the prototype of all subsequent
general-purpose computers.
Figure 1 shows the general of the IAS computer. It consist of
the following:
∙ A main memory, which stores data & instructions.
∙ An Arithmetic and Logic (ALU), capable of operating on
binary data.
∙ A Control Unit, which interprets the instructions in
memory and causes them to be executed.
∙ Input and Output (I/O) equipment operated by the control
unit.
The First Generation: Vacuum Tube
❖ The von Neumann Machine
The First Generation: Vacuum Tube
❖ Commercial Computer
A The 1950s saw the birth of the computer industry with two
companies, Sperry and IBM, dominating the market place.
In 1947, Eckert and Mauchly formed Eckert-Mauchly
Computer Corporation to manufacture computer
commercially, their first successful machine was the UNIVAC
I (Universal Automatic Computer).
UNIVAC I was intended for both scientific and commercial
computer.
The UNIVAC II, which had a greater memory capacity and
higher performance than UNIVAC I was delivered in the late
1950s and illustrates several trends that have remained the
characteristics of the computer industry.
The Second Generation: Transistor
The major change in the electronic computer came with the
replacement of the vacuum tube by the transistor.
Transistor is smaller, cheaper and dissipates less heat than a
vacuum tube but can be used in the same way as vacuum tube to
construct computers. Unlike vacuum tubes, which require wires,
metal plates, a glass capsule, and a vacuum, the transistor is a
solid-state device, made from silicon.
The first transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947 and by
1950s had launched an electronic revolution. It was not until the
late 1950s, however, that fully transistorized computers were
commercially available. IBM again was not the first company to
deliver the new technology, NCR and, more successfully, RCA
were front-runners with some small transistor machines.
The Third Generation:
Integrated Circuit (IC)
A single, self-contained transistor is called discrete component,
throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, electronic equipment was
composed largely of discrete components, transistors, resistors,
capacity, and so on.
Discrete components were manufactured separately, packaged
in their own containers, and soldered or wired together onto
masonite-like circuit boards, which were then installed in
computers, oscilloscopes, and other electronic equipment.
1958: Integrated circuit was developed.
The Third Generation:
Integrated Circuit (IC)
❖ Microelectronics
Literally means “small electronics”.
Since the beginnings of digital electronics and the
computer industry, there has been persistent and
consistent trend toward the reduction in size of digital
electronic circuits.
The basic elements of a digital computer, as we know, we
must perform storage, movement, processing and control
functions. Only two fundamental types of components are
required:
1. Gates → is a device that implements a simple Boolean or
logical function, such as IF A AND B ARE TRUE THEN C
IS TRUE(AND GATE), such device is called gates because
they control data flow in much as the same way that
canal gates do.
2. Memory cell → is a device that can store one bit of data;
that is, the device can be in one of two stable states at
any time.
The Third Generation:
Integrated Circuit (IC)
❖ Microelectronics
By interconnecting large numbers of these fundamental
devices, we can construct a computer, we can relate this to our
four basic function as follows:
∙ Data storage: Provide by memory cells
∙ Data processing: provided by the gates
∙ Data movement: the paths between components
are used to move data from memory to memory
and from memory through gates to memory.
∙ Control: the paths between components can carry
control signals.
Later Generation
Beyond the third generation there is less general agreement on
defining generations of computers, Table 1 suggests that there
have been fourth and fifth generation, based on advances in
integrated circuit technology.
With the introduction of Large-Scale Integration (LSI) more than
1000 components can be placed on a single integrated circuit
chip.
Very-large-scale integration (VSLI) achieved more than 10,000
components per chip and current VSLI can contain more than
100,000 components.
Later Generation
❖ Microprocessor
Just as density of elements on memory chips has continued to
rise, so has the density of elements on processor chips. As time
went on, more elements were placed on each hip, so that fewer
and fewer chips were needed to construct a single computer
processor.
A breakthrough was achieved in 1971, when Intel developed its
4004, the first chip to contain all of the components of a CPU on a
single chip: the Microprocessor was born.

❖ Semiconductor memory
The first application of integrated circuit technology to computer
was construction of the processor (the control unit and the
arithmetic and logic unit) out of integrated circuit chips. But it was
also found that this same technology could be used to construct
memories.
Thank you
and
God bless!!!