Computer Processing

Laptop Desktop

Computer Hardware (HW)

• You can TOUCH it• Can be in the Tower

or Case

• Can be a peripheralHW separate but connected to the computer

Processing

• CPUCentral Processing Unit

Brain of Computer

• Instructions in binary code• Computers process very rapidly• Multiple processors

Dual core

Quad core

Processing

• Computer Processes Data• Instructions are written in binary code• Computers process data very rapidly• The number of processors will

increase the speed of processing

What Impacts Performance?

• RAM size & speed• Processor speed and number

of processors• Hard disk speed and size

Motherboard – Connects Everything

• CPU• Storage• Ports– USB is the fastest– Serial moves data bit by bit– Ethernet port allows connection

to a network

Motherboard

• Connects peripherals

• Where the memory & CPU are located

Processing

• The CPU and RAM work together to process data

• The Operating System controls all processing

• Popular Operating Systems (OS) today– Microsoft Windows– Apple MAC OS

Operating Systems Roles

• Manage Peripherals• Manage Data• Manage RAM

• Store data• Use programs

• Manage data processing• Do many things at a time

• Manage User interface

Storage

• Primary ROM used at startup

RAM used during processing

• SecondaryPermanent

Primary Storage

• ROMRead only memory

Used at startup of the computer

Never changes

• RAMRandom Access Memory

Lost when computer is turned off

Secondary Storage

• PermanentCan be accessed over and over

Hard drive

Portable storage

Cloud

Secondary Storage

• Hard driveInside the “case” or “tower”

Stores the OS (operating system software), programs and files

Secondary Storage

• Common Portable storageFloppy – obsolete

Flash drive

SD card

CD/DVD

Software

• Is used during the processing stage• Developed for a specific purpose• Tells a computer what to do with data

and how to do it• Written by programmers using

programming language

2 Software Types

• Operating System software– OS Tells the hardware devices how to work

together– Utility software fixes problems between

the OS and the hardware

• Application Software– Designed for specific type of task– Can be custom or “out of the box”

Software Application Types

• Productivity–MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint,

Access

• Graphics– Paint, drawing apps, photo editing

• Communications– Email & internet

• Entertainment, home & education, other

Writing Software

• Programmers write software using special languages

• ASCII and Unicode are 2 languages that have predefined codes to represent letters, numbers and basic commands– ASCII is based on 8 bits per code– Unicode is based on 16 bits per code

Software Compatibility

• For years compatibility was an issue between MAC and Windows

• Today many programs are written for both MAC OS and Windows – This allows users of both OS to share files

and work together more easily