Computer assignment

• What are the different types of memories?

• The primary storage also known as main memory, is used

to hold pieces of program instructions and data,
intermediate results of processing and recently produced
results of processing of the job, which the computer
system is currently working on. The information can be
access directly at a very high speed by CPU. It’s a volatile
memory and very expensive. The
secondary storage known as auxiliary storage, is used to
take care of the limitations of the primary storage. This is
used to supplement the limited storage capacity and the
volatile characteristics of primary storage. It’s a
nonvolatile and cheaper than primary storage. It is
normally used to hold the program instruction, data for
later processing.

• How does the speed of a computer depend on primary

memory? Elaborate with flow chart.

• The CPU and main memory are contained in separate

chips in most computers. Obviously this memory would be
very large and high in speed. It is also very expensive. The
primary storage is used to hold pieces of program
instructions and data, intermediate results of processing
and recently produced results of processing of the job,
which the computer system is currently working on. The
information can be access directly at a very High speed by
CPU
• Draw basic architecture of computer and explain function
of each component.

Input unit:

It accepts the instructions and data from the outside world. It

converts these instructions and data in computer acceptable
form. It supplies the converted instructions and data to the
computer system for further processing
 Output unit:

It accepts results produced by the computer, which are in

coded form, and hence, cannot supply the converted results
to the outside world. It can be easily understood by us. It
converts these coded results to human acceptable form.

Storage unit:

The data and instructions required for

processing.Intermediate results of processing. Final results of
processing, before these results are released to an output
device.

• Write short notes on technologies used in each

generation.

First generation:

These machines were built by using thousands of vaccum

tubes. These could perform computations in milliseconds. The
memory of these computers was constructed using
electromagnetic relays and all data and instructions were fed
into the system from punched cards. The instructions were
written in machine and assembly languages.

Second Generation:

A new electronic device, called transistor replaced vacuum

tubes due to their following properties: They were more
rugged and easier to handle than tubes, since they were made
of germanium semiconductor material rather than glass. They
were highly reliable as compared to tubes, since they had no
part like filament, which could burn out. They are much faster
almost ten times than tubes.

Third Generation:

In 1958, Jack St. Clair Kilby and Robert Noyce invented the first
integrated circuit. Integrated circuits called ICs are circuits
consisting of several electronic components like transistors,
resistors and capacitors grown on a single chip of silicon,
eliminating wired interconnection between components. The IC
technology was also known as “microelectronics” technology
because it made it possible to integate larger number of circuit
components into very small surface of silicon, known as “chip”

Fourth Generation:

This era was known as large scale integration (LSI) cause it was
possible to integrate over 30,000 electronic components on a
single chip. This was followed by VLSI, wherein it was possible
to integrate over one million electronic components on a single
chip.

Fifth Generation:

In this era, the VLSI technology became ULSI. ULSI made it

possible to produce microprocessor chips having ten million
electronic components. The speed of microprocessor and the
size of main memory and hard disk doubled.