HIT191 > IT concepts: Architectures
Architectures

Having looked at the components that make up a computer, it is now time to look at how all the components work together.


Develop your Skills - Architectures

Rate your skills: This is the most technical of the topics in this unit and we recommend that you work through the content. The topic is relatively short and if you are reasonably confident with the content it will not take you long.


Skills
Understanding how the various components within your computer work together will provide you with some basic diagnostic skills. Without this, you will be powerless when things go wrong with your PC. Furthering this basic understanding will also help you to get more out of your PC.

The following reading A Traditional Architecture discusses how the components work together to run a simple application such as a word processor. As you read this article, think about how you could use this informtion to diagnose why your computer may crash when using a word application.


TASK: Closing the application

  1. Continuing the example from the reading, detail the steps that occur when the user decides to exit the word processing package.
  2. Remember to start with the user typing or clicking on the Exit command.
  3. Do you think the program code needs tobe copied back from memory to the hard disk?
  4. What about a file that the user has been updating?


http://www.kids-online.net/learn/click/table.html
Kids Online -
Click and Learn

Now that you understand the theory, find out what's inside the computer in the online interactive site opposite.


Tips & tricks icon Tips & Tricks

Typical architecture

What was described in the last reading is a typical architecture for a small to medium computer. However while all the principles are correct, the personal computer world in particular is full of exceptions.

In the early eighties when personal computers were fist widely produced, space, memory and speed were all at a premium. Lots of short cuts were developed to squeeze the maximum performance out of machines. This resulted in all sorts of atypical architectures and fixes that continue today.


Putting it to work: How a computer works

In this topic, you have learned how the basic architecture of a computer works. To extend your understanding, try some of the following activities:

How computers work?
Choose one of the following resources below, and work through it to reinforce your understanding of how your PC processes your commands:


http://www.infosyssec.org/infosyssec/comphard.htm
Computer
Hardware

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/
How stuff works

http://www.pcguide.com/intro/index.htm
PCGuide
  • Computer Hardware-Learn all the Basics
    [http://www.infosyssec.org/infosyssec/
    comphard.htm    ]: A comprehensive and well-written site. While this site provides more detail than you will need for this topic it also provides a good introduction.
  • How stuff works "Computer Channel"
    [http://computer.howstuffworks.com/]: Another good introduction site. You will need to scroll quite a long way down the page to skip the ads and find the actual content.
  • PCGuide - Introduction to the PC
    [http://www.pcguide.com/intro/index.htm]:
    A short guide to how the computer works. Also includes a more extensive reference guide.

http://www.webopedia.com
Webopedia

http://whatis.techtarget.com
Whatis.com

http://www.netlingo.com/inframes.cfm
Net Lingo
Different computer types
Distinguish between the following computer types in terms of capacity, speed, cost and typical users.
  1. super computer
  2. mainframe computer
  3. minicomputer
  4. personal computer
  5. laptop
  6. notebook

 

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What have I learned?

After completing these activities, you should:

  • understand how computers process your commands;
  • have a working knowledge of the architecture of a basic computer;
  • be able to distinguish between different types of computers.


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