Chapter 1, Computer Abstractions and Technology

• You should read chapter 1.
• You should know the metric prefix system for pico through peta.
  • I don't buy the author's Binary terms, but you can if you wish.
• I supose one of the main goals of this class is to help you understand program performance.
  • The chart at the bottom of page 9 summs up how this course will help with this.
  • This is a long term goal
• Eight Great Ideas in Computer Architecture
  • Design for Moore's Law
    • Discuss Moore's Law.
    • It's Dead
    • Well almost dead
    • Or is it?
    • By the way, memory, disk and other components still follow Moore's Law.
  • Use Abstraction to Simplify Design
    • We shouldn't have to talk about this one.
    • Isn't that what we push for in programming?
    • Do you really think a register looks like
  • Make the common case fast.
    • In the WOMBAT instruction set, is there something that happens when EVERY instruction is executed?
  • Performance via Parallelism
    • Using WOMBAT's ALU to increment the PC.
  • Performance via Pipelining
    • Nothing yet, but we will see this.
  • Performance via Prediction
    • Nothing yet, but we will see this.
  • Hierarchy of Memories
    • Registers, Cache, Ram, Hard Drive, off line storage.
    • Draw the triangle.
    • Discuss the triangle.
  • Dependability via Redundancy
    • We may get there.
• 1.5 Technology for Building Processors and Memory.
  • The basic technology for building processors is an electronic switch.
  • This was a vacuume tube in the original electronic computers.
    • These were very fragile
    • They consumed a lot of power (relatively speaking)
    • They produced a LOT of heat.
    • Think Lightbulb.
  • It was replaced with a transistor
    • These are constructed out of silicon (for now)
    • This is a very quick crash course
      • This is probably wrong except for the 10,000 ft view.
      • All consist of a base, a collector and an emitter.
      • If a charge is applied (or not applied) to the base data from the emittor is transfered to the collector.
      • There are two types NPN and PNP
      • 
      • For an NPN
        • If a charge is applied to the base, then electrons flow from the emitter to the collector.
      • For a PNP
        • A PNP is the opposite.
      • Try this tkgate simulation
    • These transistors can be combined into the basic logic components.
      • Not, Or and And
      • 
      • Or this tkgate simulation
  • We might be changing technology again very soon. (See carbon nanotubes above)
  • The table at the top of page 25 is very interesting.
  • Integrated Circuit through Ultra Large Scale IC.