Difference between revisions of "CSC103: DT's Notes 1"
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| − | It's a long structure made up of words | + | It's a long structure made up of words. Words are numbered, from 0, to a large number, which is actually equal to the size of the memory, in increment of 1. For example, when you read the sticker for a computer on sale at the local store, it may say that the computer sports 4 gigabytes of RAM. What this means is that the memory, the ''Random Access Memory'' (RAM), is comprised of words containing numbers, the first one associated with a label of 0, the last one with a label (almost) equal to 4,000,000,000. |
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| + | Before we figure out what kind of number ''code'' the processor can understand, let's talk for an instant about the role of the processor relative to the memory. The processor is a machine that constantly reads numbers from memory. It normally starts with the word stored in the cell with label 0 (we'll say the ''memory cell at Address 0''), reads its contents, then moves on to the next word at ''Address 1'', then the next one at ''Address 2'', and so on. All it gets from these memory cells are numbers. Remember, that's the only thing we can actually create in a computer: groups of bits. So each memory cell's number is read by the processor. How does the number gets there? On metal wires, each wire transferring one bit of the number. If you have ever taken a computer apart and taken a look at the ''motherboard'', you will have seen such wires. They are there for bits to travel back and forth between the different parts of the computer, and in particular between the processor and the memory. | ||
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Revision as of 21:44, 3 October 2012
--© D. Thiebaut 08:10, 30 January 2012 (EST)
