Architecture (Несколько текстов для зачёта)

Architecture (computer science)

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INTRODUCTION

Architecture (computer science), a general term referring to the structure of all or part of a computer system. The term also covers the design of system software, such as the operating system (the program that controls the computer), as well as referring to the combination of hardware and basic software that links the machines on a computer network. Computer architecture refers to an entire structure and to the details needed to make it functional. Thus, computer architecture covers computer systems, microprocessors, circuits, and system programs. Typically the term does not refer to application programs, such as spreadsheets or word processing, which are required to perform a task but not to make the system run.

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DESIGN ELEMENTS

In designing a computer system, architects consider five major elements that make up the system's hardware: the arithmetic/logic unit, control unit, memory, input, and output. The arithmetic/logic unit performs arithmetic and compares numerical values. The control unit directs the operation of the computer by taking the user instructions and transforming them into electrical signals that the computer's circuitry can understand. The combination of the arithmetic/logic unit and the control unit is called the central processing unit (CPU). The memory stores instructions and data. The input and output sections allow the computer to receive and send data, respectively.

Different hardware architectures are required because of the specialized needs of systems and users. One user may need a system to display graphics extremely fast, while another system may have to be optimized for searching a database or conserving battery power in a laptop computer.

In addition to the hardware design, the architects must consider what software programs will operate the system. Software, such as programming languages and operating systems, makes the details of the hardware architecture invisible to the user. For example, computers that use the C programming language or a UNIX operating system may appear the same from the user's viewpoint, although they use different hardware architectures.

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PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE

When a computer carries out an instruction, it proceeds through five steps. First, the control unit retrieves the instruction from memory—for example, an instruction to add two numbers. Second, the control unit decodes the instructions into electronic signals that control the computer. Third, the control unit fetches the data (the two numbers). Fourth, the arithmetic/logic unit performs the specific operation (the addition of the two numbers). Fifth, the control unit saves the result (the sum of the two numbers).

Early computers used only simple instructions because the cost of electronics capable of carrying out complex instructions was high. As this cost decreased in the 1960s, more complicated instructions became possible. Complex instructions (single instructions that specify multiple operations) can save time because they make it unnecessary for the computer to retrieve additional instructions. For example, if seven operations are combined in one instruction, then six of the steps that fetch instructions are eliminated and the computer spends less time processing that operation. Computers that combine several instructions into a single operation are called complex instruction set computers (CISC).

However, most programs do not often use complex instructions, but consist mostly of simple instructions. When these simple instructions are run on CISC architectures they slow down processing because each instruction—whether simple or complex—takes longer to decode in a CISC design. An alternative strategy is to return to designs that use only simple, single-operation instruction sets and make the most frequently used operations faster in order to increase overall performance. Computers that follow this design are called reduced instruction set computers (RISC).

RISC designs are especially fast at the numerical computations required in science, graphics, and engineering applications. CISC designs are commonly used for nonnumerical computations because they provide special instruction sets for handling character data, such as text in a word processing program. Specialized CISC architectures, called digital signal processors, exist to accelerate processing of digitized audio and video signals.

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OPEN AND CLOSED ARCHITECTURES

The CPU of a computer is connected to memory and to the outside world by means of either an open or a closed architecture. An open architecture can be expanded after the system has been built, usually by adding extra circuitry, such as a new microprocessor computer chip connected to the main system. The specifications of the circuitry are made public, allowing other companies to manufacture these expansion products.

Closed architectures are usually employed in specialized computers that will not require expansion—for example, computers that control microwave ovens. Some computer manufacturers have used closed architectures so that their customers can purchase expansion circuitry only from them. This allows the manufacturer to charge more and reduces the options for the consumer.

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NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Computers communicate with other computers via networks. The simplest network is a direct connection between two computers. However, computers can also be connected over large networks, allowing users to exchange data, communicate via electronic mail, and share resources such as printers.

Computers can be connected in several ways. In a ring configuration, data are transmitted along the ring and each computer in the ring examines this data to determine if it is the intended recipient. If the data are not intended for a particular computer, the computer passes the data to the next computer in the ring. This process is repeated until the data arrive at their intended destination. A ring network allows multiple messages to be carried simultaneously, but since each message is checked by each computer, data transmission is slowed.

In a bus configuration, computers are connected through a single set of wires, called a bus. One computer sends data to another by broadcasting the address of the receiver and the data over the bus. All the computers in the network look at the address simultaneously, and the intended recipient accepts the data. A bus network, unlike a ring network, allows data to be sent directly from one computer to another. However, only one computer at a time can transmit data. The others must wait to send their messages.

In a star configuration, computers are linked to a central computer called a hub. A computer sends the address of the receiver and the data to the hub, which then links the sending and receiving computers directly. A star network allows multiple messages to be sent simultaneously, but it is more costly because it uses an additional computer, the hub, to direct the data.

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RECENT ADVANCES

One problem in computer architecture is caused by the difference between the speed of the CPU and the speed at which memory supplies instructions and data. Modern CPUs can process instructions in 3 nanoseconds (3 billionths of a second). A typical memory access, however, takes 100 nanoseconds and each instruction may require multiple accesses. To compensate for this disparity, new computer chips have been designed that contain small memories, called caches, located near the CPU. Because of their proximity to the CPU and their small size, caches can supply instructions and data faster than normal memory. Cache memory stores the most frequently used instructions and data and can greatly increase efficiency.

Although a larger cache memory can hold more data, it also becomes slower. To compensate, computer architects employ designs with multiple caches. The design places the smallest and fastest cache nearest the CPU and locates a second larger and slower cache farther away. This arrangement allows the CPU to operate on the most frequently accessed instructions and data at top speed and to slow down only slightly when accessing the secondary cache. Using separate caches for instructions and data also allows the CPU to retrieve an instruction and data simultaneously.

Another strategy to increase speed and efficiency is the use of multiple arithmetic/logic units for simultaneous operations, called superscalar execution. In this design, instructions are acquired in groups. The control unit examines each group to see if it contains instructions that can be performed together. Some designs execute as many as six operations simultaneously. It is rare, however, to have this many instructions run together, so on average the CPU does not achieve a six-fold increase in performance.

Multiple computers are sometimes combined into single systems called parallel processors. When a machine has more than one thousand arithmetic/logic units, it is said to be massively parallel. Such machines are used primarily for numerically intensive scientific and engineering computation. Parallel machines containing as many as sixteen thousand computers have been constructed.

Computer Science

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INTRODUCTION

Computer Science, study of the theory, experimentation, and engineering that form the basis for the design and use of computers—devices that automatically process information. Computer science traces its roots to work done by English mathematician Charles Babbage, who first proposed a programmable mechanical calculator in 1837. Until the advent of electronic digital computers in the 1940s, computer science was not generally distinguished as being separate from mathematics and engineering. Since then it has sprouted numerous branches of research that are unique to the discipline.

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

Early work in the field of computer science during the late 1940s and early 1950s focused on automating the process of making calculations for use in science and engineering. Scientists and engineers developed theoretical models of computation that enabled them to analyze how efficient different approaches were in performing various calculations. Computer science overlapped considerably during this time with the branch of mathematics known as numerical analysis, which examines the accuracy and precision of calculations.

As the use of computers expanded between the 1950s and the 1970s, the focus of computer science broadened to include simplifying the use of computers through programming languages—artificial languages used to program computers, and operating systems—computer programs that provide a useful interface between a computer and a user. During this time, computer scientists were also experimenting with new applications and computer designs, creating the first computer networks, and exploring relationships between computation and thought.

In the 1970s, computer chip manufacturers began to mass produce microprocessors—the electronic circuitry that serves as the main information processing center in a computer. This new technology revolutionized the computer industry by dramatically reducing the cost of building computers and greatly increasing their processing speed. The microprocessor made possible the advent of the personal computer, which resulted in an explosion in the use of computer applications. Between the early 1970s and 1980s, computer science rapidly expanded in an effort to develop new applications for personal computers and to drive the technological advances in the computing industry. Much of the earlier research that had been done began to reach the public through personal computers, which derived most of their early software from existing concepts and systems.

Computer scientists continue to expand the frontiers of computer and information systems by pioneering the designs of more complex, reliable, and powerful computers; enabling networks of computers to efficiently exchange vast amounts of information; and seeking ways to make computers behave intelligently. As computers become an increasingly integral part of modern society, computer scientists strive to solve new problems and invent better methods of solving current problems.

The goals of computer science range from finding ways to better educate people in the use of existing computers to highly speculative research into technologies and approaches that may not be viable for decades. Underlying all of these specific goals is the desire to better the human condition today and in the future through the improved use of information.

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THEORY AND EXPERIMENT

Computer science is a combination of theory, engineering, and experimentation. In some cases, a computer scientist develops a theory, then engineers a combination of computer hardware and software based on that theory, and experimentally tests it. An example of such a theory-driven approach is the development of new software engineering tools that are then evaluated in actual use. In other cases, experimentation may result in new theory, such as the discovery that an artificial neural network exhibits behavior similar to neurons in the brain, leading to a new theory in neurophysiology.

It might seem that the predictable nature of computers makes experimentation unnecessary because the outcome of experiments should be known in advance. But when computer systems and their interactions with the natural world become sufficiently complex, unforeseen behaviors can result. Experimentation and the traditional scientific method are thus key parts of computer science.

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MAJOR BRANCHES OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

Computer science can be divided into four main fields: software development, computer architecture (hardware), human-computer interfacing (the design of the most efficient ways for humans to use computers), and artificial intelligence (the attempt to make computers behave intelligently). Software development is concerned with creating computer programs that perform efficiently. Computer architecture is concerned with developing optimal hardware for specific computational needs. The areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and human-computer interfacing often involve the development of both software and hardware to solve specific problems.

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Software Development

In developing computer software, computer scientists and engineers study various areas and techniques of software design, such as the best types of programming languages and algorithms (see below) to use in specific programs, how to efficiently store and retrieve information, and the computational limits of certain software-computer combinations. Software designers must consider many factors when developing a program. Often, program performance in one area must be sacrificed for the sake of the general performance of the software. For instance, since computers have only a limited amount of memory, software designers must limit the number of features they include in a program so that it will not require more memory than the system it is designed for can supply.

Software engineering is an area of software development in which computer scientists and engineers study methods and tools that facilitate the efficient development of correct, reliable, and robust computer programs. Research in this branch of computer science considers all the phases of the software life cycle, which begins with a formal problem specification, and progresses to the design of a solution, its implementation as a program, testing of the program, and program maintenance. Software engineers develop software tools and collections of tools called programming environments to improve the development process. For example, tools can help to manage the many components of a large program that is being written by a team of programmers.

Algorithms and data structures are the building blocks of computer programs. An algorithm is a precise step-by-step procedure for solving a problem within a finite time and using a finite amount of memory. Common algorithms include searching a collection of data, sorting data, and numerical operations such as matrix multiplication. Data structures are patterns for organizing information, and often represent relationships between data values. Some common data structures are called lists, arrays, records, stacks, queues, and trees.