Transcript allenComputer Hardware Terminology

Tom Allen
Computer Science Department
Trinity University
Hardware:
the physical devices
and components
associated with the
computer.
Bit:
a unit of information
storage capacity in
computer memory; it is
sufficient to store either a 0
or a 1. It is short for Binary
Digit.
Byte:
the amount of space
necessary to store one
character; usually eight bits.
ASCII:
American Standard Code for
Information Interchange. A standard
for defining codes for information
exchange between equipment
produced by different manufacturers.
(collating sequence)
Mouse:
a surface device which an
operator can manipulate in
order to control a pointer
image on the computer
system.
Monitor:
a hardware device used to project
a visual image into the processing
of a computer system. It is the
most common computer output
device.
Keyboard:
a most common hardware
device used to input
information and commands
into a computer system.
Mother Board:
a large circuit board into which
can be plugged a number of
smaller boards, or circuit
elements. This board becomes
the backbone of a computer
system.
Microprocessor:
a single semiconductor chip
or a small number of chips
that contains the arithmetic
and control logic circuitry
necessary to perform the
operations of a computer.
CPU: Central Processing Unit.
The control circuitry necessary to
perform the operations of a
computer.
IC Chip: Integrated Circuit
Chip.
A complex electronic circuit
fabricated on a simple piece of
material, usually a silicon.
RAM: Random Access
Memory.
A memory chip used for the
main memory of a
microcomputer. Application
software will both store and
retrieve information from this
type of chip.
Floppy Drive:
a computer storage read/write
device, usually of minimal
capacity, which accepts multiple
surfaces. Data on these surfaces
may be randomly accessed. The
high density, double sided
floppy disks of today hold 1.4
MB of data.
Hard Drive:
a computer storage read/write
device, usually of substantial
capacity, which has
fixed/permanent surfaces.
Data on these surfaces may be
randomly accessed. Hard
drives hold as little as 10 MB
and as much as several GB.
Tape Drive:
a computer storage read/write
device, usually of substantial
capacity, which has one surface.
Data on this surfaces must be
sequentially accessed. It is used
primarily for backup purposes.
Tape drive access is slow!
CD Rom Drive: (DVD)
a computer storage read and/or
read/write device, always of substantial
capacity, which has one surface. Data on
this surface may be randomly accessed. The
optical disk containing digitized information
uses the same technology as the musical CD.
Most of the compact disks used by computers
are 4.7 inches and hold as much as 780 MB.
The CD drive uses laser technology to read
and write to the drive.
Modem:
a data communication device that
enables computers to communicate via
telephone lines. The term modem was
constructed from the terms MOdulate and
DEModulate. Modulation translates digital data
into analog data. Analog data can be transferred
along the phone line. Demodulation translates
analog data into digital data. Single phone line
modems speeds range from 1200 baud to 33,600
baud.
Format Disk:
the process of laying out a structure on
the disk that will enable the disk to receive
information. IBM PC's use a different disk
format from either the Macintosh or UNIX
systems. IBM PC, Macintosh, and UNIX disk
formatting divides the disk into sectors, tracks,
and blocks.
Track:
Sector:
ring-shaped portion of a
floppy/hard disk surface.
pie-shaped portion of
a floppy/hard disk
surface.
Block:
rectangular-shaped portion within
one track of one sector of a
floppy/hard disk surface.
Input Devices:
those devices that provide input to the
computer. Examples of input devices
would be keyboard, light pen, graphics
tablet, bar code reader, mouse, scanner,
digital camera, floppy drive, hard drive,
CD rom drive, zip drive, electronic
keyboard (music), microphone, A to D
(analog to digital) devices/sensors, touch
screen monitor, etc.
Output Devices:
those devices that receive output from
the computer. Examples of output
devices would be traditional monitor,
floppy drive, hard drive, CD rom drive,
zip drive, speakers, printers, A to D
(analog to digital) devices/sensors,
touch screen monitor, photo maker,
transparency maker, etc.
Kilobyte:
(~ a thousand bytes)
MB:
Megabyte. (~ a million bytes)
GB:
Gigabyte. (~ a billion bytes)