ECS 32A Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Kilobyte, 18 Months, Open-Source Software
12 Jan 2019
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All arithmetic is reduced to mere counting. Modern computers are based on voltage levels, either on or off. The reason there are only two levels is bc it is more efficient that way. More voltage levels requires more current which produces more heat which is not as efficient. Computers store and interact with data in bits. A bit is a binary digit: either 0 or 1. A kilobyte is either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, depending on who you ask. Processors: integrated circuits that can execute many different types of instructions. Very primitive language that machines can understand. Higher level languages have code that is more intuitive to humans, and compilers convert it to assembly language. Clock: the drumbeat that processing elements follow when doing their work. Memory (volatile: loses data when power is lost) Cache and registers: very fast and very expensive. Storage(non-volatile: keeps data when power is lost)
