An advantage of digital circuits when compared to analog circuits is that signals represented digitally can be transmitted without degradation caused by noise.[29] For example, a continuous audio signal transmitted as a sequence of 1s and 0s, can be reconstructed without error, provided the noise picked up in transmission is not enough to prevent identification of the 1s and 0s.
Arithamatic and data processing digital circuits by leach
In a digital system, a more precise representation of a signal can be obtained by using more binary digits to represent it. While this requires more digital circuits to process the signals, each digit is handled by the same kind of hardware, resulting in an easily scalable system. In an analog system, additional resolution requires fundamental improvements in the linearity and noise characteristics of each step of the signal chain.
Information storage can be easier in digital systems than in analog ones. The noise immunity of digital systems permits data to be stored and retrieved without degradation. In an analog system, noise from aging and wear degrade the information stored. In a digital system, as long as the total noise is below a certain level, the information can be recovered perfectly. Even when more significant noise is present, the use of redundancy permits the recovery of the original data provided too many errors do not occur.
In some cases, digital circuits use more energy than analog circuits to accomplish the same tasks, thus producing more heat which increases the complexity of the circuits such as the inclusion of heat sinks. In portable or battery-powered systems this can limit the use of digital systems. For example, battery-powered cellular phones often use a low-power analog front-end to amplify and tune the radio signals from the base station. However, a base station has grid power and can use power-hungry, but very flexible software radios. Such base stations can easily be reprogrammed to process the signals used in new cellular standards.
If a single piece of digital data is lost or misinterpreted, in some systems only a small error may result, while in other systems the meaning of large blocks of related data can completely change. For example, a single-bit error in audio data stored directly as linear pulse-code modulation causes, at worst, a single audible click. But when using audio compression to save storage space and transmission time, a single bit error may cause a much larger disruption.
Because of the cliff effect, it can be difficult for users to tell if a particular system is right on the edge of failure, or if it can tolerate much more noise before failing. Digital fragility can be reduced by designing a digital system for robustness. For example, a parity bit or other error management method can be inserted into the signal path. These schemes help the system detect errors, and then either correct the errors, or request retransmission of the data.
A digital circuit is typically constructed from small electronic circuits called logic gates that can be used to create combinational logic. Each logic gate is designed to perform a function of boolean logic when acting on logic signals. A logic gate is generally created from one or more electrically controlled switches, usually transistors but thermionic valves have seen historic use. The output of a logic gate can, in turn, control or feed into more logic gates.
Asynchronous register-transfer systems (such as computers) have a general solution. In the 1980s, some researchers discovered that almost all synchronous register-transfer machines could be converted to asynchronous designs by using first-in-first-out synchronization logic. In this scheme, the digital machine is characterized as a set of data flows. In each step of the flow, a synchronization circuit determines when the outputs of that step are valid and instructs the next stage when to use these outputs.[citation needed]
Digital circuits are made from analog components. The design must assure that the analog nature of the components doesn't dominate the desired digital behavior. Digital systems must manage noise and timing margins, parasitic inductances and capacitances.
Since digital circuits are made from analog components, digital circuits calculate more slowly than low-precision analog circuits that use a similar amount of space and power. However, the digital circuit will calculate more repeatably, because of its high noise immunity.
The earliest integrated circuits were constructed to save weight and permit the Apollo Guidance Computer to control an inertial guidance system for a spacecraft. The first integrated circuit logic gates cost nearly US$50, which in 2021 would be equivalent to $458. Mass-produced gates on integrated circuits became the least-expensive method to construct digital logic.
With the rise of integrated circuits, reducing the absolute number of chips used represented another way to save costs. The goal of a designer is not just to make the simplest circuit, but to keep the component count down. Sometimes this results in more complicated designs with respect to the underlying digital logic but nevertheless reduces the number of components, board size, and even power consumption.
By far, the most common digital integrated circuits built today use CMOS logic, which is fast, offers high circuit density and low power per gate. This is used even in large, fast computers, such as the IBM System z.
The discovery of superconductivity has enabled the development of rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuit technology, which uses Josephson junctions instead of transistors. Most recently, attempts are being made to construct purely optical computing systems capable of processing digital information using nonlinear optical elements.
Colossus was the world's first electronic digital programmable computer.[20] It used a large number of valves (vacuum tubes). It had paper-tape input and was capable of being configured to perform a variety of boolean logical operations on its data, but it was not Turing-complete. Nine Mk II Colossi were built (The Mk I was converted to a Mk II making ten machines in total). Colossus Mark I contained 1,500 thermionic valves (tubes), but Mark II with 2,400 valves, was both five times faster and simpler to operate than Mark I, greatly speeding the decoding process.[38][39]
When unprocessed data is sent to the computer with the help of input devices, the data is processed and sent to output devices. The input devices may be hand-operated or automated. The act of processing is mainly regulated by the CPU. Some examples of input devices are:
Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc. Software is that part of a computer system that consists of encoded information or computer instructions, in contrast to the physical hardware from which the system is built. Computer software includes computer programs, libraries and related non-executable data, such as online documentation or digital media. It is often divided into system software and application software Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be realistically used on its own. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be modified, such as with BIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible computer, it is sometimes called "firmware".
Detailed Description of CourseTopics include: 1) Digital Logic 2) Data Representation and arithmetic 3) Instruction Set Architecture and assembly programming 4) Compilation, assembly, and pipelining 5) Memory and peripherals 6) System software 7) Error detection and correction3. Detailed Description of Conduct of CourseThe focus of this course is to understand low-level programming and hardware components. Students are given an opportunity to perform experiments with hardware kits.4. Goals and Objectives of the CourseStudents who complete the course will be able to: 1) Perform fixed and floating point arithmetic of positive and negative numbers represented in various standard representations such as the IEEE 754 floating point format. 2) Develop, simplify, and analyze simple digital circuits to develop the ALU and Memory (combinational and sequential circuits) using both the basic gates such as AND, OR, NOT, NAND, and NOR as well as other building blocks such as Multiplexers, Decoders, and Flip-flops. 3) Implement programs in assembly language. Example programs include computing arithmetic operations and simulating simple control structures such as if-else and while and for loops. 4) Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between computer languages and the machines they run on, by converting assembly code into object (machine) code by following the steps of an assembler. 5) Explain the working, analyze the pros and cons, and compute the performance of various components: multi-level caches, virtual memory, and cpu pipelines.5. Assessment MeasuresGraded assignments typically include at least one in-class exam and a final exam. Frequent problem sets are also assigned and graded. A hardware project may also be required.
Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard.
The template for all modern computers is the Von Neumann architecture, detailed in a 1945 paper by Hungarian mathematician John von Neumann. This describes a design architecture for an electronic digital computer with subdivisions of a processing unit consisting of an arithmetic logic unit and processor registers, a control unit containing an instruction register and program counter, a memory to store both data and instructions, external mass storage, and input and output mechanisms. The meaning of the term has evolved to mean a stored-program computer in which an instruction fetch and a data operation cannot occur at the same time because they share a common bus. This is referred to as the Von Neumann bottleneck and often limits the performance of the system. 2ff7e9595c
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