Lecture # 01-03

Basic Parts of Computer, What is

Microprocessor & Difference between
Microprocessor & Microcontroller

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 Contents
 Computer & Its Basic Parts

 Different Type of Memories

 What is Microprocessor

 What is Microcontroller

 Difference between Microprocessor &

Microcontroller
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 Computer
 An electronic device that is programmed to accept data,
process data into useful information and store it for later
use.
 A Common Operating Machine Particularly Used for Trade,
Education, and Research.
 Computer consists of hardware and software.
 Hardware is the physical part of a computer E.g. keyboard ,
mouse etc.
 Software is a set of instructions that tells a computer what
to do.

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 Primary Memory

Input CPU Output

Units (Central Processing Unit) Units

von Neumann Computer Model

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 Analog Computers
 An analog computer recognizes data as a continuous
measurement of a physical property.
 It has no state.
 Its output is usually displayed on a meter or graphs.
 Examples are Analog clock, speed of a car, thermometer
etc.

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 Digital Computers
 It works with numbers.
 They breaks all types of information into tiny units and use
numbers to represent those pieces of information.
 Everything is described in two states i.e. either ON (1) or
OFF (0).
 They are very fast and have more memory.

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 Parts of Computer System
 Following are the basic parts of a Computer
System:
 System Unit
 Monitor
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Printer
 Scanner
 Speakers

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 Computer

Hardware Software

CPU Memory I/O Application System

Software Software

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 Different Types of Memory
 A memory is just like a human brain, it is used to store data
and instructions.
 Computer memory is the storage space in the computer,
where data is to be processed and instructions required for
processing are stored.
 The memory is divided into large number of small parts
called cells, each location or cell has a unique address,
which varies from zero to memory size minus one.
 For example, if the computer has 64k words, then this
memory unit has 64 * 1024 = 65536 memory locations, the
address of these locations varies from 0 to 65535.

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 Different Types of Memory (cont’d)

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 Different Types of Memory (cont’d)
Registers: The CPU processes data and instructions with
high speed; there is also movement of data between various
units of computer.
It is necessary to transfer the processed data with high
speed, therefore the computer uses a number of special
memory units called registers.
They are not part of the main memory but they store data
or information temporarily and pass it on as directed by the
control unit.
Memory is primarily of three types −
1) Cache Memory
2) Primary Memory/Main Memory
3) Secondary Memory
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 Cache Memory
1) Cache Memory, Cache memory is a very high speed
semiconductor memory which can speed up the CPU.
It acts as a buffer between the CPU and the main memory.
It is used to hold those parts of data and program which are
most frequently used by the CPU.
The parts of data and programs are transferred from the
disk to cache memory by the operating system, from where
the CPU can access them.

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 Cache Memory (cont’d)
Advantages
 Cache memory is faster than main memory.
 It consumes less access time as compared to main memory.
 It stores the program that can be executed within a short
period of time.
 It stores data for temporary use.
Disadvantages
 Cache memory has limited capacity.
 It is very expensive.

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 Primary/Main Memory
2) Primary/Main Memory, These are semiconductor
memories, it is known as the main memory, usually volatile
memory. It is faster than secondary memories.
Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on
which the computer is currently working. It has a limited
capacity and data is lost when power is switched off. These
memories are not as fast as registers. The data and
instruction required to be processed resides in the main
memory.

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 Secondary Memory
3) Secondary Memory, This type of memory is also known as
external memory or non-volatile. It is slower than the main
memory. These are used for storing data/information
permanently.
CPU directly does not access these memories, instead they
are accessed via input-output routines.
The contents of secondary memories are first transferred to
the main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For
example, Magnetic Disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.

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 Microprocessor
 The microprocessor, also known as the Central Processing
Unit (CPU), is the brain of all computers and many
household and electronic devices.
 Multiple microprocessors, working together, are the
"hearts" of datacenters, super-computers, communications
products, and other digital devices.
 The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in
1971. The 4004 was not very powerful; it was primarily used
to perform simple mathematical operations.

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 Microprocessor (cont’d)
 A microprocessor is the most important unit within a
computer system and is responsible for processing the
unique set of instructions and processes.
 A microprocessor is designed to execute logical and
computational tasks with typical operations such as
addition/subtraction, interprocess and device
communication, input/output management, etc.
 Microprocessors are generally classified according to the
number of instructions they can process within a given
time, their clock speed measured in megahertz and the
number of bits used per instruction.

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 What Is Inside a Microprocessor
 The microprocessor or CPU reads each instruction from
the memory, decodes it and executes it.
 It processes the data as required in the instructions, the
processing is in the form of arithmetic and logical
operations.
 The data is retrieved from memory or taken from an input
device and the result of processing is stored in the memory
or delivered to an appropriate output device, all as per the
instructions.
 To perform all these functions, the microprocessor
incorporates various functional units in an appropriate
manner. Such an internal structure or organizational
structure of microprocessor, which determines how it
operates, is known as its architecture
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 What Is Inside a Microprocessor
(cont’d)
Microprocessor

Figure 01
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 What Is Inside a Microprocessor
(cont’d)
Bus
 A Bus allow exchange of words between the blocks.
 A bus has a wire or line for each bit and thus allows exchange
of all bits of a word in parallel.
 The processing of bits in the microprocessor is also in
parallel.
 The busses can thus be viewed as data highways.
 The width of a bus is the number of signal lines that
constitute the bus. The Figure 01 shows for simplicity three
busses for distinct functions. Over the address bus, the
microprocessor transmits the address of that I/O device or
memory locations which it desires to access.
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 What Is Inside a Microprocessor
(cont’d)
 This address is received by all the devices connected to the
processor, but only the device which has been addressed
responds.
 The data bus is used by the microprocessor to send and
receive data to and from different devices (I/O and memory)
including instructions stored in memory.
 The address bus is unidirectional and the data bus is bi-
directional.
 The control bus is used for transmitting and receiving
control signals between the microprocessor and various
devices in the system.

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 What Is Inside a Microprocessor
(cont’d)
Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU)
 The arithmetic-logic unit is a combinational network that
performs arithmetic and logical operations on the data.
Internal Registers
 A number of registers are normally included in the
microprocessor.
 These are used for temporary storage of data, instructions and
addresses during execution of a program.
Instruction Decoder and Control Unit
 It decodes each instruction and under the supervision of a
clock controls the external and internal units ensuring correct
logical operation of the system.
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 Microcontroller
 A microcontroller is a computer present in a single
integrated circuit which is dedicated to perform one task
and execute one specific application.
 It is a self-contained system with peripherals, memory and a
processor that can be used as an embedded system.
 Microcontrollers are mostly designed for embedded
applications and are heavily used in automatically controlled
electronic devices such as cellphones, cameras, microwave
ovens, washing machines, etc.
 Another name for a microcontroller is "embedded
controller."

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 Microcontroller (cont’d)
 Some embedded systems are more sophisticated, while
others have minimal requirements for memory and
programming length and a low software complexity.

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 Difference between Microprocessor &
Microcontroller
Microprocessor Microcontroller
 Microprocessor is an IC which  Microcontroller has a CPU, in
has only the CPU inside them addition with a fixed amount
i.e. only the processing powers. of RAM, ROM and other
peripherals all embedded on a
 It is a part of computer.
single chip.
 Microprocessor find
 It is also termed as a mini
applications where tasks are
computer or a computer on a
unspecific.
single chip.
 Today’s microprocessor
 Microcontrollers are designed
operate above 1 GHz speed.
to perform specific tasks.
 Microcontrollers operate from
a few MHz to 30 to 50 MHz
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