Computer Basics

Many readers have asked for an article about computer basics, including details about the architecture and internal operation of present day digital computers and how hardware and software work together to produce these useful, though often frustrating, tools. The novice user can join the information age relatively easily by purchasing a combination of hardware and software, but the wide array of products available today makes it imperative to have some knowledge of the field hefore committing resources. Digital computers process information hy using electronic circuits to manipulate data and to implement a form of mathematical logic known as Boolean algebra. Analog computers use continuous voltages and currents to process information. Since digital computers are used almost exclusively today, only they will be considered here. Electronic circuits were first used to perform logical computations, such as and, or, and not, in the middle of this century. By combining these logical functions, basic arithmetic, text manipulation, and comparisons can be performed. Originally vacuum tnhe circuits were used, but eventually discrete transistors, which had the advantage of smaller size, lower energy consumption, and reduced heat production, replaced the older components. In the late 1950s, the integrated circuit was invented and caused the revolution in computer design that produced most of the advances of the past two decades. Integrated circuits contained hundreds, then thousands, and eventually millions of transistors on a single silicon wafer. As integrated circuit technology improved, the components forming the logic circuits of computers