Computer Data Conversion

864 BANKYS PRIVATE SCHOOL
PLOT C10/123 WUMBA DISTRICT, ABUJA.
LESSON NOTE
WEEK 9 TOPIC: COMPUTER DATA CONVERSION DATE___________
UNIT: BASIC COMPUTER OPERATION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: during/at the end of this lesson, the pupils/students should be enabled to;
1. Describe the terms register, address and bus
2. Discuss the types of register and their functions
3. Analyze the differences between register and main memory
4. Highlight the factors affecting the speed of data transfer
DEFINITION: Data conversion is the conversion of computer data from one format to another.
Registers: Registers are temporary storage areas for instruction or data. It can also be defined as a special, high-
speed storage area within the CPU. They are not part of the memory; rather they are special additional storage
locations that offer the advantage of speed. Register works under the direction of the control unit to accept, hold
and transfer instruction or data and perform arithmetic or logical comparison at high speed. Register are the
fastest memory available for use in the PC, because they are hard-wired right into the processor logic.
Address: A memory address is an identifier for a memory location, at which a computer program or a hardware
device can store data and later receive it.
Bus: A bus, in computing, is a set of physical connections (cables, printed circuits, etc.) which can be shared by
multiple hardware components in order to communicate with one another. The purpose of buses is to reduce the
number of "pathways" needed for communication between the components, by carrying out all communications
over a single data channel. This is why the metaphor of a "data highway" is sometimes used. If only two hardware
components communicate over the line, it is called a hardware port (such as a serial port or parallel port).
A bus is characterized by the amount of information that can be transmitted at once. This amount,
expressed in bits, corresponds to the number of physical lines over which data is sent simultaneously. A 32-wire
ribbon cable can transmit 32 bits in parallel. The term "width" is used to refer to the number of bits that a bus can
transmit at once.
Additionally, the bus speed is also defined by its frequency (expressed in Hertz), the number of data packets sent
or received per second. Each time that data is sent or received is called a cycle. This way, it is possible to find the
maximum transfer speed of the bus, the amount of data which it can transport per unit of time, by multiplying its
width by its frequency.
There are generally two buses within a computer:

1. Internal Bus: The internal bus (sometimes called the front-side bus, or FSB for short). The internal bus allows the
processor to communicate with the system's central memory (the RAM).
2. Expansion Bus: The expansion bus (sometimes called the input/output bus) allows
various motherboard components (USB, serial, and parallel ports, cards inserted in PCI connectors, hard
drives, CD-ROM and CD-RW drives, etc.) to communicate with one another. However, it is mainly used to add
new devices using what are called expansion slots connected to the input/output bus.
Types of Register and their Functions

There are many types of registers; some of these are given below:
1. Memory Data Register (MDR): This register contains the data to be stored in the computer storage or the data
after a fetch from the computer storage.
2. Current Instruction Register (CIR): CIR stores the instruction currently being executed or decoded.
3. Memory Address Register (MAR): MAR holds the memory address of data and instruction.
4. Program Counter (PC): PC commonly called instruction pointer (IP) and sometimes called instruction address
register. It is a register that holds the address of the memory location of the next instruction when the current
instruction is executed by the microprocessor.
5. Accumulator Register: This register is used for storing the results that is produced by the system.
Functions of registers
i. Holds the address of memory where CPU wants to read or write data
ii. Holds the contents of data instruction read from or written in memory
iii. Used to specify the address of a particular I/O device
iv. Used for exchanging data between the I/O module and the processor
v. Used to store the address of the next instruction to fetch for execution
vi. It stores current instruction being executed or coded
vii. It allows the bits of its content to be moved to left or right (shift register)
viii. It holds the memory addresses of data and instruction during execution phase
ix. It is used to store the result produced by the system
Differences between Registers and Main Memory
S/No. Registers Main Memory
1. Registers are located inside the processor Main memory is located outside the processor
2. They are very fast They are slow
3. They are small in capacity They are large in capacity
Fetch-Execute Cycle
The steps in the processing cycle are as follows:
a. Fetch the next instruction: The program counter contains the address of the next instruction to be executed;
the control unit goes to the address in the memory specified in the program counter, make a copy of the
contents and places the copy in the instruction register.
b. Decode the Instruction: In order to execute the instruction in the instruction register, the control unit has to
determine what the instruction is.
c. Get Data If Needed: It may be that the instruction to be executed requires additional memory accesses in order
to complete its task. If this is the case, the control unit must get the content of the memory location.
d. Execute the Instruction: Once an instruction has been decoded and any data fetched, the control unit is ready
to execute the instruction. Execution involves sending signals to the arithmetic/logic unit to carry out the
processing. When the execution is complete, the cycle begins again.
Factors Affecting the Speed of Data Transfer
· The amount of RAM memory.
· The speed and generation of your CPU (the system clock)
· The size of the Register on your CPU.
· The Bus width
· The Bus speed.
· The amount of Cache memory.

Computer Data Conversion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Computer Data Conversion

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Computer Data Conversion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

864 BANKYS PRIVATE SCHOOL

PLOT C10/123 WUMBA DISTRICT, ABUJA.

WEEK 9 TOPIC: COMPUTER DATA CONVERSION DATE___________

UNIT: BASIC COMPUTER OPERATION

1. Describe the terms register, address and bus

2. Discuss the types of register and their functions

3. Analyze the differences between register and main memory

4. Highlight the factors affecting the speed of data transfer

There are generally two buses within a computer:

Types of Register and their Functions

Differences between Registers and Main Memory

S/No. Registers Main Memory

2. They are very fast They are slow

3. They are small in capacity They are large in capacity

Factors Affecting the Speed of Data Transfer

· The amount of RAM memory.

· The speed and generation of your CPU (the system clock)

· The size of the Register on your CPU.

· The Bus width

· The Bus speed.

· The amount of Cache memory.

You might also like