BASIC CONCEPTS OF COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Computer Architecture - is the design of computers, including their instruction sets, hardware components, and system organization.
Most computers follow the Von Neumann Architecture, also known as Stored Program Architecture or the Fetch-Decode-Execute Architecture. It simply means that programs (together with data) are stored in main memory during execution.
Type of Programming Languages:
1. Machine Language
2. Assembly Language
3. High-Level Language
4. 4GL Language
- · Machine Language – the natural or primitive language that the computer actually understands. This programming language consists of 0’s and 1’s which makes programmning very difficult.
- · Assembly Language – a programming language that uses “abbreviations” or mnemonics in place of binary patterns in order to make the task of programming easier.
- · Assembler – is a special program that translates assembly langugae mnemonics into machine language.
- · Both Machine Language and Assembly Language are Low-Level Languages.
- · High – Level Language – a programming language that uses English-like commands or instructions. Also known as the third generation language. A compiler is a special program that translates high-level language instructions into machine language. Examples are FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, and PASCAL.
- · Fourth-Generation Language(4GL) – is a programming language designed with a specific purpose in mind such as the develoment of commercial business software.
All 4GLs are designed to reduce:
· Programming effort
· The time it takes to develop software
· The cost of software development
Advantages of High-Level Languages:
1. Easy to learn.
2. Predefined Functions.
3. Portability.
Advantages of Low-Level Languages:
1. Compact Code
2. Speed
3. Flexible