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2: Computer Organization

  • Page ID
    54202
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    Before writing programs, it is useful to understand some basics about how a computer is organized. This section provides a brief, high-level overview of the basic components of a computer and how they interact.

    • 2.1: Architecture Overview
      The basic components of a computer include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), Primary Storage or Random Access Memory (RAM), Secondary Storage, and Input/Output devices (i.e., screen, keyboard, and mouse), and an interconnection referred to as BUS. The secondary storage may be a Solid-State Drive (SSD), disk drive, or other type of secondary storage media.
    • 2.2: Compiler
      Programs can be written in the Fortran programming language. However, the CPU does not read Fortran directly. Instead, the Fortran program that we create will be converted into binary (1's and 0's) by the compiler.
    • 2.3: Information Representation
      All information, including numbers, characters, and instructions are represented in the computer in binary (1's and 0's).
    • 2.4: Exercises


    This page titled 2: Computer Organization is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ed Jorgensen via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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