Chapter 1
Computing Systems
Lecture 01
Ph.D. Eng.: Adel Khaled
Outlines
• Describe the layers of a computer system.
• Describe the history of computer hardware and software.
1-1 Computing Systems
Note that we use the term computing system, not just computer. A computer is a device.
➢ A computing system, by contrast, is a dynamic entity, used to solve problems and interact with its
environment. A computing system is composed of hardware, software, and the data that they
manage
➢ Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements that make up the machine and its
related pieces: boxes, circuit boards, chips, wires, disk drives, keyboards, monitors, printers, and
so on
➢ Computer software is the collection of programs that provide the instructions that a computer
carries out
➢ And at the very heart of a computer system is the information that it manages. Without data, the
hardware and software are essentially useless
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ The innermost layer, information, reflects the way we
represent information on a computer. In many ways this is
a purely conceptual level.
➢ Information on a computer is managed using binary digits,
1 and 0.
➢ So, to understand computer processing, we must first
understand the binary number system and its relationship
to other number systems (such as the decimal system, the
one humans use on a daily basis)
Information Layer
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ Hardware Layer, consists of the physical hardware of a
computer system.
➢ Computer hardware includes devices such as gates and
circuits, which control the flow of electricity in
fundamental ways.
➢ This core electronic circuitry gives rise to specialized
hardware components such as the computer’s central
processing unit (CPU) and memory.
Hardware Layer
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ The programming layer deals with software, the
instructions used to accomplish computations and manage
data.
➢ Programs can take many forms, be performed at many
levels, and be implemented in many languages.
➢ Yet, despite the enormous variety of programming issues,
the goal remains the same: to solve problems.
Programming Layer
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ Every computer has an operating system (OS) to help
manage the computer’s resources.
➢ Operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS, or Linux,
help us interact with the computer system and manage the
way hardware devices, programs, and data interact.
➢ Knowing what an operating system does is key to
understanding the computer in general.
Operating System Layer
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ The previous (inner) layers focus on making a
computer system work. The applications layer, by
contrast, focuses on using the computer to solve
specific real-world problems.
➢ We run application programs to take advantage of the
computer’s abilities in other areas, such as helping us
design a building or play a game.
➢ The spectrum of area-specific computer software tools
is far-reaching and involves specific subdisciplines of
computing, such as information systems, artificial
Applications Layer
intelligence, and simulation.
1-2 Layers of a Computing System
➢ We use computer technology to communicate, and that
communication is a fundamental layer at which computing
systems operate. Computers are connected into networks so that
they can share information and resources.
➢ The Internet evolved into a global network, so there is now almost
no place on Earth you can’t reach with computing technology.
➢ The World Wide Web makes that communication easier; it has
revolutionized computer use and made it accessible to the general
public.
➢ Cloud computing is the idea that our computing needs can be
Communications Layer
handled by resources at various places on the Internet
(in the cloud), rather than on local computers.
1.3 The History of Computing
First Generation Second Generation Third Generation Fourth Generation
(1951–1959) (1959–1965) (1965–1971) (1971–?)
vacuum tube Transistor ICs Microprocessor
1.4. Networking
➢ In the 1980s, the concept of a large machine with many users gave way to a network of smaller
machines connected so that they can share resources such as printers, software, and data.
➢ Ethernet, invented by Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs in 1973, used a cheap coaxial cable to
connect the machines and a set of protocols to allow the machines to communicate with one another.
➢ By 1979, DEC, Intel, and Xerox joined to establish Ethernet as a standard.
1.4. Networking
The Internet as we know it today is descended from the
ARPANET, a government-sponsored network begun in the late
1960s, which originally consisted of 11 nodes concentrated
mainly in the Los Angeles and Boston
areas. Like ARPANET and LANs, the Internet uses packet
switching, a way for messages to share lines.
The Internet, however, is made up of many different networks
across the world that communicate by using a common protocol,
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
1.4. Networking
Cloud Computing Some of the most recent changes in the
overall management and use of computing hardware are based
on the increasing reliance on cloud computing, which is the use
of computer resources on the Internet instead of relying on
devices at your physical location. The computing hardware is
somewhere “in the cloud” instead of on your desktop or even in
your building.
1.5. A Brief History of Computing Software
➢ The first programs were written using machine
language, the instructions built into the electrical
circuitry of a particular computer.
➢ Even the small task of adding two numbers
together used three instructions written in binary
(1s and 0s), and the programmer had to remember
which combination of binary digits meant what.
➢ Programmers using machine language had to be
very good with numbers and very detail oriented.
It’s not surprising that the first programmers were
mathematicians and engineers
1.5. A Brief History of Computing Software
Programmers began writing programs in assembly language, which
used mnemonic codes to represent each machine-language
instruction.
1.5. A Brief History of Computing Software
Because every program that is executed on a computer eventually must be in the form of the computer’s
machine language, the developers of assembly language also created software translators to translate
programs written in assembly language into machine code.
A program called an assembler reads each of the program’s instructions in mnemonic form and
translates it into the machine language equivalent.
1.5.2. Second-Generation Software (1959–
1965)
The second generation saw more powerful languages
developed. These high-level languages allowed the
programmer to write instructions using more English-like
statements.
Two of the languages developed during the second generation include:
• FORTRAN (a language designed for numerical applications)
• COBOL (a language designed for business applications).
Program written in a high-level language has to be translated into machine instructions to be
executed. Such a translator is called a compiler, and it also checks to ensure that the syntax of the
high-level language is being followed correctly
Third-Generation Software (1965–1971)
Fourth Generation (1971–1989)
Fifth Generation (1990–
Present)
Dos
Systems software.
Windows
Application Packages.
C++
HTML Internet (WWW) Browsers
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE)
