focus_on_informatics
.pdfNUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access or Non-Uniform Memory Architecture) – технология доступа к неоднородной памяти
processor register – регистрпроцессора
specify – точно определять, устанавливать
Exercises:
1.In the text find at least five words that can make compound noun expressions with the word computer. How many other noun compoundswith computercan you think of?
2.Match each of the words in the first column with the word from the second column to make six word partnerships from the article:
1) |
computer |
format |
2) |
memory |
components |
3) |
implementation |
engineering |
4) |
processor |
controller |
5) |
data |
process |
6) |
hardware |
register |
3. Answer thequestions:
1)What is computer architecture?
2)What three main subcategories does computer architecture comprise?
3)What subcategory describes interconnection of the constituent parts of the system and their interoperation for implementation the ISA?
4)What hardware components does System Design include?
5)What design process is called implementation?
6)What three pieces can implementationbe broken down?
7)How are more general wider-scale hardware architectures called?
8)What is the name of the entire implementation process forCPUs?
4. Expand the statements:
1)Computer architecture may be defined as the science and art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components.
2)Computer architecture is a blueprint and functional description of requirements and design implementations for the various parts of a computer.
3)Instruction set architecture is the abstract image of a computing system.
4)System Design includes hardware components within a computing system such as computer buses andswitches.
5)Implementation is usually notconsidered architectural definition.
6)Circuit Implementation is a transistor-level design of basic elements (gates, multiplexers, latches etc).
5. There is a definitionof computer architecture in the article:
Computer architecture is theconceptualdesign and fundamental
operational structure of a computer system.
Give 2 more definitions.
6. Look back at the article. Find the terms which mean:
1)design of blocks defined in the microarchitecture at (primarily) the register-transfer andgate levels.
2)the abstract image of a computing system that is seen by machine language (or assembly language) programmer.
3)a lower level, more concrete and detailed, description of the system that involves how the constituent parts of the system are interconnectedandhowthey interoperate inordertoimplementtheISA.
4)transistor-level design of basic elements (gates, multiplexers, latches etc) as well as of some larger blocks (ALUs, caches etc) that may be implemented at this level, or even (partly) at the physical level, for performance reasons.
Text 8. Operating System
An operating system (OS) is an interface between hardware and user which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the operation of the hardware. This relieves application programs from having to manage these details and makes it easier to write applications. Almost all computers (including handheld computers, desktop computers, supercomputers, video game consoles) as well as some robots, domestic appliances (dishwashers, washing machines), and portable media players use an operating system of some type. Some of the oldest models may, however, use an embedded operating system that may be contained on a data storage device.
Operating systems offer a number of services to application programs and users. Applications access these services through application programming interfaces (APIs) or system calls. By invoking these interfaces, the application can request a service from the operating system, pass parameters, and receive the results of the operation. Users may also interact with the operating system with some kind of software user interface (SUI) like typing commands by using command line interface (CLI) or using a graphical user interface (GUI, commonly pronounced “gooey”). For hand-held and desktop computers, the user interface is generally considered part of the operating system. On large multi-user systems like Unix and Unix-like systems, the user interface is generally implemented as an application program that runs outside the operating system. (Whether the user interface should be included as part of the operating system is a point of contention.)
Common contemporary operating systems include BSD, Darwin (Mac OS X), Linux, SunOS (Solaris/OpenSolaris), and Windows NT (XP/Vista/7). While servers generally run Unix or some Unix-like operating system, embedded system markets are split amongst several operating systems, although the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems has almost 90% of the client PC market.
Windows 7 is the most recent publicly available version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs and media center PCs.Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.
Unlike its predecessor, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Presentations given by Microsoft in 2008 focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar, referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are not included in Windows 7; some are instead offered separately as part of the free Windows Live Essentials suite.
Glossary
API (application programming interfaces) – программный интерфейс приложения
BSD – версия UNIX, разработанная компанией Berkeley Software Design Incorporated
CLI (command line interface)– интерфейс командной строки
computing application – компьютерное приложение
data storage device – запоминающее устройство для данных
embedded operating system – встроенная операционная система
GUI(graphicaluserinterface)–графическийинтерфейспользователя
host – главная вычислительная машина
incremental upgrade – постепенная модернизация
Linux – свободно распространяемая (некоммерческая) реализация операционной системы UNIX на PC-совместимых ПК и множестве других платформ
multi-user system – многопользовательская система
performance improvement – повышение производительности
point of contention– предмет спора, суть разногласий
predecessor – предшественник
prior release – предшествующий выпуск (вариант программного изделия)
publicly available version– общедоступная версия
redesigned shell – зд. новая оболочка (пользовательский интерфейс)
SUI (software user interface or speech-based user interface) – пользо-
вательский интерфейс (возможно, основанный на речевом общении)
tobefullycompatiblewithsmth–бытьполностьюсовместимымсч-л.
to be implemented as – применяться вкачествеч-л.
to invoke interface – активизировать/ запускать интерфейс
to relieve application program from smth – освободить прикладную программу отч-л.
video game console – игровая консоль
Exercises:
1.What’s your immediate reaction to the article you’ve just read? Complete oneor more of the following:
1) I’m amazed that…
2)I’m not sosure that…
3)I already knew that…
4)I can hardly believe that …
5)I tend to agree that…
2.What do the following abbreviations stand for? They are all used in the article:
API SUI CLI GUI BSD
3.Find the words in the article which mean the following. The first and the last letters are given:
1)the physical and electronic parts of a computer, rather than the instructions it follows (paragraph 1) h … e
2)a small computer thatyoucan carry with you (paragraph 1) h… d
3)a type of computer that is small enough to fit on the top of a desk (paragraph 2) d…p
4)to divide into two or more parts (paragraph 3) s … t
5)a small computer with a screen that you can write on using a specialpenorthatyoucanconnect akeyboard to(paragraph4) t… t
6)a thing which has the same purpose as another one in a different place or organization (paragraph 4)c … t
7)something which comes before another thing in time or in a series (paragraph 4) p… r
8)a set of symbols that shows the programs you are using and allows you to change them on a computer screen (paragraph 5) t … r
4. Answer the followingquestions:
1)What is an operating systemresponsible for?
2)What devices and appliances may contain an operating system?
3)How can users interact with the operating system?
4)What are common contemporary operating systems?
5)What is the mostrecent operating system released by Microsoft?
6)What new features does Windows 7 possess compared to previous Windows line?
Section III (Computer Software)
Text 9. Computer Software
Part 1
Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe the role that computer programs, procedures and documentation play in a computersystem.The term includes:
Application software, such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users.
Firmware, which is software programmed resident to electrically programmable memory devices on board mainboards or other types of integrated hardware carriers.
Middleware, which controls andco-ordinates distributedsystems.
System software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for applicationsoftware.
Software testing is a domain dependent of development and programming. Software testing consists of various methods to test and declare a software product fit before it can be launched for use by either an individual or a group.
Testware, which is an umbrella term or container term for all utilities and application software that serve in combination for testing a software package but not necessarily may optionally contribute to operational purposes. As such, testware is not a standing configuration but merely a working environment for application software orsubsets thereof.
Software includes things such as websites, programs or video games, that are coded by programming languages like C or C++. "Software" is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records.
Overview
Computersoftware is often regarded as anything buthardware, meaning that the "hard" are the parts that are tangible while the "soft" part is the intangible objects inside the computer. Software encompasses an extremely wide array of products and technologies developed using different techniques like programming languages, scripting languages, microcode, or an FPGA configuration. The types of software includeweb pages developed by technologies like HTML, PHP, Perl, JSP, ASP.NET, XML, and desktop applications like OpenOffice, Microsoft Word developed by technologies like C, C++, Java,or C#. Software usually runs on an underlying softwareoperating systems such as the Linux or Microsoft Windows. Software also includes video games and the logic systems of modern consumer devices such as automobiles, televisions, and toasters.
Relationship to computer hardware
Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.
The term "software" was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay “Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem”.
Types ofsoftware
User |
Application |
Operating system |
Hardware |
This is a structure showing where Operating System is located on generally used software systems on desktops. Practical computer systems divide
software systems into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.
System software
System software helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes acombination of the following:
device drivers
operating systems
servers
utilities
windowing systems
The purpose of systems software is to unburden the applications programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner. Examples areWindows XP, Linux, andMac OSX.
Programming software
Programming software usually provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs, and software using different programming languages in a more convenient way.The tools include:
compilers
debuggers
interpreters
linkers
text editors
An Integrated development environment (IDE) is a single application that attempts to manage all these functions.
Application software
Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (not directly computer development related) tasks. Typical applications include:
industrial automation
business software
computergames
quantum chemistry and solid state physics software
telecommunications (i.e., the internet and everything that flows on
it)
databases
educational software
medical software
military software
molecular modeling software
image editing
spreadsheet
Word processing
Decision making software
Application software exists for and has impacted a wide variety of topics.
Glossary
“Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem”– «Овычислимыхчислахвприменениикпроблемеразрешимости»
application software – прикладное программное обеспечение
assembly language – язык ассемблера
compiler – компилятор
debugger – отладчик
desktop – настольный компьютер