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Using Databases and Indexing to Improve Hardware Efficiency

   

Added on  2019-10-18

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Week 2 "What is IS? Hardware & Software"Learning ObjectiveCompare and contrast the hardware and software of different computer systemsReading and AssignmentsRead Chapters 3 and 4Read Lecture "IS: The Hard Part"Read Lecture "IS: The Soft Part"Watch Video Lecture "Input, Processing, Output, and Storage Devices"Complete Discussion "Moore's Law"Complete Assignment "New Hardware"Lecture 1IS: The Hard PartChapter 3 – Hardware: Input, Processing, Output and Storage DevicesLast week you learned about the differences between hardware and software. This weekyou will focus on hardware, namely: Input, Processing, and Output, and Storage DevicesThere are several reasons that organizations invest in computer hardware, here are a few:Improve worker productivityIncrease revenue, reduce costsProvide better customer serviceSpeed up time-to-marketEnable collaboration among employeesWhat are the actual hardware components? The pieces of a computer that people see usually come to mind: the monitor, keyboard, printer, mouse and the “box”. This usuallyunnamed piece is actually the computer, the other pieces are peripheral devices. As technology has developed the separate pieces became a laptop and now a tablet or ‘all in one’ device. No matter what the ‘computer’ looks like, it must contain some critical hardware components. The box is sometimes called a System Unit, it contains several parts:Central processing unit (CPU)– the main chip that processes the informationArithmetic/logic Unit (ALU)– a special math chip that helps crunch numbers fasterControl unit– a piece that tells other pieces what to doPrimary storage– a hard drive to store information even when the computer is shut off
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Main memory– the place where programs and data are loaded when the computer is runningPower supply– the part that provides the energy needed to run the other hardwareThesystem unitand the parts it contains has changed over time, it is much faster and smaller than ever before. The speed of processing called the machine cycle time is measured in clock speed. According to a theory known as Moore’s Law, the processing capacity increases by a factor of 2 (doubles) every 18 months. What this means to you is that by the time you purchase a computer – it is already out of date!Another thing that has changed rapidly is the storage capacity of computers. Keep in mind there are two different things about computer storage, many people get these mixed up so focus on this for a moment.Primary storageis also called main memory, it is where the information is loaded when the computer is running a program or processing data. This storage is volatile, that means that when the power goes off – poof – it is gone! That is why you need to Save a Word document frequently as you are typing! If it is not saved, it is in primary (main) memory and it will be gone if the computer loses power or runs out of battery!Programs(software) are stored on secondary storage such as a hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD or a jump (thumb, stick) drive. The important thing to remember about secondary storage is that when the power shuts off – the information on the secondary storage is safe and sound.Looking atPrimary Storagefirst, there is memory, RAM, Random Accessed Memory. ROM is read only memory, think of like a CD or CD-R, you can read from it but cannot write to it (unless it is a read-write cd – but that is a CD-RW). A very fast type of memoryis the cache. The cache is where images and text from web pages are stored for fast retrieval while surfing the web!Secondary storagerefers to things like hard drives and jump drives. When you talk about secondary storage you need to think about the access method that is used. If youare talking about a magnetic tape (older technology) the access is sequential, sequential access means that you start reading at the beginning and go to the end, no other choice. With direct access, you can access any piece of the data no matter where it is located, this is used with databases. An index or key is used to tell the computer where to find the information and it can go directly to that data. There are many flavors of storage but they are all based on either primary or secondary storage. Keep in mind that a tape or disk file can be an input or output depending on its use.Amonitorcan come in many types: Plasma display, LCD display, OLED displays, but nomatter what, a monitor is an output device. You cannot put information IN to a computer from the monitor. Other output devices are: speakers, printers and plotters. Input devices are things used to get information into a computer, such as: keyboard, mouse and microphone.To bring our ideas of hardware together there are many types of computers. There are portable single-user computers, handheld computers, smartphone, laptop, notebook,
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