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• Main Page
  <big> [[:Category:Basics|Basics]] • [[:Category:Hardware|Hardware]] • [[:Category:Computers|Systems]] • [[:Category:Peripherals|Periphera
  4 KB (643 words) - 19:13, 24 April 2024
• Bus
  ...h of the work on these systems concerns software design, as opposed to the hardware itself. In general, these third generation buses tend to look more like a [ [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  14 KB (2,170 words) - 05:09, 5 September 2019
• Operating system
  ...rams) which uses only the capabilities provided directly by a computer's [[hardware]], and gives [[user]]s a more functionality-rich environment in which to do ...ng system (although to do this propely generally required support from the hardware of the system).
  4 KB (608 words) - 15:04, 9 September 2022
• Setting up the Third Berkeley Software Tape
  == Basics of Disk Layout == Once you have decided how to make best use of your hardware, the question is how to initialize it. If you have the equipment, the bes
  42 KB (6,834 words) - 03:01, 17 January 2023
• Setting up (BSD 4.0) the Fourth Berkeley Software Tape
  As describe in ``Basics of disk layout'' below, the tape driver hardware, since they are used directly by a
  57 KB (8,582 words) - 03:00, 17 January 2023
• Floating point processor
  ...achines, it might be extra microcode, sometimes along with some additional hardware to speed up some aspects of the computation. In early machines, the hardware involved was a complete extra set of [[printed circuit board]]s; later on,
  1 KB (210 words) - 23:42, 10 April 2019
• Virtual memory
  ...rocess]], is not the actual address of the main memory location that the [[hardware]] knows for that memory location, but rather a 'virtual' address private to ...ed in a field as part of the data which describes the segment to the CPU's hardware), whereas with variable page sizes, only a few are supported.
  5 KB (876 words) - 20:01, 22 January 2024
• Core memory
  ...M|DRAM]]-era perspective, seems quaintly dinosaurian. Individual pieces of hardware one can actually ''see'' with the naked eye, for ''each'' bit? [[Category: Memory Basics]]
  8 KB (1,299 words) - 02:33, 4 March 2024
• Data path
  A '''data path''' is a term for [[hardware]] (often a [[conductor]], or group of them; although often some [[logic]] e [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  539 bytes (86 words) - 15:18, 6 August 2022
• Vonada's Engineering Maxims
  ...J. Craig Mudge, John. E. McNamara, "''Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design''" (Digital Press, Bedford, 1978) [[Category: Basics]]
  2 KB (299 words) - 12:36, 3 December 2023
• Synchronizer
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  2 KB (352 words) - 16:10, 1 December 2022
• Arbiter
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  3 KB (423 words) - 09:35, 3 March 2021
• Time-sharing
  Most time-sharing OS's relied upon hardware features to prevent one user (or process) from interfering with another. Th However, it was not essential to have hardware support for time-sharing; in computers which provided only an [[interpreter
  3 KB (491 words) - 02:53, 23 January 2023
• Microcode
  ...is [[fetch]]ed, and used to control the operation of the CPU's internal [[hardware]] elements during that microcycle: routing data out of [[register]]s (inclu ...could often be fixed by replacing the microprogram alone, without required hardware changes. (With the coming of the [[microprocessor]], where the microprogram
  6 KB (853 words) - 14:25, 22 January 2024
• Virtual address
  ...nning a [[time-sharing]] [[operating system]], the [[memory management]] [[hardware]] provides mapping of memory addresses emitting by code belonging to a [[us [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  963 bytes (147 words) - 21:35, 15 December 2018
• First-In First-Out buffer
  FIFO buffers are found in both [[hardware]] and [[software]]; in the latter, they are usually implemented as [[ring b [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  794 bytes (128 words) - 17:38, 10 April 2019
• Cache
  [[Category: Computer Basics]] [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (251 words) - 00:58, 17 May 2023
• Bus grant line
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  2 KB (281 words) - 01:01, 14 February 2023
• Arithmetic logic unit
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (150 words) - 17:54, 7 August 2021
• Object code
  ...in the low-level form which a computer's [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] [[hardware]] can execute directly; i.e. [[instruction]]s for the CPU to [[execute]]. ( [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  1 KB (229 words) - 04:51, 11 January 2024
• Binary
  ...lly, '''binary''' refers to the base-2 number system, which is used at the hardware level of essentially all computers. It can also refer to numbers or other d ...rm for [[object code]], the low-level form of a computer program which the hardware in the [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] can interpret directly.
  407 bytes (64 words) - 18:23, 16 December 2018
• Reduced Instruction Set Computer
  ...neering costs of that would be amortized over all the units, whereas extra hardware is a cost in every unit. [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  2 KB (330 words) - 02:01, 16 December 2018
• Architecture
  ...evel organization and structure of a system. The term is applied to both [[hardware]] and [[software]]. [[Category: Basics]]
  3 KB (488 words) - 00:30, 23 October 2023
• Stack Pointer
  ...s a stack pointer, but there is still usually one that is 'special' to the hardware (e.g. used during the processing of [[interrupt]]s), and this is usually di [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  496 bytes (84 words) - 16:24, 15 December 2018
• Register
  ...ot include many registers in the CPU, since each register needs separate [[hardware]], and that was a scarce resource early on. Many machines only had a single Later on, hardware was not so much of an issue, but computers still tend to have somewhat limi
  1 KB (173 words) - 13:10, 14 May 2021
• Process
  ...amage/etc other processes; these limitations are usually enforced by the [[hardware]] of the CPU, as directed by the OS.) ...dress space]] all its own, implemented using real memory on the underlying hardware - although [[virtual memory]] may be used to provide it.
  1 KB (201 words) - 23:13, 16 December 2018
• Virtual machine
  ...ide a process running in the same VM OS, but with the latter on the 'bare' hardware. This capability can be useful for testing new versions of the VM OS, etc. Not all computers can be virtualized; it requires that the machine hardware be carefully designed so that any and all operations which are reserved to
  2 KB (269 words) - 19:19, 5 January 2023
• Base and bounds
  ...r in terms of the user's [[address space]], depended on the details of the hardware implementation, and was only relevant to the [[operating system]].) [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  995 bytes (161 words) - 21:34, 15 December 2018
• Subroutine
  Eventually [[hardware]] support (in the form of special instructions) was added to simplify calli [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  3 KB (406 words) - 15:43, 12 May 2023
• Simulator
  ...itten to allow work on the software for a new computer to begin before the hardware is working. Simulators were also used to evaluate different proposed [[Cent ...ulators have become popular with people interested in older computers. The hardware for machines such as the [[IBM 7094]] (which ran the [[CTSS]] operating sys
  2 KB (308 words) - 15:05, 14 April 2021
• Emulator
  ...ternal, visible functionality of another unit; the term is usually used of hardware, but not always. [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  1 KB (157 words) - 21:13, 14 January 2024
• Bootstrap
  ...r methods for entering the bootstrap code into a blank memory, was special hardware for reading data off an external device such as [[paper tape]], or by manua [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  1 KB (255 words) - 09:08, 11 August 2023
• Memory management
  '''Memory management''' is the name for the hardware (sometimes called the '''Memory Management Unit''', or '''MMU''') in a [[Ce This hardware is needed for two reasons. First, in a [[time-sharing]] [[operating system]
  1 KB (235 words) - 17:28, 8 June 2023
• Flip-flop
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  5 KB (786 words) - 21:09, 8 April 2024
• Peripheral
  ...'device''' is a separate mechanism (always including some [[electronic]] [[hardware]], but often also some mechanical constituents) attached to a computer. The [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  1 KB (167 words) - 02:06, 16 December 2018
• User
  On machines which have [[hardware]] support for time-sharing, the [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] usually has [[Category: Basics]]
  804 bytes (131 words) - 16:00, 18 December 2018
• Binary-coded decimal
  On some machines, BCD was supported in the [[hardware]], as a formal data type with [[instruction]]s which could operate on BCD d [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  830 bytes (128 words) - 18:30, 16 December 2018
• Commercial Instruction Set
  ...t Corporation|DEC]]'s [[VAX]] line of computers, the early models included hardware support for the VAX [[architecture]]'s Commercial Instruction Set, but this [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  683 bytes (91 words) - 02:03, 16 December 2018
• Subroutine package
  ...s, a library implementing them was often provided on machines which lacked hardware support for BCD. [[Category: Software Basics]]
  736 bytes (111 words) - 23:58, 31 December 2022
• Device controller
  A '''device controller''' is a block of [[electronic]] [[hardware]] which is an intermediary between a computer (usually connecting to its [[ [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  778 bytes (107 words) - 02:06, 16 December 2018
• Swapping
  It was the usual technique in systems whose hardware did not support paging, i.e. those which did [[memory management]] using [[ [[Category: OS Basics]]
  1 KB (185 words) - 21:38, 15 December 2018
• Hardware
  '''Hardware''' is a term for all the physical components of a computer: the [[transisto [[Category: Basics]]
  232 bytes (32 words) - 21:19, 14 December 2018
• Software
  ...all the information (or state) which directs the action of a computer's [[hardware]]. It may include the [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]]'s [[microcode]] (even [[Category: Basics]]
  476 bytes (69 words) - 22:31, 16 December 2018
• Packet switch
  More recently, very high speed packet switches use custom [[hardware]]. [[Category: Networking Basics]]
  2 KB (246 words) - 19:29, 11 January 2024
• Front end
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (236 words) - 21:53, 23 September 2022
• Adder
  An '''adder''' is a collection of [[hardware]] (now [[gate]]s) which, as the name implies, can add together the numbers [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  878 bytes (142 words) - 10:18, 8 August 2021
• Circuit
  More loosely, the term 'circuit' (or '''circuitry''') is used to describe a [[hardware]] assembly, including a range of devices such as [[transistor]]s, etc. [[Category: Electrical Basics]]
  713 bytes (114 words) - 12:05, 18 November 2021
• Address
  For the former, the [[hardware]] reacts to references to a given address by using the unit of storage at t [[Category: Basics]]
  1 KB (185 words) - 19:44, 14 December 2018
• Interface
  * A [[device controller]], a piece of [[hardware]] that connects a computer to a [[peripheral]] [[Category: Basics]]
  350 bytes (44 words) - 19:39, 14 December 2018
• Kernel
  ...me operations (e.g. changing the configuration of the [[virtual memory]] [[hardware]]) which are forbidden to 'ordinary' [[user]] [[program]]s (usually running [[Category: OS Basics]]
  1 KB (230 words) - 14:11, 29 January 2022
• User interface
  ...some system interacts with a [[user]]. Exactly how will depend on i) the [[hardware]] which is available to pass information to the user ([[printing terminal]] ...] editors when bit-mapped displays became widely available. Similarly, new hardware often enabled a new generation of applications (e.g. [[spread-sheet]]s, [[i
  945 bytes (130 words) - 18:21, 5 October 2023
• Diagnostic
  ...of [[software]] which is designed to test the correct operation of some [[hardware]]. There are two main forms: [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  829 bytes (130 words) - 21:22, 11 September 2020
• Type
  The [[hardware]] usually supports a limited, fixed number of types, but the [[software]] m [[Category: Basics]]
  742 bytes (120 words) - 19:36, 14 December 2018
• Logic
  In the computer world, it is a term used to describe a group of [[digital]] [[hardware]] - collections of [[gate]]s, [[flip-flop]]s, etc. [[Category: Basics]]
  258 bytes (38 words) - 22:16, 14 December 2018
• Memory
  '''Memory''' is technology or [[hardware]] used to retain data to make it available for later use. The term is usual [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  597 bytes (95 words) - 16:32, 15 December 2018
• Flow control
  ...]], there are a pair of control lines dedicated to doing flow control in [[hardware]] - Request To Send, and Clear To Send. The sender activates RTS when it ha [[Category: Basics]]
  2 KB (283 words) - 14:47, 18 October 2021
• Buffer
  ...oring data while it is waiting to be used. Buffers may be implemented in [[hardware]] or [[software]]; it might be [[memory]] in a [[device controller]], it mi [[Category: Basics]]
  313 bytes (47 words) - 22:49, 16 December 2018
• Negative logic
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  750 bytes (122 words) - 22:24, 22 November 2019
• Address bus
  [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  370 bytes (58 words) - 04:31, 13 December 2018
• Data bus
  [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  365 bytes (59 words) - 04:32, 13 December 2018
• Hardware port
  A '''port''', in [[hardware]] is a means of gaining access to a computer or a sub-system. [[Category:Hardware Basics]]
  473 bytes (79 words) - 04:30, 13 December 2018
• Motherboard
  ...rds, this included cards to connect to [[local area network]]s, hold the [[hardware]] to drive the [[display]], etc, but much of this has now been standardized [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  1 KB (197 words) - 15:09, 21 March 2023
• Page table
  ...ray]] in most machines, but now often more complex) which is used by the [[hardware]] of the [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] to do [[virtual memory]]. It provi [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  394 bytes (59 words) - 21:37, 15 December 2018
• Front panel
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (201 words) - 01:04, 22 January 2024
• Open source
  ...y, things other than software are being distributed as open source, e.g. [[hardware]] [[printed circuit board]] designs.) [[Category: Basics]]
  665 bytes (97 words) - 13:51, 5 July 2022
• Channel
  A '''channel''' is a block of [[hardware]] (effectively a [[co-processor]]) which performs [[input/output|I/O]] oper ...r]]s (although the individual PPU's are implemented with one set of shared hardware). The channels of [[International Business Machines|IBM]] mainframes are pr
  1 KB (205 words) - 17:18, 9 April 2024
• Switch register
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  306 bytes (50 words) - 04:51, 13 December 2018
• Parallel interface
  A '''parallel interface''' (or '''parallel port''') is a [[hardware]] [[port]] which uses many physical [[conductor]]s in parallel (hence the n [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (206 words) - 00:46, 20 November 2020
• Extended Arithmetic Element
  ...rliest generation of computers) did not provide multiply, divide, etc in [[hardware]], as that would have taken too many [[gate]]s; instead, they were done in [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  985 bytes (136 words) - 18:14, 27 October 2022
• Terminal emulator
  ...ator is running is usually one which has an [[asynchronous serial line]] [[hardware port|port]], although on personal computers now, those are often provided b ...imulator" means software and/or hardware that models some terminal down to hardware detail level. This category of technology has not yet been widely explored
  897 bytes (140 words) - 09:52, 7 May 2021
• Distribution panel
  A '''distribution panel''' is a piece of hardware that converts from a large cable (usually a [[flat cable]]) to a number of [[Category: Device Basics]]
  435 bytes (65 words) - 17:44, 11 May 2021
• Shift register
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1 KB (236 words) - 20:43, 4 August 2021
• Serial
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  688 bytes (116 words) - 23:28, 6 August 2021
• Parallel
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  514 bytes (76 words) - 13:07, 27 February 2024
• Grant continuity card
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  554 bytes (82 words) - 22:39, 3 December 2021
• Backup
  ...(usually also called a 'backup') of newly-created data, so that should a [[hardware]] failure occur in the [[peripheral|device]] holding the data, it is not lo [[Category: Basics]]
  545 bytes (88 words) - 13:18, 13 April 2022
• Daughter-board
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  423 bytes (57 words) - 17:46, 3 June 2022
• Floating point accelerator
  ...roinstructions. A floating point accelerator provides additional computing hardware which allows floating point instructions to be executed more quickly, incre [[Category: CPU Basics]]
  1 KB (155 words) - 01:20, 8 July 2022
• Static RAM
  ...eed to be [[memory refresh|refreshed]], making it simpler to use (at the [[hardware]] level). The lack of refresh also means that it has a constant [[access ti [[Category: Memory Basics]]
  1 KB (183 words) - 02:06, 20 September 2022
• Display refresh
  ...ay]]s, the [[memory]] in which the image is created is not actually in the hardware which generates the light of the display itself (since that memory needs to [[Category: Device Basics]]
  809 bytes (128 words) - 21:12, 21 September 2022
• Register file
  The typical [[hardware]] implementation in the era in which they became common was a set of small [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  411 bytes (62 words) - 07:44, 5 November 2022
• Vector processing
  ...ability of [[Central Processing Unit|CPUs]] to provide direct support in [[hardware]] for handling [[array|vectors]] (in the same way that [[floating point]] s [[Category: Computer Basics]]
  816 bytes (116 words) - 14:58, 30 March 2023
• Frame buffer
  A '''frame buffer''' is a [[digital]] [[hardware]] device which implements a [[memory]]&mdash;separate from the main memory& [[Category: Device Basics]]
  452 bytes (59 words) - 13:48, 27 February 2024
• Parallel computer
  [[Category: Hardware Basics]]
  1,023 bytes (163 words) - 15:47, 8 May 2024