Re: Code curosity - long, technical, and probably boring!

In article <mipaine-3B87BB.22574606122005@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, G.
Michael Paine <mipaine@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Now I just need to find a very simple explanation of just what a
microprocessor does and how. I know, Good luck, right? And after that an
idiot's explanation of just what the OS does.

I am not trying to be a smart-ass, but you are starting to dive into a
complicated realm where one question will lead to another, making you
very confused.

That said, let's start out simple.

From my Mac's built in dictionary/thesauras -

microprocessor - noun
"An integrated circuit that contains all the functions of a central
processing unit of a computer."


My next lookup...

cpu - (abbreviation for central processing unit)
"The part of a computer in which operations are controlled and
executed."


(meaning just math' "operations")


I warned you, we are not any smarter now than when we started.<g>



On a very over-simplified level, a cpu is merely capable of adding ones
and zeroes.

Everything else springs from this ability to add ones and zeroes.

Even subtraction is accomplished by the ability of a cpu to add ones
and zeroes.

The subtraction technique is called "twos complement", which reduces
subtraction to an addition operation.

Multiplication is done by repeated addition.

Division is done by repeated subtraction.



Everything in a program is reduced to simple math' calculations in the
cpu, assisted by the cpu's support chips of registers, control
circuits, etc. All are located inside one integrated-circuit part
called a "microprocessor".


All this complexity is why computer nerds are such weird people.



Back to the Mac's built in dictionary/thesauras -

operating system - noun
"The software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as
scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals."

Now wasn't that easy, now you know about OSs. ;-)



Very early kit-assembled computers for hobby use just had switches and
lights, but no OS. It took a major effort to hook those early
"computers" up to a monitor and keypad, with the associated circuitry
to utilize the monitor and keypad.

The keypad replaced the hand-operated switches.

The monitor display replaced the lights.

Naturally, being there was no software OS, you could not use
"different" monitors or keypads.

I do not recall when the first disk drives appeared. I am old enough
to remember clearly that paper tape was often used for storage, also
heavy stacks of stiff paper cards with small rectangular holes punched
in them were used for storage, by outfits like IBM. (punch cards)

One of my first computers used an ordinary voice tape recorder for the
storage of data.

Mark-
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: "Strange" values in Monitor in a GS80 Galaxy configuration
    ... }CPU migrated to it (I'm pretty sure it starts off as one CPU, ... }period), and this seems to, ahem, "confuse" Monitor as seen below. ... Then a second CPU magically appears. ... The CPU tick counts stored in the ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: computer wont boot
    ... Thanks Jim, I tried your suggestion, plugging the power cord into the CPU ... a "monitor self ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Altair 8800 kits
    ... Within months of the Altair coming out, there were other computers that didn't have a front panel, but did have a monitor in ROM. ... The monitor would allow one to load things into memory, you could single step the program, you could put in an interrupt to stop the program at a certain point, you could display the contents of the registers and the accumulator, evne the contents of a given address in memory. ... That front panel was a burden, it took a lot of wiring, lots of parts, and if you changed the CPU to another type, it likely wouldn't have worked with the new CPU. ... Nowadays, most computers do not have a monitor built in, which makes it difficult to play with assembly language. ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: PING group...queston about file combining....please and thanks.
    ... would be more accurate than the Program Manager's CPU ... monitor, ... no known usage monitors can detect that, ... Limbaugh has de-educated America. ...
    (alt.os.windows-xp)
  • Re: Model 1 with video fault
    ... the cpu direct to a standard composite video monitor... ... See what the cpu is doing before you go any further. ...
    (comp.sys.tandy)