Foundation Course for Advanced Computer Studies

Franck Ismael Djédjé

Description

In the modern world, computer systems are playing a greater and greater part in everyday life. From office work, to entertainment, to providing information, the personal computer is quickly becoming a more integral part of the home. However, most PC users have no idea how most of the parts which make up their computer work internally. I am one of those who find that the framework provided by the school curriculum in the United Kingdom is of great assistance in planning lessons and learning plans but the curriculum does not plan out the work for us. We therefore need to invest a lot of time and effort into developing schemes of work that will suit the people we are going to teach. For me, it is a fantastic opportunity to employ our imagination and creativity to make lessons useful and interesting for children of different abilities. It is why I wrote this book. This book is a foundation course for Advanced Computer Studies and designed as a blueprint to teach users with a basic knowledge of computer science. Computer science is a subject that combines the use of technology which is ICT (Information Communication Technology) and the creation of technology. To use ICT (the subject about how to use technology to communicate information) more effectively, we need to know how technology works. Computing or computer science will create a generation of young people able to work at the forefront of technology change. It is the umbrella term for the subject that comprises 3 elements: computer science, information technology and digital literacy. It is helpful to think of these as the foundations, applications and implications of digital technology. The new focus on computer science will provides a well-defined and rigorous academic discipline and a unique lens through which pupils can understand the world. Children must therefore be taught computing if they are to be ready for tomorrow technology challenges. Our ingenuity to invent new means of communicating with each other, our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries however still a lot remain to be done with the arrival of quantum computing. A more rigorous approach to computer science teaching will help compete across the full spectrum of digital industries. This can only be achieved by equipping ourselves with the foundation skills, knowledge and understanding of computing do the necessity to introduce “computational thinking” at school via the new national curriculum (programmes of study and targets), the 2014 national curriculum that introduces computing which will replace ICT.

Informations

• Publié par: Les Éditions du Net
• Date de parution: 13 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 20
• EAN13: 9782312039503
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Franck Ismael Djédjé
Foundation Course for Advanced Computer Studies



























Learn tomorrow’s computer today

To project our self in the next generation of computers (quantum computers), in the next era of computing, it is important to understand how today’s computers (silicon-based computer) works.

A quantum computer is a computer design which uses the principles of quantum physics to increase the computational power beyond what is attainable by a traditional computer.




This book is a foundation course for Advanced Computer Studies and designed as a blueprint to teach users with a basic knowledge of computer science. Computer science is a subject that combines the use of technology which is ICT (Information Communication Technology) and the creation of technology. To use ICT (the subject about how to use technology to communicate information) more effectively, we need to know how technology works.





















© Les Éditions du Net, 2015
ISBN : 978-2-312-03950-3
Table of Contents

PC - Peripheral Devices
PC Internal Architecture, CPU & CPU Socket
Personal Microcomputer
The Processor Unit
Lesson 1
The Fetch Execute cycle & the Processor
Matrices and Digital Images
The components of the simplified processor
Lesson 2
The ‘fetch’ section of the instruction execution cycle
Lesson 3
The Fetch execute cycle - C programming language as example
What Are Pointers?
How to use Pointers?
NULL Pointers in C
Pointers and string
A variable's address vs a variable's value
Lesson 4
Logic gates
De Morgan’s Laws
Lesson 5
Binary Mathematics
Lesson 6
Binary number and transportation cables (USB and PS2 cables as example)
Lesson 7
Introduction to SSADM (Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method).
Lesson 8
Tree Diagrams
The tree Diagram, example of a search engine
The tree Diagram, in software testing
Lesson 9
Programming
Lesson 10
The atomic world
Lesson 11
The photovoltaic effect
Moore’s law (transistor as example)
Lesson 12
Introduction to a Personal Computer or PC
How to clean a PC (Personal Computer)?
Indexes
Index 1
Algorithm: adding and subtracting binary numbers using JavaScript
Algorithm: adding and subtracting binary numbers using Python
Index 2 (CPU and CPU fan)
Index 3 (exercises sheet)
Index 4 - from a DVD to a computer screen
Index 5 - Learn tomorrow’s computer today
Index 6 - Computer Programming Board Game
Livres du même auteur
PC - Peripheral Devices
Integrated Peripherals






Printer






Scanner


PC Internal Architecture, CPU & CPU Socket





Power Supply


Sound card



Video card

Memory card




Cooling fun

Central Processing Unit (CPU)







Personal Microcomputer Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 3 is a micro-computer. It is a micro-motherboard of a PC (Personal Computer).

Raspbian is the Foundation’s official supported Operating System.
Noobs is an easy installer for Raspbian.



Raspberry Pi 3



The microcontroller

The microcontroller is an even micro-computer than the Raspberry Pi is. I can also be seen as a micro-motherboard of a PC (Personal Computer).


Good practices:

Turn off your PC, remove the power cable and the monitor cable, wear an antistatic wrist strap or ground yourself, and take the case off your PC.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET RID OF ANY STATIC ELECTRICITY BY TOUCHING THE POWER SUPPLY, BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT TO HARM ANY OF YOUR COMPUTER’S INTERNAL COMPONENTS.





Microcontrollers




Microcontrollers are widely used in everyday items such as washing machines, remote controls, microwave ovens, mobile phones and vending machines. A modern car can contain around 40 of them. Several different types are commonly used in school electronics projects, including PICs, PICAXE and GENIE microcontrollers.
They are a type of IC and range in size from 8 to 40 pins. They can be programmed to respond to one or more inputs and to control one or more outputs. At their most simple,
they can be programmed to act as a series of logic gates.

Some microcontrollers also have the capability to accept and process analogue inputs, play ringtones and run parallel programs at the same time.

Advantages of using a microcontroller
size of a circuit can be reduced significantly - one microcontroller can replace several other ICs
allows greater flexibility - can be reprogrammed to change its function

Disadvantage of using a microcontroller
they are often more expensive than other ICs

Programming a microcontroller

Microcontrollers have different amounts of memory to hold the program that controls them. They read this program in a form called machine code. This looks like a long string of numbers and letters and is very difficult to understand. For this reason, their programs are normally written in other languages and converted into machine code using computer software.

In schools, programs are normally written on a computer as flowcharts, although sometimes a programming language called BASIC is used. The program might be transferred from the computer to the microcontroller in a number of different ways, depending upon the type of microcontroller used and the design of the circuit:
By placing the microcontroller into a piece of hardware known as a programmer. This is normally only used if the circuit includes an IC socket to allow the microcontroller to be easily removed and replaced.
Through a jack socket connected to the computer USB port.
Through a USB port connected to the computer USB port.
The Processor Unit
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the part of a computer system that is commonly referred to as the "brains" of a computer.
The CPU is responsible for interpreting and executing a sequence of stored instructions called a program ( commands from the computer’s hardware and software ) .
This program will take inputs from an input device, process the

input in some way and output the results to an output device .

CPUs are not only found in desktop or laptop computers, many electronic devices now rely on them for their operation. Mobile phones, DVD players and washing machines are examples of equipment that have a CPU.
Lesson 1
The Fetch Execute cycle & the Processor
The fetch cycle takes the address required from memory, stores it in the instruction register, and moves the program counter on one so that it points to the next instruction.



Briefly describe what happens in the fetch-execute cycle.
In the fetch phase an instruction is copied into the control unit and decoded.
In the execute phase the instruction is obeyed.






A simplified model processor
The diagram shows the basic processor, along with memory for storage of data and instructions.
The model processor is able to process one byte of data during the execution of one instruction – called an 8 bit processor.
A fetch-execute machine, which must perform the following: ‘pick out’ the correct memory location Fetch the instruction from that memory location Store the instruction temporarily ‘understand’ the instruction Repeat the sequence as long as there are instructions to be executed


The format of instructions

You are familiar with complex instruction in a high level language typically consisting form of assignment statements, control structures and selection structures. Below is an example in JavaScript.

<!DOCTYPE html>
…..<html>
…..….. <body>
…..…..….. <script>
…..…..…..….. cars =[ "BMW" , "Volvo" , "Saab" , "Ford" ];

…..…..…..….. for ( var i = 0 ; i < cars.length ; i ++)
…..…..…..…..….. {
…..…..…..…..…..….. document.write ( cars [ i ] + "<br>" );
…..…..…..…..….. }
…..…..….. </script>
…..….. </body>
…..</html>

Result:
BMW Volvo Saab Ford

Typical instructions from a high level language:
Enable the programmer to achieve large amounts processing using a few reserved words.
Have variable format and length.
At the processor level, instructions perform much more elementary operations such as addit