Newnes Interfacing Companion

2.2

Computer architecture

2.2.1 Computer architecture

The combination of functional components in a computer is referred to as the architecture of the microcomputer. The main functional components in a microcomputer are the CPU or central processing unit, memory, and input/output (I/O) devices:

Binary information is transferred as TTL logic across wires called the bus – the address bus, the data bus and the control bus. When an address is placed on the address bus, the byte of information at or for that memory location is placed on the data bus. Signals on the control bus tell the CPU whether a read or write operation to that memory cell is ...