THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPUTER

Charles Babbage is often referred as the "father of computing" because of his invention
of the analytical engine, a prototype of which was completed far after his death. The
Charles Babbage Foundation took his name to honor his intellectual contributions and
their relation to modern computers.

Charles Babbage was born in London on December 26, 1792 [N.B., Bromley actually
got this wrong; his birth year is regarded as 1791], the son of Benjamin Babbage, a
London banker. As a youth Babbage was his own instructor in algebra, of which he was
passionately fond, and was well-read in the continental mathematics of his day. Upon
entering Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1811, he found himself far in advance of his
tutors in mathematics. With Herschel, Peacock, and others, Babbage founded the
Analytical Society for promoting continental mathematics and, reforming the
mathematics of Newton then taught at the university.

In his twenties Babbage worked as a mathematician, principally in the calculus of

functions. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, in 1816, and played a
prominent part in the foundation of the Astronomical Society (later Royal Astronomical
Society) in 1820. It was about this time that Babbage first acquired the interest in
calculating machinery that became his consuming passion for the remainder of his life.

Throughout his life Babbage worked in many intellectual fields typical of his day, and
made contributions that would have assured his fame irrespective of the Difference and
Analytical Engines. Prominent among his published works are A Comparative View of
the Various Institutions for the Assurance of Lives (1826), Table of Logarithms of the
Natural Numbers from 1 to 108, 000 (1827), Reflections on the Decline of Science in
England (1830), On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures (1832), Ninth
Bridgewater Treatise (1837), and the autobiographical Passages from the Life of a
Philosopher (1864). Babbage occupied the Lucasian chair of mathematics at
Cambridge from 1828 to 1839. He played an important role in the establishment of the
Association for the Advancement of Science and the Statistical Society (later Royal
Statistical Society).
Despite his many achievements, the failure to construct his calculating machines, and in
particular the failure of the government to support his work, left Babbage in his declining
years a disappointed and embittered man. He died at his home in Dorset Street,
London, on October 18, 1871.

Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine

Charles Babbage, a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University in England, is

recognized as the father of computers. He believed that mental as well as physical labor
should be aided by machines. He took the first major third Class step in the evolution of
the computer. In 1830 he began to design and build what was to be the first completely
automatic, general-purpose, digital computer He named this computer the Analytical
Engine because of the way it was to perform mathematical calculations based on
numbers stored in a storage unit within it. The arithmetic and storage units of the
machine were to be governed by a control unit that would coordinate and supervise the
sequence of operations. Babbage continued to work on the Analytical Engine until his
death in 1871. Because his ideas were far beyond the technical capabilities of that time,
he was not able to complete the engine. Nevertheless, he must be given credit for
having the foresight to design and attempt to build a machine that was about 100 years
ahead of its time

The Mark I Computer

After Babbage died, no significant progress was made in the development of automatic
computation until 1937. In 1937 Professor Howard Aiken of Harvard University began to
build an automatic calculating machine. The machine would combine the technical
capabilities of that time with the punched card concepts developed by Hollerith and
Powers. In 1944 the project was completed, and a machine known as the Mark I was
formally presented to Harvard University. By 1945 the Mark I was providing computing
support to the Bureau of Ships. The Mark I was relatively slow because the speed of its
calculations depended on the speed of many electromechanical relays and other
components. Internal processing functions were measured in seconds. Unlike previous
calculators, however, Aiken's machine was able to compare quantities and select
alternate paths of computation. In many ways the Mark I was the realization of
Babbage's dream. Although slower than modern computers, is are the Mark I is still
operational and is on display at Harvard University.

The Harvard Mark I computer could carry out five operations, addition, substraction,
multiplication, division and reference to previous results; moreover, it had special
built-in programs, or subroutines, to handle logarithms and trigonometric functions.
It stored and counted numbers mechanically using 3000
decimal storage wheels, 1400 rotary dial switces, and 500
miles of wire but transmitted and read the data electrically.
It was programmed by punch cards, weighed 5 tons, and could do a multiplication
operation in about 6 seconds. Like the earliest mechanical computers, the data to be
used in a Mark computer was stored in a separate part of the machine from the
instructions (or program) that would operate on the data. Also, the instructions were
stored in a different format than the data.

The Mark I was originally controlled from pre-punched paper tape without provision for
reversal, so that automatic "transfer of control" instructions could not be programmed.
Output was by card punch and electric typewriter. Because of the electromagnetic
relays, the machine was classified as a relay computer. It was fully automatic and could
complete long computations without human intervention.

The ENIAC

The first all-electronic digital computer was designed and built

in the early l940s at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore
School of Electrical Engineering. The team of John W.
Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, Jr., was responsible for the
construction of the computer. They named it the Electronic

Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). The ENIAC was

completely electronic; it used vacuum (electron) tubes rather
than electromechanical relays. Unlike relays, vacuum tubes do not have to move to
perform their functions. This improvement made ENIAC hundreds of times faster than
the Mark I. The ENIAC weighed about 30 tons, took up about 1,500 square feet of floor
space, and used 18,000 vacuum tubes. The fastest electromechanical machine of that
time could perform only one multiplication per second. With the use of vacuum tubes,
the ENIAC could process 300 multiplication's per second. It could do in one day what
would have taken 300 days to do manually.

The EDVAC

In 1945 Mauchly, Eckert, and others went on to build the

Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC). It was
smaller than either the Mark I or the ENIAC and had greater
capability. Two design features that distinguished the EDVAC
from the ENIAC were the use of binary numbers and the internal
storage of instructions in digital form. Up to this point, primary
emphasis was placed on building computers for use on scientific
projects. In 1946 Eckert and Mauchly founded their own
corporation to begin building computers for commercial use. The
computers were to be business oriented, designed primarily to
process business data.
The UNIVAC I

Next Eckert and Mauchly built the "UNIVersal Automatic Computer" (UNIVAC I). It was
to be the first computer built with the assumption that several computers of the same
type would be built and sold. Until the development of the UNIVAC I, computers were
only one of a kind. The UNIVAC I was the first computer to use
magnetic tape for input and output. Previously, computers had
used slower input -output, such as punched cards and paper tape.
The company of Eckert and Mauchly became a subsidiary of
Remington Rand in 1949, and later it became the Sperry Univac
Division of Sperry Rand Corporation. The first UNIVAC I computer
was installed at the United States Bureau of Census in 1951. It
was used by the Bureau of Census until 1963., when it was
classified obsolete and placed in the Smithsonian Institution. The introduction of the
UNIVAC I computer to the government and business communities opened up a new
field and was a major factor behind the growth of the computer industry. Since 1952
tremendous improvements have been made in computers, far too many to mention.
However, you should know how it all began and you should realize how rapidly our
technology in the computer industry has advanced.

COMPUTER GENERATIONS

In the computer world, we measure technological advancement by generations.

Computer systems are classified as belonging to a specific "generation." Each
generation indicates a significant change in computer design. The UNIVAC I represents
the first generation. Currently, we are moving toward the fourth generation.

First Generation (1951-1958)

The computers of the first generation were physically very large machines characterized
by the vacuum tube Because they used vacuum tubes, they were very unreliable,
required a lot of power to run, and produced so much heat that strict air conditioning
was needed to protect the computer parts. Compared to today's computers, they had
slow input and output devices, were slow in processing, and had small storage
capacities. Many of the internal processing functions were measured in thousandths of
a second (millisecond). The software (computer program) used on first generation
computers was unsophisticated and machine oriented. This meant that the
programmers had to code all computer instructions and data in actual machine
language. They also had to keep track of where instructions and data were stored.
Using such a machine language was efficient for the computer but difficult for the
programmer.

Second Generation (1959-1963)

The computers of the second generation were characterized by transistors instead of
vacuum tubes. Transistors were smaller, less expensive, generated almost no heat, and
required very little power. Thus second generation computers were much smaller,
required less power, and produced a lot less heat. The use of small, long lasting
transistors also increased processing speeds and reliability. Cost performance also
improved. The amount of storage capacity was greatly increased with the introduction of
magnetic disk storage and the use of core for main storage. High speed card readers,
printers, and magnetic tape units were also introduced. Internal processing speeds
increased. Functions were measured in millionths of a second (microseconds). Like the
first generation, a particular computer of the second generation was designed to
process either scientific or business oriented problems but not both. The software was
also improved. Symbolic machine languages or assembly languages were used instead
of actual machine languages. This allowed the programmer to use mnemonic operation
codes for instruction operations and symbolic names for storage locations or stored
variables. Compiler languages were also developed for the second generation
computers. The two most popular were FORmula TRANslator (FORTRAN) and the
COmmon Business Oriented Language (COBOL). FORTRAN was developed as a
scientific language and COBOL as a business oriented language.

Third Generation (1964-1970)

The computers of this generation (many of which are still in use) are characterized by
miniaturized circuits. This reduces the physical size of computers even more and
increases their durability and internal processing speeds. One design employs solid-
state logic microcircuits for which conductors, resistors, diodes, and transistors have
been miniaturized and combined on half-inch ceramic squares. Another smaller design
uses silicon wafers on which the circuit and its components are etched. The smaller
circuits allow for faster internal processing speeds resulting in faster execution of
instructions. Internal processing speeds are measured in billionths of a second
(nanoseconds). The faster computers make it possible to run jobs that were considered
impractical or impossible on first or second generation equipment. Because the
miniature components are more reliable, maintenance is reduced. New mass storage,
such as the data cell, was introduced during this generation, giving a storage capacity of
over 100 million characters. Drum and disk capacities and speed have been increased,
the portable disk pack has been developed, and faster, higher density magnetic tapes
are in use. Considerable improvements have been made to card readers and printers
while the overall cost has been greatly reduced. Applications using online processing,
real-time processing, time sharing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing , and
teleprocessing have become widely accepted. Manufacturers of third generation
computers are producing series of similar and compatible computers. This allows
programs written for one computer model to run on most larger model of the same
series. Most third generation systems are designed to handle both scientific and
business data processing applications. This is particularly valuable to DP installations
with both kinds of data processing requirements. Improved program and operating
software has been designed to provide better control resulting in faster processing.
These enhancements are of significant importance to the computer operator. They
simplify system initialization and minimize the need for console intervention by the
operator.

Fourth Generation and Beyond (1970 - Present)

The computers of the fourth generation are not as easily distinguished from earlier
generations, yet there are some striking and important differences. The manufacturing
of integrated circuits has advanced to the point where thousands of circuits (active
components) can be placed on a silicon wafer only a fraction of an inch in size (the
computer on a chip). This has led to what is called large scale integration (LSI) and very
large scale integration (VLSI). As a result of this technology, computers are significantly
smaller in physical size and lower in cost. Yet they have retained large memory
capacities and are ultra fast. Large mainframe computers are increasingly complex.
Medium sized computers can perform as large third generation computers do. An
entirely new breed of computers called microcomputers and minicomputers are small
and inexpensive, and yet they provide a lot of computing power. These micro/mini
computers are being manufactured by many different companies and are rapidly gaining
popularity.

WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in

its own memory unit, that accepts input or data, processes data arithmetically and
logically, produces output from the processing, and stores the results for future use. All
computers perform basically the same four operations:

 Input operations, by which data is entered into the computer for processing.
 Processing operations, which manipulate data by arithmetic and logical
operations. Arithmetic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division. Logical operations are those that compare data to determine if one
value is less than, equal to, or greater than another value.
 Output operations, which make the information generated from processing avail-
able for use.
 Storage operations, which store data electronically for future reference.
 

WHAT ARE DATA AND INFORMATION?

The four operations that can be performed using a computer all require data. Data
refers to raw facts, including numbers and words, given to a computer during the input
operation. Examples of data include the hours posted to a payroll time card or the words
comprising a memo to the sales staff. A computer accepts data, processes data and, as
a result of the processing, produces output in the form of useful information. Information
can therefore be defined as data that has been processed into a form that has meaning
and is useful.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER?

To understand how computers process data into information, you need to examine the
primary components of the computer. The four primary components of a computer are:

 input devices
 processor unit
 output devices
 auxiliary storage units

Input devices

Input devices enter data into main memory. Many input devices exist. The two most
commonly used are the keyboard and the mouse.

Keyboard

The input device you will most commonly use on computers

is the keyboard, on which you manually key in or type the
data. The keyboard on most com-puters is laid out in much
the same manner as a typewriter.

Mouse

An alternative input device you might encounter is a mouse.

A mouse is a pointing device that you can use instead of the
cursor control keys. You lay the palm of your hand over the
mouse and move it across the surface of a table or desk.
The mouse detects the direction of your movement and
sends this information to the screen to move the cursor. You
push buttons on top of the mouse to indicate your choices of
actions from lists displayed on the screen.

The Processor

The processor unit is composed of the central processing unit (CPU) and the main
memory. The central processing unit contains the electronic circuits that actually cause
processing to occur. The CPU interprets instructions to the computer, performs the
logical and arithmetic processing operations, and causes the input and output
operations to occur.
 Main memory consists of electronic components that store
numbers, letters of the alphabet, and characters such as decimal
points or dollar signs. Any data to be processed must be stored in
main memory. The amount of main memory in computers is
typically measured in kilobytes (K or KB), which equal 1,024
memory locations. A memory location, or byte, usually stores one
character. Therefore, a computer with 640K can store
approximately 640,000 characters. The amount of main memory
for computers may range from 64K to several million characters, or more. One million
characters is called a megabyte (MB).

Output Devices

Output devices make the information resulting from processing available for use. The
output from computers can be presented in many forms, such as a printed report or
color graphics. When a computer is used for processing tasks, such as word
processing, spreadsheets, or database management, the two output devices most
commonly used are the printer and the televisionlike display device called a screen,
monitor, or CRT (cathode ray tube).

Printers

Printers used with computers can be either impact printers or nonimpact printers. An
impact printer prints by striking an inked ribbon against the paper. One type of impact
printer often used with microcomputers is the dot matrix printer. To print a character, a
dot matrix printer generates a dot pattern representing a particular character. The
printer then activates vertical wires in a print head contained on the printer, so that
selected wires press against the ribbon and paper, creating a character. Dot matrix
printers vary in the speed with which they can print characters. These speeds range
from 50 characters per second to over 400 characters per second. Generally, the higher
the speed, the higher the cost of the printer. Many dot matrix printers also allow you to
choose two or more sizes and densities of character. Typical sizes include condensed
print, standard print, and enlarged print. In addition, each of the three print sizes can be
printed with increased density, or darkness. Another useful feature of dot matrix printers
is their capability to print graphics. The dots are printed not to form characters, but
rather to form graphic images. This feature can be especially useful when you are
working with a spreadsheet contained on the worksheet program to produce graphs of
the numeric values. Non-impact printers, such as ink jet printers and page printers, form
characters means other than striking a ribbon against paper. An ink jet printer forms a
character by using a nozzle that sprays drops of ink onto the page. Ink jet printers
produce relatively high-quality images and print between 150 and 270 characters per
second.

Computer Screens (Monitors)

The computer you use probably has a screen sometimes called a monitor or CRT
(cathode ray tube). The screen displays the data entered on the keyboard and
messages from the computer. Two general types of screens are used on computers. A
mono-chrome screen uses a single color (green, amber, white, or black) to display text
against a contrasting background. Some mono-chrome screens are designed to display
only characters; others can display both characters and graphics. Although they cannot
display multiple colors, some monochrome screens simulate full-color output by using
up to 64 shades of the screen's single color.

The second type of screen is a color display. These devices are generally capable of
displaying 256 colors at once from a range of more than 256,000 choices. Computer
graphics, charts, graphs, or pictures, can also be displayed on a screen so that the
information can be easily and quickly understood. Graphics are often used to present
information to others, for example, to help people make business decisions.

Auxiliary Storage

Main memory is not large enough to store the instructions and data for all your
applications at one time, so data not in use must be stored elsewhere. Auxiliary storage
devices are used to store instructions and data when they are not being used in main
memory.

Diskettes

One type of auxiliary storage you will use often with your computer is the diskette. A
diskette is a circular piece of oxide-coated plastic that stores data as magnetic spots.
Diskettes are available in various sizes. Microcomputers most commonly use diskettes
that are 5 ¼ inches or 3 ½ inches in diameter. To read data stored on a diskette or to
store data on a diskette, you insert the diskette in a disk drive You can tell that the
computer is reading data on the diskette or writing data on it because a light on the disk
drive will come on while read/write operations are taking place. Do not try to insert or
remove a diskette when the light is on as you could cause permanent dam-age to the
data stored on it. The storage capacities of disk drives and the related diskettes can
vary widely The number of characters that can be stored on a diskette by a disk drive
depends on three factors: (1) the number of sides of the diskette used; (2) the recording
density of the bits on a track; and (3) the number of tracks on the diskette. The most
commonly used diskettes for personal computers are 51A inch (left) and 3½ inch (right).
An advantage of the 3½-inch size is its rigid plastic housing, which helps prevent
damage to the diskette.

Early diskettes and disk drives were designed so that data could be recorded on only
one side of the diskette. These drives are called single-sided drives. Double -sided
diskettes, the typical type of diskette used now, provide increased storage capacity
because data can be recorded on both sides of the diskette. Disk drives found on many
microcomputers are 5 ¼-inch, double-sided disk drives that can store from 360,000
bytes to 1.25 million bytes on the diskette. Another popular type is the 3 ½-inch diskette,
which, although physically smaller, stores from 720,000 to 1.44 million bytes. An added
benefit of the 3 ½-inch diskette is its rigid plastic housing, which protects the magnetic
surface of the diskette. The second factor affecting diskette storage capacity is the
recording density provided by the disk drive. (The recording density is stated in
technical literature as the bpi the number of bits that can be recorded on a diskette in a
one-inch circumference of the innermost track on the diskette.) For the user, the
diskettes and disk drives are identified as being single density, double density, or high
density. You need to be aware of the density of diskettes used by your system because
data stored on high-density diskettes, for example, cannot be processed by a computer
that has only double-density disk drives The third factor that influences the number of
characters that can be stored on a diskette is the number of tracks on the diskette. A
track is a very narrow recording band forming a full circle around the diskette. The width
of this recording band depends on the number of tracks on the diskette. The tracks are
separated from each other by a very narrow blank gap. Each track on a diskette is
divided into sectors. Sectors are the basic units, for diskette storage. When data is read
from a diskette, it reads a minimum of one full sector. When data is stored on a diskette,
it writes one full sector at one time. The tracks and sectors on the diskette and the
number of characters that can be stored in each sector are defined by a special
formatting program that is used with the computer. Data stored in sectors on a diskette
must be retrieved and placed into main memory to be processed. The time required to
access and retrieve data, called the access time, can be important in some applications.
The access time for diskettes varies from about 175 milliseconds (one millisecond
equals 1/1000 of a second) to approximately 300 milliseconds. On average, data stored
in a single sector on a diskette can be retrieved in approximately 1/5 to 1/3 of a second.

Diskette care is important to preserve stored data. Properly handled, diskettes can store
data indefinitely. However, the surface of the diskette can be damaged and the data
stored can be lost if the diskette is handled improperly. A diskette will give you very
good service if you follow a few simple procedures

1. Store a 5 ¼-inch diskette in its protective envelope when you are not using it.
This procedure is necessary because the 5 ¼ -inch diskette has an oval opening,
the access window, which permits the read/write heads to access the diskette but
also allows the diskette to be easily damaged or soiled.
2. Keep diskettes in their original box or in a special diskette storage box to protect
them from dirt and dust and prevent them from being accidentally bent . Store the
container away from heat and disk to excessive direct sunlight. Magnetic and
electrical equipment, including telephones, radios, and televisions, can erase the
data on a diskette so do not place diskettes near such devices. Do not place
heavy objects on a diskette, because the weight can pinch the covering, causing
damage when the disk drive attempts to rotate the diskette.
3. To affix one of the self-adhesive labels supplied with most diskettes, write or type
the information on the label before you place the label on the diskette. If the label
is already on the diskette, do not use an eraser to change the label. If you must
write on the label after it is on the diskette, use only a felt tip pen, not a pen or
pencil, and press lightly.
 4. To use the diskette, grasp the diskette on the side away from the side to be
inserted into the disk drive. Slide the diskette carefully into the slot on the disk
drive. If the disk drive has a latch or door, close it. If it is difficult to close the disk
drive door, do not force it-the diskette may not be inserted fully, and forcing the
door closed may damage the diskette. Reinsert the diskette if necessary, and try
again to close the door.
5. The diskette write-protect feature prevents the accidental erasure of
the data stored on a diskette by preventing the disk drive from writing
new data or erasing existing data. On a 5 ¼-inch diskette, a write-
protect notch is located on the side of the diskette. A special write-
protect label is placed over this notch whenever you want to protect
the data. On the 3 ½-inch diskette, a small switch can slide to cover
and uncover the write protection window. On a 3½-inch diskette,
when the window is uncovered the data is protected.

Hard Disk

Another form of auxiliary storage is a hard disk. A hard disk consists of one or more
rigid metal platters coated with a metal oxide material that allows data to be
magnetically recorded on the surface of the platters Although hard disks are available in
read-write head cartridge form, most hard disks cannot be removed
fom the computer. As with diskettes, the data is recorded on hard
disks on a series of tracks. The tracks are divided into sectors when
the disc is formatted. The hard disk platters spin at a high rate of
speed, typically 3,600 revolutions per minute. When reading data from
the disk, the read head senses the magnetic spots that are recorded
on the platter and records that information into main memory. When
writing, the data is transferred from main memory and is stored as
magnetic spots on the tracks on the recording surface of one or more
of the disk platters. Unlike diskette drives, the read/write heads on a
hard disk drive do not actually touch the surface of the disk.

The number of platters permanently mounted on the spindle of a hard disk varies from
one to four. On most drives, each surface of the platter can be used to store data. Thus,
if a hard disk drive uses one platter, two surfaces are available for data. If the drive uses
two platters, four sets of read/write heads read and record data from the four surfaces.
Storage capacities of fixed disks for microcomputers ranged from 100 Megabytes (1
byte = 1 character) to well over twenty Gigabytes (100 Megabytes = 1/10 th Gigabyte).

WHAT IS COMPUTER SOFTWARE?

Most computer users purchase the software they need for their computer systems. The
two major categories of computer software are (1) application software and (2) system
software.

Application Software
Application software allows you to perform an application-related function on a
computer. A wide variety of programs is available, but for microcomputers, the three
most widely used types of application software are word processing, spreadsheet, and
database management.

Word Processing Software

Word processing software enables you to use a computer to create documents. As you
use a word processing program, words are keyed in, displayed on the screen, and
stored in main memory. If necessary, you can easily correct errors by adding or deleting
words, sentences, paragraphs, or pages. You can also establish margins, define page
lengths, and perform many other functions involving the manipulation of the written
word. After you have created and corrected your text, you can print it and store it on
auxiliary storage for reuse or future reference.

Spreadsheet Software

Spreadsheet software is used for reporting and decision making within organizations. At
home, you can use a spreadsheet program for budgeting, income tax planning, or
tracking your favorite team's scores. You might choose spreadsheet software to enter
the values and formulas you need to perform these calculations. One of the more
powerful features of spreadsheet application software is its capability to handle what-if
questions such as, What would be the effect on profit sales increased 12% this year?
The values on the worksheet could easily be recalculated to provide the answer.

Database Software

Database software is used to store, organize, update, and retrieve data. Once stored in
the database, data can be organized and retrieved in the manner you specify. For
example, in a database containing employee information, you could request a report
showing an alphabetical list of all employees in the accounting department.

System Software

System software consists of programs that start up the computer-load, execute, store,
and retrieve files-and perform a series of utility functions. A part of the system software
available with most computers is the operating system. An operating system is a
collection of programs that provides an interface between you or your application
programs and the computer hardware itself to control and manage the operation of the
computer. System software, including operating systems, available on computers
performs the following basic functions: (1) booting or starting the computer operation,
(2) interfacing with users, and (3) coordinating the system's access to its various
devices.

Booting the Computer: When a computer's power is turned on, the operating system
is loaded into main memory by a set of instructions contained internally within the
hardware of the computer. This process is called booting the computer. When the
operating system is loaded into main memory, it is stored in a portion of main memory.

Interface with Users: To communicate with the operating system, the user must enter
commands that the operating system can interpret and upon which it can act. The
commands can vary from copying a file from one diskette to another, to loading and
executing application software.

Coordinating System Devices: Computer hardware is constructed with electrical

connections from one device to another The operating system translates a program's
requirements to access a specific hardware device, such as a printer. The operating
system can also sense whether the devices are ready for use, or if there is some
problem in using a device, such as a printer not being turned on and, therefore, not
ready to receive output.

Interrupts

An interrupt is a signal sent from a hardware device (such as a disk controller board, a
network interface board, the keyboard, and so on) to the CPU telling the CPU that the
device requires immediate attention. The device that wants the CPU's attention sends
the interrupt signal over a special data line, called the interrupt request line (IRQ), that
connects the device to the CPU.

When the CPU receives the interrupt signal, it stops what it is doing and immediately
retrieves from memory special program instructions (called the interrupt service routine)
and performs the functions dictated by the routine. After the CPU completes the
interrupt service routine, it returns to what it was doing before it received the interrupt.

The CPU knows which device sent the interrupt signal, because each expansion board
and device has its own dedicated IRQ line. The interrupt line is set on the board at the
time it is installed in the computer. Two devices cannot have the same interrupt. If they
do, the result is that at least one, if not both, devices will malfunction..

Memory Addresses

The second method of expansion board communication is the memory address. The
memory address refers to a range of computer memory to which the device has
exclusive rights.

The reason for the exclusive use of this memory is similar to the exclusive use of an
IRQ line discussed previously. If two boards were trying to write to and read from the
same memory location, information and instructions would become confused quickly.
 Input/0utput (IO) Addresses

The third method of board communication is the I/0 address. The 1/0 address is of
equal or greater importance than IRQ lines and memory addresses when configuring
boards. The I/0 address corresponds to a port (or door) to the CPU. The I/0 addresses
are not to be confused with the COM and LPT ports used for printers or other external
communication. The I/0 address port is for internal communication between the CPU
and the hardware device. Take care to ensure that each device is assigned its own port
I/0 address.