Components of the Data Processing

Data Processing is a technique of collecting, manipulating and distributing data to

achieve certain functions. It objective is to convert raw data into information that can be
used in decision making.
The processing is usually assumed to be automated and running on a computer.
Because data are most useful when well-presented and actually informative, data
processing systems are often referred to us information systems to emphasize their
practicality. Nevertheless, both terms are roughly synonymous, performing similar
conversions; data processing systems typically take raw data as input to produce
information as output.
Data processing is any computer process that converts data into information or
knowledge.[1] The processing is usually assumed to be automated and running on a
computer. Because data are most useful when well-presented and actually informative,
data-processing systems are often referred to as information systems to emphasize their
practicality. Nevertheless, both terms are roughly synonymous, performing similar
conversions; data-processing systems typically manipulate raw data into information, and
likewise information systems typically take raw data as input to produce information as
output.
Data processing, data are defined as numbers or characters that represent
measurements from observable phenomena. A single datum is a single measurement from
observable phenomena. Measured information is then algorithmically derived and/or
logically deduced and/or statistically calculated from multiple data. (evidence).
Information is defined as either a meaningful answer to a query or a meaningful stimulus
that can cascade into further queries.

For example gathering seismic data leads to alteration of seismic data to suppress noise,
enhance signal and migrate seismic events to the appropriate location in space.
Processing steps typically include analysis of velocities and frequencies, static
corrections, deconvolution, normal moveout, dip moveout, stacking, and migration,
which can be performed before or after stacking. Seismic processing facilitates better
interpretation because subsurface structures and reflection geometries are more apparent.

Computer Systems
A system is a collection of objects, procedures or techniques that interact in a
regulated manner to form an organized whole. System may be composed of smaller
assemblages of parts known as subsystem. Each subsystem serves specific functions to
accomplish the function of a system as a whole.
The computer is made up of several subsystems, namely, the central processing
unit (CPU), the input\output (I\O), and the primary memory.
A complete, working computer. The computer system includes not only the
computer, but also any software and peripheral devices that are necessary to make the
computer function. Every computer system, for example, requires an operating system.
 A general purpose computer has four main sections: the arithmetic and logic unit
(ALU), the control unit, the memory, and the input and output devices (collectively
termed I/O). These parts are interconnected by busses, often made of groups of wires.

The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic I/O (and often other hardware closely linked
with these) are collectively known as a central processing unit (CPU). Early CPUs were
composed of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically
been constructed on a single integrated circuit called a microprocessor.

Central Processing Unit

The central processing unit, which is also known as the mainframe for large
computers, is the heart of the computer system. It integrates and coordinates overall
operation.

A Central Processing Unit (CPU), or sometimes just called processor, is a

description of a class of logic machines that can execute computer programs. This broad
definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term
"CPU" ever came into widespread usage. The term itself and its initialism have been in
use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design
and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but
their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind,

computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular
application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that
are suited for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era
of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the
popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex
CPUs to be designed and manufactured to tolerances on the order of nanometers. Both
the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these
digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing
machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones
to children's toys.

It is composed of three units:

1. The Control Unit – maintains order and controls activity in the CPU. It does not
process or store data. Rather, it directs the sequence of operations. The control
unit interprets the instruction of a program in storage and produces signal that act
as command circuits to execute the instructions. Other function of the control unit
includes communicating with an input device in order to begin the transfer of
instruction and data into storage ad, similarly, communicating with an output
device to initiate the transfer of results from storage.
2. The Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU) – performs arithmetic computations and
logical operations. For example, the computer can be instructed to branch to one
 of three operations, depending on whether a value being tested is greater than,
equal to, or les than another value.
3. The Primary Storage Unit – holds instructions, data and intermediate and final
results. It is a reusable, fast storage medium, directly accessible by the control
unit. Each storage cell is capable of storing one bit of data. A bit is the smallest
unit of information that ca be held in memory. Bit of data are generally stored in
groups, called bytes.

Input\Output Subsystem
The input\output (I\O) subsystem provides the mechanism for communications
between the CPU and the outside world. Data can be entered in the form of printed
characters on page, holes in punched card or paper tape, key presses on a terminal
keyboard, or magnetized areas on magnetic tapes or disks, and o on. The input subsystem
of a computer reads these data and converts them into electronic pulses. It then transmits
these pulses, through wires, to the central processing unit.
The computer’s output subsystem reports the results of processing by the CPU.
Output is an essential step in the data processing cycle. Unless output is provided in some
way, data processing has little value. It is the output subsystem’s function to convert to
give the processed data is usable form.
I/O is the means by which a computer receives information from the outside
world and sends results back. Devices that provide input or output to the computer are
called peripherals. On a typical personal computer, peripherals include input devices like
the keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as the display and printer. Hard disk
drives, floppy disk drives and optical disc drives serve as both input and output devices.
Computer networking is another form of I/O.

Often, I/O devices are complex computers in their own right with their own CPU and
memory. A graphics processing unit might contain fifty or more tiny computers that
perform the calculations necessary to display 3D graphics. Modern desktop computers
contain many smaller computers that assist the main CPU in performing I/O.

Memory Subsystem
The memory subsystem, also known as the secondary storage, allow for extra
data, storage exceeding the CPU’s primary storage. It I an efficient and compact means of
storing large amount of data, ready for retrieval or further processing. It is substantially
less expensive than the CPU’s primary storage. One limitation, though, of secondary
storage, is that its retrieval time is slower than the primary memory.

A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of cells into which numbers can be
placed or read. Each cell has a numbered "address" and can store a single number. The
computer can be instructed to "put the number 123 into the cell numbered 1357" or to
"add the number that is in cell 1357 to the number that is in cell 2468 and put the answer
into cell 1595". The information stored in memory may represent practically anything.
Letters, numbers, even computer instructions can be placed into memory with equal ease.
Since the CPU does not differentiate between different types of information, it is up to
the software to give significance to what the memory sees as nothing but a series of
numbers.

In almost all modern computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in
groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers;
either from 0 to 255 or -128 to +127. To store larger numbers, several consecutive bytes
may be used (typically, two, four or eight). When negative numbers are required, they are
usually stored in two's complement notation. Other arrangements are possible, but are
usually not seen outside of specialized applications or historical contexts. A computer can
store any kind of information in memory as long as it can be somehow represented in
numerical form. Modern computers have billions or even trillions of bytes of memory.

The CPU contains a special set of memory cells called registers that can be read and
written to much more rapidly than the main memory area. There are typically between
two and one hundred registers depending on the type of CPU. Registers are used for the
most frequently needed data items to avoid having to access main memory every time
data is needed. Since data is constantly being worked on, reducing the need to access
main memory (which is often slow compared to the ALU and control units) greatly
increases the computer's speed.

Computer main memory comes in two principal varieties: random access memory or
RAM and read-only memory or ROM. RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU
commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and software that never changes, so the
CPU can only read from it. ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up
instructions. In general, the content of RAM is erased when the power to the computer is
turned off while ROM retains its data indefinitely. In a PC, the ROM contains a
specialized program called the BIOS that orchestrates loading the computer's operating
system from the hard disk drive into RAM whenever the computer is turned on or reset.
In embedded computers, which frequently do not have disk drives, all of the software
required to perform the task may be stored in ROM. Software that is stored in ROM is
often called firmware because it is notionally more like hardware than software. Flash
memory blurs the distinction between ROM and RAM by retaining data when turned off
but being rewritable like RAM. However, flash memory is typically much slower than
conventional ROM and RAM so its use is restricted to applications where high speeds are
not required.[15]

In more sophisticated computers there may be one or more RAM cache memories which
are slower than registers but faster than main memory. Generally computers with this sort
of cache are designed to move frequently needed data into the cache automatically, often
without the need for any intervention on the programmer's part.