Ch 5

Storage Device Characteristics

Speed: Most important characteristic that differentiates primary and secondary

storage.

Access time: time required to execute one complete read or write

operation.

Average Access time: average access times on all storage locations.

Block: describes secondary storage data transfer units.

Volatility: storage device or medium that cannot reliably hold data for long
periods.

Access Method: Physical structure of a storage device’s read/write mechanism

and storage medium.

Serial Access: stores and retrieves data items in a linear or sequential

order. Magnetic tapes are the only widely used form of serial access storage.

Random Access: aka direct access, not restricted to any specific order
when accessing data. All primary storage devices and disk storage devices
are random access devices. Access is constant for primary storage devices;
but is not constant for disk storage due to, physical/spatial relationships of
the read/write mechanisms.

Parallel Access: can simultaneously access multiple storage locations. RAM

is also a parallel access device. If unit of data access is a bit, then access is
parallel. Also achieved by sub dividing data items and storing the component
pieces on multiple storage devices. E.g. operating systems storing file
contents on several disk drives.

Portability: Standardization of storage formats favors portability. Ability to be

connected or disconnected quickly to a computer. Removable storage media
have slower access than permanently installed devices.

Cost and Capacity: Cost increases as an access method moves from serial to
random to parallel. Users sacrifice speed and parallel access to gain sufficient
capacity at an acceptable cost.
 Memory-Storage Hierarchy:

Primary Storage Devices: Critical to PSD is access speed and data transfer unit
size. PSD must closely match CPU speed and word size to avoid wait states.
Technologies applied to the construction of processors have in general, been
applied simultaneously to the construction of primary storage devices.

Storing Electrical Signals: electrical power is stored directly by various

devices such as batteries and capacitors. Batteries are slow to
accept/regenerate electrical current. Capacitors are rapidly faster than batteries
but loses charge at a rapid rate and require fresh injection of electrical current at
regular intervals (hundreds to thousands of times per second).

Random Access Memory: generic term describing a PSD with the following
characteristics: microchip implementation using semiconductors, ability to read
and write with equal speed, and random access to stored bytes words or large
data units.

Static RAM: implements bit storage with a flip-flop circuit. Entirely

implemented thru transistors. Volatile unless a continuous supply of power is
guaranteed.

Dynamic RAM: electronic memory circuit that implements bit storage with
transistors and capacitors. Less complex than SRAM but slower due to
constant refreshing and less efficiency circuitry for accessing individual bits
(10 times slower access times than SRAM). DRAM is typically 50x slower than
microprocessors.

Synchronous DRAM: reliable high speed method of data transmission in

which data are sent in continuous data streams. Read-ahead RAM that uses
the same clock pulse as the system bus. Several clock cycles are required to
complete a single random access.

Enhanced DRAM: consists of small amount of SRAM placed in each DRAM

device. Word and several words that follow are retrieved when read request
 for specific word is retrieved. SRAM cache will store extra words in
anticipation of future sequential read requests.

Nonvolatile Memory: Ram with long-term or permanent data retention (NVM).

Has applications in cell phones, handheld computers, and portable storage
devices.

Firmware is software that resides on NVM or ROMs

Read Only Memory is the earliest type of NVM with data content written
permanently during manufacture.

Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM) is manufactured blank, is written

with a special EPROM writer, and erased by exposure to ultraviolet light. The
latest and only available type is Electronically Erasable Programmable ROM
(EEPROM). EEPROM has low density, relatively high costs, and write speed
that is too slow to enable EEPROMs to serve as PSD.

Flash RAM is the most common NVM used today. Competitive with DRAM in
storage capacity and read performance. Results in cell destruction after
100,000 or more write operation. Due to slow write speed and limited number
of write cycles, FLASH RAM is used for secondary storage and for firmware
that isn’t frequently updated.

Ferroelectric RAM embeds crystals of a metallic compound within the bit

storage/access circuitry. Non-volatile RAM that stores bit values within
metallic crystal. Center is moved from of the crystal to another to represent
bit values. R/W operations are similar to conventional DRAM and SRAM at
comparable speeds. Ferroelectric RAM access speeds are much faster than
flash RAM but repeated read operations can destroy cell contents.

Polymer Memory uses a special plastic with electrical resistance that can
be increased or decreased by an electrical field. Advantages are low-cost
materials, nondestructive read access, and individual memory cells with no
transistors. Challenges are accessing individual memory cells and finding low-
cost fabrication methods.

Memory Packaging: memory circuits are embedded within microchips, and

groups of chips are packed on a small circuit board that can be installed or
removed easily from a computer system.

Dual in-inline Packages (DIPs): early form of packaging for CPU and
memory circuits with two rows of electrical contact pins. Packaging form of
early RAM and ROM circuits. Installing DIP on a PCB is a tedious and precise
operation, and DIPs occupy a greater portion of surface area.

Single in-line Memory Module (SIMM) – small printed circuit board with
memory chips on one or both sides and electrical contacts on one edge.
Standard RAM package. Incorporates tiny DIPs on a tiny PCB.

Double in-line Memory Module (DIMM) – a newer packaging standard,

and is essentially a SIMM with independent electrical contacts on both sides
of the module.
CPU Memory Access: The physical organization of memory, the organization of
programs and data within memory, and data within memory, and the methods of
referencing specific memory locations are critical design issues for both primary
storage devices and processors.

Physical Memory Organization: Addresses of these memory locations are

assigned sequentially so that available addresses proceed from zero (low
memory) to the maximum available address (high memory).

Big Endian describes architectures that store the most significant byte at
the lowest memory address.

Little Endian describes architectures that store the least significant byte at
the lowest memory address.

Addressable Memory of a CPU is the highest numbered storage byte than

can be represented. If 32 bits are used to represent a memory address, then
addressable memory is 2^32 or 4gb.

Physical Memory is the actual number of memory bytes that are physically
installed in the machine. Physical memory is smaller than addressable
memory.

Memory Allocation and Addressing: describes the assignment of specific

memory addresses to system software, application programs and data.

Absolute Addressing describes memory address operands that refer to

actual physical memory locations.

Indirect Addressing aka Relative Addressing is the method of

automatically computing physical memory addresses.

Offset Register is the register that hold offset values. Contents are added
to calculate the corresponding physical memory address.

Magnetic Storage: Exploits the duality of magnetism and electricity. The polarity
of magnetic charge represents the bit values zero and one.
Factors that lead to data loss in magnetic storage devices

Magnetic Decay and Leakage: Decreases strength of individual bit charges.

Natural charge decay over time – data must be written at higher power than the
read threshold to avoid data loss.

Areal Density: coercible material per bit decreases as areal density increases –
higher areal density makes stored data more susceptible to loss due to decay
and leakage.

Media Integrity: stability of coercible material and its attachment to substrate

– physical stress and temperature/humidity extremes must be avoided to
prevent loss of coercible material.

Magnetic Tape: cancellation of adjacent charges of opposite polarity and

migration of charge to nearby areas – data must be written at higher power than
the read threshold to avoid data loss.

Linear Recording places bits along parallel tracks that run along the entire
length of tape.

Helical Scanning reads and writes data to or from a tape by rotating the
R/W head at an angle to tape and moving from tape edge to tape edge.
Requires much more complex r/w mechanisms.

Technology Focus – Magnetic Tape Formats and Standards

Before the mid-1990s, mainframes used tape drives that used .5 or 1 inch open
reel tape. IBM set standards for mainframe tapes because it made the majority
of mainframes. An alternative for smaller computers was the open Quarter Inch
Committee (QIC). Digital Data Standards (DDS) standards were developed
by HP and Sony from an earlier technology called Digital Audio Tape (DAT).
DDS utilized helical scanning and were cheap but not meant for precise
alignment, and were expensive due to being environmentally friendly for one.
DDS was used widely in small servers, and DAT72 format looked to succeed it.
Digital Linear Tape (DLT) is a standard developed by Quantum, and is .5
inches wide and contain a cartridge with only one reel. Longer tape lengths and
higher capacity per tape can be achieved the single reel cartridge. Sony and
Exabyte extended DAT with Sony’s Advanced Intelligent Tap (AIT) and
Exabyte’s Mammoth standards. Both used helical scanning 8mm tapes, and
employ a more expensive and precisely manufactured tap cartridge. Both can
carry more data onto a single tape. AIT includes a small RAM cache to store
directory information in order to speed searching and data access. Linear Tape
Open (LTO) is a standard developed by HP, IBM, and Seagate, and is a
proprietary standard. LTO uses linear recording and employs a number of
technology improvements in tape cartridges, coercible materials, r/w heads, and
tape control. LTO is primarily designed for enterprise-wide servers supporting
mission critical applications. Accelis Standard maximizes retrieval speed at the
expense of per-tap capacity, while the Ultrium Strandard maximizes capacity
at the expense of access speed. Accelis has never been developed due to the
introduction of magnetic disks.

Magnetic Disks are flat, circular platters with metallic coatings that are rotated
beneath r/w heads. Data are normally located on both sides of the platter.

Track is one concentric circle of a platter, or the surface area that passes
under a read/write head when its position is fixed.

Cylinder is the set of all tracks at an equivalent distance from the edge or
spindle on all platter surfaces.

Access Arm is where r/w heads are mounted, on its end.

Floppy disk aka Diskette uses a base of flexible or rigid plastic material
and is 2.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter.

Disk access time depends on: switch among read/write heads; position
the r/w heads over a track; wait for the desired sector to rotate beneath the
r/w heads.

head-to-head switching time is the elapsed time required to switch shared

read/write circuitry between two adjacent r/w heads. Measured in
nanoseconds.

track-to-track switching time is the time required to move from one track
to another. Measured in milliseconds.

Rotational delay is the time the disk controller must wait for the proper
sector to rotate beneath the heads. Depends on the platter rotation speed.
Increasing spin rate decreased rotational delay.

Technology Focus – Pocket-Size Data Storage

 The last widely adopted improvement to the personal computer floppy disk
standard came in late 1989 – the 1.4 MB 3.5 – inch standard floppy still used
today. Floppy standards stagnated similar to that of the QIC standard. Iomega
Corporation developed successful removable magnetic media including zip, jaz,
and REV disks. In early 2000s, USB and flash memory were to fill the gap held by
floppy disks for decades. Flash memory matured rapidly in the late 1990s and
early 2000s. In 2003, flash memory chips with 64mb were being mass produced
for less than 10$ each.

Optical Mass Storage Devices: Came of age in 1990s. Advantages over

magnetic storage are higher areal density and longer data life. Recording densities
are 10 times greater than magnetic storage devices. Optical storage is popular due
standardized and relatively inexpensive storage media. Manufacture of CDs is less
per bit than removable storage technologies.

CD-ROM – compatible with compact disc digital audio (CD-DA) but includes
additional formatting information to store directory and file information. CD is
120 millimeters (4.75 inches) in diameter. CD-DA is a standard developed by
Sony and Phillips for storing and distributing music.

CD-R has stable dye when scanned at low power during a read operation, but
changes its reflective properties when scanned at higher power during a write
operation. Sensitive to light, so should be stored in a dark location at room
temperature.

Magneto-Optical uses a laser and reflected light to sense bit values. At 150
degrees Celsius, material can be charged by a magnetic field in much the same
way a purely magnetic media. Magneto Optical technology peaked in the mid
1990s but was overcome by CD-RW drives. M-O’s advantage over CD-RW is
access speed and capacity, but were phased out by DVD phase-change formats.

Phase-Change Optical Discs enables nondestructive writing to optical storage

media. CD-RW is a standard of P-C Optical discs.

DVD digital video or digital versatile disc was developed by a consortium of

companies as standard for distributing movies and other audiovisual content. 3
competing standards for RW: DVD RAM, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW.

Ch 6

System Bus: connects the CPU with main memory and other system components.
Bus is a set of parallel communication lines that connect two or more devices.

Data Bus moves data among computer system components. A 64bit CPU would
have 64 or 128 bus data lines.
 Address Bus carries the bits of a memory address. Modern address bus, have
at least 32 lines.

Control Bus carries commands, command responses, status codes and similar
messages.

Bus Clock and Data Transfer Rate

Bus Clock is carried by control buses, and is a common timing reference for
all attached devices. Its frequency is measured in megahertz (MHz).

Bus Cycle is the time interval between from one clock pulse to the next. Bus
cycle time is the inverse of the bus clock rate.

BCT = 1 / BCR

Bus Protocol governs the format, content and timing of data, memory address,
and control messages sent across the bus. Every peripheral device must have
this.

Bus Master is the CPU due to being the focus of all computer activity, while all
other devices are Bus Slaves.

Besides the CPU, no other device can access the bus except in response to an
explicit instruction from the CPU.

Direct Memory Access (DMA): allows the transfer of data directly between
memory and secondary storage devices, without the assistance of the CPU. With
it, the DMA Controller assumes role of bus master for all transfers between
memory and other storage or I/O devices. As DMA controller manages bus
traffic, CPU is free to execute computation and data movement instructions.

Peer-to-Peer Bus is where any device can assume control of the bus, or act as
a bus master for transfers to any other device.

Bus Arbitration Unit is a simple processor attached to a p2p bus that decides
which devices must wait when multiple devices want to become a bus master.

Logical and Physical Access

I/O port: Communication pathway from CPU to peripheral device. A memory

address that can be read/written by the CPU and a single peripheral device. A
logical abstraction that enables CPU and bus to interact with each peripheral
device as if the device were a storage device with linear address space.

Physical access: System bus is usually physically implemented on a large

printed circuit board with attachment points for devices.

Logical access: The device, or its controller, that translates linear sector
address into corresponding physical sector location on a specific track and
platter.
 Linear Address Space: A set of sequentially numbered storage location.

Device Controllers: Implement the bus interface and access protocols. Translate
logical addresses into physical addresses. Enable several devices to share access to
a bus connection.

Mainframe Channels: Advanced type of device controller used in mainframe

controllers.

Compared with device controllers: Greater data transfer capacity. Larger

maximum number of attached peripheral devices. Greater variability in
types of devices that can be controlled.

Technology Focus—SCSI

Pronounced “skuzzy”, SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface.

There have been 9 generations, the earliest being SCSI-1, and latest being Serial
Attached SCSI (SAS). SCSI bus implements both a low level physical I/O protocol
and high level logical device control protocol. Can connect up to 16 devices,
which are assigned a unique ID of 0 to 15. The bus can be as long as 25 meters.
The control bus transmits control and status signals. SCSI-1 had a data bus 8 bit
wide, while later ones had 16 bit data bus.

Interrupt Processing: Used by application programs to coordinate data transfers

to/from peripherals, notify CPU of errors, and call operating system service
programs. When interrupt is detected, executing program is suspended; pushes
current register values onto the stack and transfers control to an interrupt handler.
When interrupt handler finishes executing, the stack is popped and suspended
process resumes from point of interruption

I/O Wait States: CPU cycles that could have been devoted to instruction
execution.

Interrupt: a signal to the CPU that some event has occurred that requires the
CPU to execute a specific program or process.

Interrupt Handlers: operating system service routine to process each possible

interrupt.

Supervisor: examines the interrupt code stored in the interrupt register and
uses it as an index to interrupt table. Extracts the corresponding memory
address and transfers control the interrupt handler at that address.

Multiple Interrupts: Categories of interrupts: I/O event, Error condition,

Service request.
 Stack Processing: The mechanism that allows a program to resume execution
in exactly the same state as before interruption. Area of the storage is accessed
in last in, first out (LIFO) basis.

Push: When values in a CPU register is added to the stack in an operation, when
a process is interrupted.

Machine State: Saved register values; values held in register.

Pop: CPU remove values on the top of the stack and loads them back into the
appropriate register when an interrupt handler finishes executing.

Stack Overflow: an error that occurs when there is attempt to push values
onto stack results at full capacity.

Stack Pointer: A special purpose register that always points to the next empty
address in the stack. Incremented and decremented each time the stack is
pushed or popped.

Performance Effects

Buffers and Caches

Buffers: Small storage areas (usually DRAM or SRAM) that hold data in transit
from one device to another. Use interrupts to enable devices with different data
transfer rates and unit sizes to efficiently coordinate data transfer.

Buffer overflow: occurs when buffer is not large enough to hold a full page.
Buffer size must be at least as large as the data output unit.

Diminishing Returns: When multiple resources are required to produce

something useful, adding more and more of a single resource produces fewer
and fewer benefits. Applicable to buffer size. As buffer size increases, CPU cycle
consumption decreases at a nearly linear rate, but total bus cycles decrease at a
diminishing rate.
Cache: Like buffer, this a storage area (usually RAM) that improves system
performance.

Different from a buffer thru: Data content not automatically removed as

used. Used for bidirectional data. Used only for storage device accesses.
Usually much larger. Content must be managed intelligently. Primary Storage
Caches.

Cache Controller: a processor that manages cache content.

Can be implemented in: A storage device controller or communication

channel, as a special purpose processor controlling RAM installed within the
controller or channel.

The operating system uses part of the primary storage to implement the
cache.

Cache hit: when a read operation accesses data already contained within
the cache.

Cache Miss: When the data needed is not in the cache.

Hit Ratio: ratio of cache hits to read accesses.

Cache Swap: The result of cache miss. The cache controller guesses which
data items are least likely to be needed in the near future, writes them to the
storage device, and purges them from the cache.

Technology Focus—Itanium2 Memory Cache:

Itanium 2 uses 3 levels of primary storage caching. CPU, L1 and L2 are

implemented on a single chip. L3 cache is implemented on asset of separate
chips and can be 3, 4, or 6 MB. These integrated package reduces distance
between components, so L3 can communicate with the CPU at the CPU’s
clock rate. L2 cache at 256KB holds both instructions and data. L1 store
prefetch instructions. Separate L1 caches allow some streamlining of
processor functions when storing instruction and data. Itanium 2 can assign
various caching modes to 2KB, 4KB, or 4MB regions of main memory. Itanium
2 was designed to participate in multiprocessor computer systems. Itanium 2
utilizes memory snooping to maintain consistency among their caches and
main memory.

Secondary Storage Caches: Disk caching is common in modern computer

systems, particularly in file and database servers. In a file server, disk
caching performance can be improved if information about file access is
tracked and used to guide the cache controller by:

Giving frequently accessed files higher priority for cache retention.

Use read-ahead caching for files that are read sequentially.

Give files opened for random access lower priority for cache retention.
Processing Parallelism: Increases computer system computational capacity;
breaks problems into pieces and solves each piece in parallel with separate CPUs.

Techniques for Processing Parallelism: Multicore processors, Multi-CPU

architecture, Clustering

Multicore Processors: Placing hundreds of millions of transistors and their

interconnections within a single microchip.

Multi-CPU Architecture: Employs multiple single or multicore processors

sharing main memory and the system bus within a single motherboard or
computer system. Common in midrange computers, mainframe computers, and
supercomputers. Cost effective for: Single system that executes many
different application programs and services; Workstations.

Workstations”

Scaling Up: Increasing processing by using larger and more powerful

computers. Used to be most cost-effective. Still cost-effective when maximal
computer power is required and flexibility is not as important.

Scaling Out: Partitioning processing among multiple systems. Speed of

communication networks; diminished relative performance penalty. Economies
of scale have lowered costs. Distributed organizational structures emphasize
flexibility. Improved software for managing multiprocessor configurations.

High-Performance Clustering: Connects separate computer systems with high-

speed interconnections.

Used for the largest computational problems. (e.g., modeling three-dimensional

physical phenomena)

Compression: Reduces number of bits required to encode a data set or stream.

Effectively increases capacity of a communication channel or storage device.
Requires increased processing resources to implement compression/decompression
algorithms while reducing resources needed for data storage and/or
communication.

Compression Algorithm: a specific mathematical compression technique

implemented as a program.

Decompression Algorithm: restores compressed data to its original or near

original state.

Lossless Compression: Result of compressing and then decompressing any

data input is exactly the same as the original input. Required for applications
such as accounting records, executable programs, and most stored documents.

Lossy Compression: Result of compressing and then decompressing any data

input is different than, but still similar to, the original input. Usually applied to
video and audio data.
 Compression Ratio: describes the ratio of data size in bits or bytes before and
after compression. Lossless compression ratios of 10:1 is easily achieved with
word processing document and ASCII/UNICODE text files. Lossless ratio of 3:1
are difficult or impossible to achieve with video and audio data.

Technology Focus—MPEG and MP3

Motion Pictures Expert Group creates and evaluates standards for motion picture
recording and encoding technology. CD quality music can be compressed 6:1 and
most listeners cannot distinguish the compressed audio data from the original. MP3
takes advantage of well known human characteristic of human audio perception
such as inability to recognize fain tones of one frequency simultaneously with much
louder tones in nearby frequencies (3 total advantages total). Encoder utilizes 16 bit
precision.

Ch 7

Basic Concepts of Print and Display: Share many features. Character

representation methods. Measurement systems. Methods of generating color.

Matrix-Oriented Image Composition: Display surfaces, Fonts, Color, Numeric

pixel content.

Pixel: abbreviation for “picture element”. Single unit of data in a graphic

image; single point on a display image.

Resolution: number of pixels displayed per linear measurement unit. A 19-

inch flat panel display has 40 pixels per centimeter or 100 pixels per inch.

Dots Per Inch: Used in U.S. to notify that a dot is equivalent to pixel.
Smaller size yields higher print quality because fine details such as smoother
curves can be incorporated into the image.

Point: Used decades ago by printer to denote 1/72nd of an inch as a standard

pixel size. It’s use as a printer’s measuring system continues, even though
modern printing techniques are capable of much higher resolution.

Characters: symbols of written western languages.

Font: a collection of characters of similar style and appearance.

Color

RGB: primary colors for video display. Video displays generate colors using
mixtures of red, green, and blue.

Additive Colors: Video display colors. Printing industry generates colors

using the inverse of the primary video display colors.
 Subtractive Colors: inverse colors of additive colors.

CMY: Colors, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, are subtractive colors.

CMYK: the four-dye scheme.

Numeric pixel content

Bitmap: stored set of numbers that describes the content of all pixels in an
image.

Monochrome: can display one of two colors and thus requires only one bit
per pixel.

Grayscale: capable of displaying black, white and many shades of gray in

between.

Chromatic Depth aka Chromatic Resolution: number of distinct colors or

gray shades that can be displayed.

24-Bit Color: Colors of a display featuring a chromatic depth of, 2^(3*8) or

16 million. Chromatic depth depends on the number of bits used to represent
each color’s intensity.

Palette: a table of colors. Number of bits used to represent each pixel

determines the table size. If 8 bits, then table has 2^8 or 256 entries.

Dithering: a process that generates color approximations by placing small

dots of different colors in an interlocking pattern.

Half-Toning: grayscale dithering.

Image Storage Requirements: Depends on number of bits that represent

each pixel and on image height and width in pixels. Can be reduced with bitmap
compression. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). Joint Photographic Experts
Group (JPEG). Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). All compression methods
are lossy, resulting in some loss of image quality. Image Description Languages.

Bitmap Compression Formats: Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Joint

Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) for single still images, and Moving
Picture Experts Group (MPEG) for moving images. These compression
methods are all lossy, resulting in some loss of image quality.

Technology Focus – Adobe Postscript and Portable Document Format

PostScript is an image description language designed primarily for printed

documents, although it can also be used to generate video display outputs.
PostScripts are composed of ASCI characters and may include numeric or textual
data, primitive graphic operations, and procedure definitions. By 1990, PostScript
was widely used in the printing and publishing industries. Missed features such as
table of contents, hyperlinks to other documents, web pages, or active objects like
executable programs, annotations, document properties such as copyright, and
digital signatures
Video Display:

Character-Oriented Video Display Terminals: Integrated keyboard and

video display surface

VDTs. Most common form of video display in 1970s and much of 1980s (until
PCs). Network computers or thin clients. New class of VDT in 1990s. Limited
processing capabilities.

Thin Client: a hybrid device with a mix of VDT and microcomputer

characteristics. Execute within an operating environment such as Java, web
browser, or Windows Terminal Services.

Video Controllers: Enables communication between computer system and

monitor.

Accepts commands and data transmitted via a bus from the CPU. Generates TV-
style analog video signal, which is transmitted to the monitor. Refresh cycle and
refresh rate; video RAM; dual porting; graphics accelerators.

Monitor: a modern display device.

Video Controller: Connected to video monitor, which in turn connects to the

system bus.

Refresh Cycle: Transfer of full screen of data from the display generator to
the monitor.

Refresh Rate: Number of refresh cycles per second, and is stated in Hertz.

Video Ram aka VRAM: different than ordinary RAM, because it can be
written by the bus interface circuitry or video processor while it is being
simultaneously read by display generator circuitry.

Dual Porting: Simultaneous r/w capability.

Graphics Accelerators: high performance video controllers that use more

powerful processors, and software to convert incoming IDL commands intro
appropriate cache contents.

Video Monitors: Separate from keyboards. Common types are:

Cathode ray tubes (CRTs): an enclosed vacuum tube. Electron gun in the
rear of the tube generates a stream of electrons that are focused in a narrow
beam toward the front surface of the tube.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs): contains a matrix of liquid crystals

sandwiched between two polarizing filer panels. A liquid crystal twists or
untwists when an electrical charge is applied. Applying electrical charge to
each display matrix cell requires transistors and wiring. Less contrast than
CRT.
 Active Matrix Display: uses one or more transistors for every pixel.

Passive Matrix Display: shares transistors among rows and columns of

pixels.

Thin Film Transistor (TFT): since 1990s this has been used to manufacture
active matrix displays.

Plasma displays: Combines elements of CRT and LCD technology. Flat panel
active matrix devices. Unlike LCDs, have no backlight and no color filters. Each
pixel contains gas that emits ultraviolet light when electricity is applied.

Printers

Inkjet Printers: Most common printing technology. Prints with liquid ink placed
directly onto paper. Uses mechanical movement or heat to force ink out of
nozzle. Paper is drawn past moving print head. Resolution is up to 600 dpi. Has
disposable print cartridges that contain ink reservoirs, a matrix of ink nozzles,
and electrical wiring and contact points.

Printer Communication:

Computer systems and an Impact printer consist of ASCII or Unicode

characters, because character and symbols are fundamental output unit.

Inkjet and laser printers use pixels as fundamental output unit.

Inkjets and laser printers have relatively large buffers to hold a line,
multiple lines, or an entire page of printed output.

Image Description Languages (IDLs) are commonly used to improve

printer performance.

Laser Printers: operates with an electrical charge and attraction of ink to that
electrical charge.

Plotters: a printer that generates line drawings on wide sheets or rolls of paper.
Can handle paper widths of up to 60 inches, which makes them ideal for
producing blueprints and other engineering drawings. Pen-based printing
technology was the norm until the mid-1990s. P-B technology draws images
using one or more moving pens that are raised and lowered onto paper.

Large Format Printer: current term for plotters.

Manual Input Devices: keyboards, mice, pressure-sensitive pads, and many less
familiar but related devices. Until the 1980s, keyboards were the dominant form of
inputs, until the introduction of the mice.

Keyboards: For entering text and commands. Early computer systems accepted
input via punched cards or tape.
 Keyboard Controller: an integrated microprocessor for modern keyboards,
used to generate bit stream inputs.

Scan Code: coded output generated by a keyboard for interpretation by a

processor or keyboard controller.

Pointing Devices: For pointing and selecting buttons or menu items, For
drawing, For moving the position of cursor.

Cursor: displays of pointing device movements.

Mouse: a pointing device that is moved flat surface such as a table, desk or
rubber pad.

Digitizer: consists of a digitizing tablet and pen, stylus, or both. Ideal for
drafters and artists to trace blueprints or free hand sketching.

Input Pads: digitizing tablet and tablet PCs are examples of a general class
of input device. 3 common input pad technologies: Infrared, Photosensor,
Pressure-sensitive pad.

Optical Input Devices: Detect light reflected off a printed surface or object into a
photosensor

Categories. Mark and pattern sensors. Image capture devices. Mark Sensors and
Bar-Code Scanners.

Photosensor: converts incoming light energy into outgoing electrical energy.

Mark Sensor: scans for light or dark marks at specific locations on a page.
Similar to collect data from a multiple choice test.

Bar-Code Scanner: detects specific patterns of bars or boxes. Most common

type of bar-codes is a series of vertical bars of equal length but varying
thickness and spacing.

Scanning Laser: sweeps a narrow laser beam back and forth across the bar
code. Bars must have precise width and spacing as well as high contrast for
accurate decoding.

Optical Scanners: generates bitmap representations of printed images. Bright

white light shines on the page; reflected light is detected by an array of
photosensors. Optical character recognition (OCR) devices combine optical
scanning technology with intelligent interpretation of bitmap content

Digital Cameras: Employ optical scanning technology to capture single or still

images and store them as raw compressed bitmaps.

Portable Data Capture Devices: Combine a keyboard, mark or bar-code

scanner, and wireless communications to a wired base station or computer
system. Provide rapid data capture (e.g., warehouse inventory control, package
routing and tracking).

Audio I/O Devices

Sampling: process of measuring and digitally encoding one or more parameters
of analog signal at regular time intervals. Process of digitally encoding analog
sound waves.

Analog-To-Digital Converter (ADC): accepts a continuous electrical signal

representing sound such as microphone input, samples it at regular intervals,
and outputs a stream of bits that represent the samples.

Digital-To-Analog (DAC): performs the reverse transformation, accepts a

stream of bits representing sound samples and generating an equivalent
continuous electrical signal that can be amplified and routed to speakers.

Monophonic: outputs only one frequency (note) that can be generated at a

time.

Polyphonic aka Multifrequency: used by most computers, sound generation

hardware with built-in amplification and high-quality speakers.

Speech Recognition: process of reorganizing and appropriately responding to

the meaning embedded within spoken words, phrases, or sentences.
Conceptually simple, but complicated by speaker variability, phoneme
transitions and combinations, and real-time processing.

Phonemes: Individual sounds in human speech, that roughly corresponds to

the sounds of each letter of the alphabet.

Digital Signal Processor (DSP): Specialized to process continuous streams

of audio or graphical data. Commonly embedded in audio and video
hardware.

Speech Generation

Audio Response Unit: generates spoken messages based on textual input

(e.g., automated call routing).

Speech Synthesis: Stores individual phonemes within the system.

General-Purpose Audio Hardware: sound card, multimedia controller.

Typically packaged as an expansion card that connects to the system bus of a
workstation. Sound cards include an ADC, DAC, low-power amplifier, and
connectors (jacks) for microphone, speaker, or headphone. Musical Instrument
Digital Interface (MIDI), Compact storage format.