How computers work?

Bassmansam

Bassmansam

Bassmansam

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Not to sure if this is the right place, but i saw this question on another site and it got me thinking .

" I ask people how computers work and nobody seems to be able to tell me how the computer goes from simple binary code (100111001) to me being able to play Grand Theft Auto IV on my tv. How do series of numbers become usable visual tools?"

Anyone know?
 
Would answer but I can't be bothered. Basically lots of software layered up.
Might answer tomorrow.

Note to self:

Place Answer here tomorrow
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its like Morse code, a string of digits represent information.

data + structure. = information

so a string of binary digits may represent a colour to your video card, or it could be a pulse wave to your sound card.

programming languages are a mechanism to control and manipulate these bits, the more we knew about predicting binary patterns ,( routines ) the higher the level of programming we got.


its all input and output and in the middle is a whole lot of translating and crunching all powered by a c.p.u which is the factory that churns out the digits by ways of electronic connections in the transitors, a connection is on and no connection is off, there we have the binary system at its lowest level. machine code.
 
Bassmansam said:
Not to sure if this is the right place, but i saw this question on another site and it got me thinking .

" I ask people how computers work and nobody seems to be able to tell me how the computer goes from simple binary code (100111001) to me being able to play Grand Theft Auto IV on my tv. How do series of numbers become usable visual tools?"

Anyone know?
Click to expand...

This book will help you understand : Understanding Compuer Science for Advanced Level
 
they dont, it's all in your head, none of this is real, you just paid £1000 for a box of junk and some things you hit with you hands and a blank screen... its all in your head :| :)

hehe but on a serious note..... powered by hamsters :D
 
Bassmansam said:
" I ask people how computers work and nobody seems to be able to tell me how the computer goes from simple binary code (100111001) to me being able to play Grand Theft Auto IV on my tv. How do series of numbers become usable visual tools?"

Anyone know?
Click to expand...

Here's my stab at a simple explanation.

Computers allow you to store information and to process that information.

A simple computer might be a 1 bit system that has two storage states:

1 = On
0 = Off

You could process this information with a computer program to produce outcome states, but the computer can only store two states so this is a bit boring and the program will be a bit limited in the outcomes it can produce.

Let's introduce more complexity, let's have an 8 bit system:

10000000
01000000
00100000
etc
etc

Hey, suddenly I can represent more information states ... This is starting to get useful. Now I can write a program that can manipulate this information and I can store a number of different outcomes.

Now that I have more potential to record information, I can use basic bit states to represent other information, for example I could say:

10000000 means A
01000000 means B
00100000 means C
etc
etc

... now my computer can represent the alphabet and I can use computer programs that can process the alphabet ...

... now you can just keep going with this technique of further information layers ... or abstraction away from the machine code layer ... to move from machine code into things which humans can understand ... hey, I've invented an operating system ... now I can invent software that humans can understand like word processors and ... development tools.

... with my development tools I can code in a human-readable language to create a program which can process all sorts of things like colours, polygons, sounds ... all of which can get translated from this human-readable form back to the basic ones and zeros of the machine code the computer can understand ...

Hey I can code games like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider Underworld ...

Rgds
 
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Its a big and complicated question, but the answers here are pretty good. You've got to remember what we see on our computers today is the combined effort of about 60 years of development.

If you are interested in reading more Id recommend "Structured Computer Organization" by Andrew Tanenbaum, its basic reading for any first year university computer student.
 
The truth is that dwarfs of middle earth make the pcs and they are powered by running hamsters and the math is done by a chinese guy ;)

(sry I couldn't help myself :p )
 
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