Computer Organisation is concerned with the structure and behaviour of a computer system.

Overview

Main components of a computer:

• Input (keyboards, mouse, scanners, etc.)
• Memory (Registers, main memory, hard disks, etc.)
• CPU (principle part of the computer)
• Output (projector, speaker, monitor, etc.)

Von Neumann Architecture

The von Neumann architecture is a model that describes the design architecture for an electronic digital computer.

The CPU consists of the:

• control unit- central processing unit which directs the operation of the processor
• ALU (arithmetic and logic unit)- performs operations based on arithmetic and logic for execution of instructions
• registers- high speed memory used to store small amounts of data that are needed during processing

The memory stores data and instructions.

Buses are responsible for the transfer of data, memory addresses and control signals between the CPU, I/O devices and the memory.