Find in the text English equivalents to the following Russians words and word combinations :- Универсальный ;
- Набор инструкций ;
- Блок памяти;
- Форма двоичного кодирования ;
- Контрольные сигналы , которые нужно вернуть на обработку ;
- Параметр изменений в измерительном процессе ;
- Кристалл интегральной схемы;
- Кристалл интерфейса ввода / вывода;
- Большая интегральная схема ;
- Система промышленного управления ;
- Сохранение и корректировки ;
- Большое количество данных и информации;
- Двоичная цифра ;
- Схема синхронизации ;
- Выполнять ;
- Предшественник ;
- Соответствующий ;
- Точность , аккуратность ;
- Придавать особого значения ;
- Внешний.
WHAT CAN COMPUTERS DO?
From the first electronic digital
computers of the forties to today’s versatile computers and most up-to-date
microcomputers, very little has changed as far as basic computer operation is
concerned. In the last thirty years, vast improvement in the size, speed and
capabilities of computers have taken place. But today digital computers still
use the same logical operations as their predecessors. There are many basic concepts that
can be applied to all types of computers, including microcomputers.
For the most part, human beings can do whatever
computers can do, but computers can do it with much greater speed and accuracy,
though computers perform all their calculations and operations one step at a
time. A computer is faster and more accurate than people, but unlike most
people it must be given a complete set of instructions that tell it exactly
what to do at each step of its operation. This set of instructions, called a
programme, is prepared by one or more persons for each job a computer is to do.
These programmes are placed in the computer memory unit in binary-coded form,
with each instruction having unique code.
Computers are often used in applications where the
results of their calculations are required immediately to be used in process controlling.
These are called real-time applications; they are often found in industrial
process control in industries such as paper mills, oil refineries, chemical
plants, and many others. The measuring systems send their signals to the
computer which processes them and responds with appropriate control signals to
be sent back to the process. Computers in present use range considerably: from
tiny things to big fellows. The microcomputer, for one, is the smallest and the
newest member of the computer family. It usually consists of several integrated
circuit chips, including a microprocessor chip, memory chips, and input /
output interface chips which are the result of tremendous advances in
large-scale integration.
Minicomputers are larger than microcomputers,
they are widely used in industrial control systems, scientific institutions,
and research laboratories. Although more expensive than microcomputers,
minicomputers continue to be widely used because they are generally faster and
possess more capabilities.
The largest computers (“maxicomputers”)
are those found in research centers, large scientific laboratories, big
universities. Most of the computer principles and concepts are common to all
categories of computers, although there can be tremendous variations from
computer to computer.
A question sometimes arises whether
computers are able to think. As a matter of fact they do not think. It is the
computer programmer who provides a programme of instructions and data which
specifies every detail of what to do, how to do, and when to do it. The
computer is simply a high-speed machine which can manipulate data, solve
problems, and make decisions, all under the control of the programme. If the
programmer makes a mistake in the programme or puts in the wrong data, the
computer will produce wrong results.
Every computer contains five
essential elements or units: the arithmetical logical unit, the memory unit,
the control unit, the input unit, and the output unit.
The arithmetical logical unit is
the area of the computer in which arithmetical and logical operations are
performed on data.
The memory unit stores groups of
binary digits (words) that can represent instructions (programme) which the
computer is to perform and the data that are to be operated on by the
progrmamme.
The input unit consists of all
the devices used to take information and data that are external to the computer
and put it into the memory unit. The output unit consists of the devices used
to transfer data and information from the computer to the outside world. The
control unit directs the operation of all the other units by providing timing
and control signals. This unit contains logic and timing circuits that generate
the signal necessary to execute each
instruction in a programme.