Chapter 2 - Data Manipulation
General Outcomes
- Apply understanding of a CPU's instruction set and the instruction cycle to various scenarios, e.g.,
- Read a set of instructions and understand the results.
- Respond to potential student questions about computer operation.
- Decide which elements of computer operation are useful for student understanding and which can remain at the level of magic.
- Identify hardware components of a computer and describe their relationship and interaction. (The idea is to be able to respond reasonably to student questions such as "What is a ________ in a computer and what does it do?)
- Explain the process whereby a computer's CPU can be connected to or communicate with a variety of external (peripheral) devices and indicating any limits on the type or number of such devices.
- Apply an understanding of computer memory/storage to a variety of situations in both CS classroom and daily life, e.g., [This section comes from chapter 1]
- Provide a rationale for choosing amounts of various kinds of memory when purchasing a computer based on speed and cost considerations.
- Explain primary uses for various kinds of memory and the impact of speed and persistence/permanence.
- Analyze (identify salient aspects of) broader concepts/issues with respect to computer architecture in our society, e.g.,
- Development of substantially more power computer systems such as quantum computing and brain-inspired computers. What might be their impact? What role should the government plan in guiding or controlling their development and use?
- General knowledge. Students study reading, writing, mathematics, and (to a lesser extent) science. Should computer science be included as a basic of education? If so, should that study include the inner workings of computers?
- Should we be worried that some computer manufacturer might build a chip that could spy on the user of any device using the chip?
Reading Guide
In order to guide your reading we have designated each section into one of three categories:
- Essential - You should thoroughly read this material and be prepared to answer questions about this material in both discussions and on assessments.
- Important - You should read this material and be prepared to participate in potential discussions/activities about this material. While this material will not be directly assessed, your understanding of this may help you support/improve your answers to "Essential" material.
- Useful - We feel that this material is worth knowing and may supplement other material in the chapter. However, we do not plan on assessing or discussing (unless you ask questions).
| Section | Essential | Important | Useful |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 Computer Architecture |  |
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| 1.3 Mass Storage | |
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| 2.2 Machine Language | |
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| 2.3 Program Execution | |
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| 2.4 Arithmetic/Logic Instructions | |
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| 2.5 Communicating with Other Devices | |||
| The Role of Controllers | |
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| The Rest of the Section | |
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| 2.6 Programming Data Manipulation | |
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| 2.7 Other Architectures | |
Video Resources
The following videos are used in individual lessons during the study of this chapter. Their links are consolidated here for easy reference.- Crash Course Computing #5: How Computers Calculate - the ALU
- Crash Course Computing #6: Registers and RAM
- Crash Course Computing #7: The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
- Crash Course Computing #8: Instructions and Programs (Look more at the big picture than the details. This uses a different instruction set than that used in your textbook - and below - with Vole.)
- Extra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI0upu9eVcw (How hard drives work.)
Study Guide
The competency demo for this chapter will consist of several questions from the following study guide. As you study this chapter we suggest you work through the materials in this study guide and ask questions if you need clarifications.
PDF of Appendix C that you will be allowed to use during the Competency Demo