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Computer Architecture help? Software/Hardwar Homework!?
Computer Architecture Describe using examples how numeric and alphanumeric data can be coded within a computer system. Help :( I think it has something to do with ASCII etc. BIOS / Keyboards being coded? ARhg!
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- Each binary data value in a small set (8-bits, just to stick to ASCII standards) can represent a single character in a set, which allows you to have a full set of 256 possible characters (letters, numbers, control character, punctuation, special symbols.)
- you know about bits and bytes i assume. one byte is 8 bits. A bit is a 1 or 0. so a byte is a 8 digit binary number. This binary numbers are used to represent everything in a computer. ASCII is one popular encoding for converting converting binary numbers to letters This isn't what ASCII uses but is an example encoding. 00000001 -> A 00000010 -> B 00000011 -> C etc binary numbers are converted to decimal numbers with arithmetic.
- All computers ever store is a sequence of bits. It is a matter of how those bits are interpreted that makes them act in certain ways. To start, remember that instructions are just sequences of bits. The very first computers used such sequences for their programming, and that programming was done via toggle switches. Literally, to boot up a machine, you entered a program that said, "read the first block of this disk into memory starting at location 0, then jump to location 0." As computers progressed, people realized that there were ways to convert the bits to more human-readable sequences. They defined a set of "rules" or "conventions" that eventually became standards once they were accepted by enough people. The standard for representing text information became the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, or ASCII. Later modified to U.S. ASCII when the multi-national character sets became significant. To make this work, of course, you need translators built into some of the end-device circuits such as keyboards, printers, displays, and such. But that turned out to not be so difficult an action. As to HOW this is done, you should have studied. I've given you the history. But it is your course and I won't get your grade, so meet me halfway and DO YOUR BLOODY HOMEWORK!
