September 9, 2007 Hardware/Software & Interfaces
Computer hardware has the same function regardless of the type of computer (e.g., keep track of time). Although the same hardware is used (e.g., a clock, flip-flops, registers) inside a MAC/PC/SUN SPARC STATION the hardware is assembled differently.The hardware and software are a type of "black box". Each can be improved without affecting the other.
The operating system (MacOS, Windows, Solaris) is a type of "black box". All operating systems do the same things (e.g., move, rename, delete files/data). Changes to operating system's coding does not affect the applications. The applications code moves, deletes,... by relying on the operating system to do it.
If the hardware is more complicated (e.g., having a higher number of logic gates and a higher number of logic levels), the interface to the operating system can be composed of easier code, making the operating system run faster. If the hardware is simpler, the software code must be more complex.
It takes over 3-5 years before hardware changes are put in place and about 10 years before the ISA Instruction Set Architecture (the interface between hardware and software)is changed. Why is there a need to change the ISA? Software interfaces are changed to improve/lower compilation time which makes the computer perform faster.
Evelyn
Labels: hardware, interfaces, software
posted by evelyn @ 9:09 PM
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