Computer architecture

• Authors: Dennis J. Frailey
• Venue: Encyclopedia of Computer Science
• Year: 2003

Computer architecture is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the physical or hardware structure of computer systems, the attributes of their various parts, and how these parts are interconnected. In the formative years of modern digital computer development (1940s and 1950s), the principal disciplines of computer architecture were viewed as mathematics (notably algorithms, finite state machines, and digital arithmetic), physics (the behavior of materials), and electrical engineering (the design of electronic circuits and their organization into computer systems). The 1960s saw the introduction of semiconductor devices, which greatly enhanced performance at substantially lower cost. By the late 1960s, operating systems (q.v.) and other software components were seen to play a major role in system behavior. Mainstream computer designs also began to embody software-based techniques at very fundamental levels (such as microprogramming and virtual machines). With the advent of very large-scale integration (VLSI) in the early 1980s, semiconductor technology once again asserted its role as a major driver of designs. The mid- to late 1980s saw the widespread introduction of workstations (q.v.) and other computer systems whose functionality is strongly influenced by human interfaces (see USER INTERFACE) and effective use of computer graphics (q.v.). In the 1990s, there was a broad transition to networking, and thus another dimension was added to the interdisciplinary character of computer architecture.