TheTechArena - Technology Begins Here.

A computer system consists of hardware interacting with each other. The most important part, arguably, is the processor. Processor schedules the information between these hardware components (system). Processor manufacturers give us choices to ‘program’ it. Stated in other words, they allow us to interact with it, by giving it instructions.

Processor helps us, in turn, to operate various other hardware-controllers. For example, it helps us to send information for our system to a system situated around the globe using network controller. The Internet you are using to read this text is one such example. Naturally, there should be some standards that need to be followed to communicate with the processor and various controllers. Or else, there will be chaos as each controller or a processor-make will have different instructions. And there could be millions of these hardware.

Processor typically ‘knows’ the type of hardware components it can interact to. One of them is the computer memory (RAM). We program computer memory by placing series (string) of 1’s and 0’s. This permutation of bits (a bit is either 1 or 0), is a command or an instruction for the processor. Hence, we can interact with the processor by placing these permutations at known locations (addresses) within the memory. Actually, 1 and 0 in reality represent high and low value of voltage at a specific location. We say, a processor understands only 1’s and 0’s, or, binary (two) number system.