Ref: Tanenbaum A. Structured Computer Organization
Ref: Capron HL Computere - Tools for an Information Age (5th ed) Chapter 3
A basic computer consists of the following devices connected together by a collection of wires called a bus: These devices primarily consist of a processor, some memory and input/output devices.
Buses
Buses are collections of parallel wires that are used to connect computer components together inside a computer. Each wire will carry the state of one bit of data. Thus a bus of 8 wires can carry the state of one byte of data/memory.
The buses inside a typical computer may be visible on the motherboard as a set of parallel tracks. Bus straps are a set of parallel wires used to connect components within the computer. Eg Disk drive to motherboard.
There are now a some very specialised bus systems that you are required to know about. These are the Universal Serial Bus and High Performance Serial Bus.
1394 High Performance Serial Bus (FIREWIRE)
Universal Serial Bus
Author: Mike Leishman