Storing Phase of the Machine Cycle - Essay Example

Driving Programming is analogous to driving a vehicle. You cannot learn how to drive by merely studying a driving manual or any book purporting to be the best in training drivers. A person needs to learn first hand how to turn knobs and how to point the vehicle towards the right direction. An adage goes that experience is the best teacher. Driving is a routine which can teach an avid programmer how to get along with a computer system. Thus, a curious programmer should be able to observe how the four operations of the machine cycle namely, fetch, decode, store and execute relate to driving a car especially to unknown location. A mention of programming to a non programmer sends shivers down the spine. However, few drivers do not realize how easy programming can be if only they understood similarities that exist between the two activities. Most drivers would agree that turning a steering wheel, engaging acceleration pedal and so on requires the use of muscles but certainly not much. On the other hand, programming or instructing a computer requires the use of intelligence in selecting proper instructions, anticipating response from the machine etc (Kent, 2006, 76). Just like driving, intelligence needed in programming is certainly not much especially if a person can relate programming to driving. It would not be possible to learn how to drive without involving yourself in the act. A person should understand that a computer only does what it is instructed to do just like a car follows the direction pointed by the driver. The computer system is able to utilize the CPU to perform a set of four basic operations called machine cycle on every instruction. First the control unit fetches the instruction from memory. Second, it decodes the instruction into commands that the computer will understand and then execute the command. Finally, the control unit writes the final result into the memory (Keith, 2006, 7). This process can be illustrated by a scenario where a person has to drive to a location he or she has not previously visited but needs to get there out of necessity. The four operations of the machine cycle are replicated in most activities that we do everyday. Driving to a place where a person has never been before is one of these activities and it requires plenty of careful planning. Any aspiring programmer must be able to conceptualize the four basic operations of the machine cycle and this can be done best by comparing the whole idea to a person going to visit a new friend in a location one has not been to before. Through twists and turns of fate, you happen to meet a nice person with whom you would be very glad to sit down and share a cup of coffee as you engage each other in some meaningful discourse. You have a problem that is bothering you and suddenly you happen to bump on someone with the solution. Forget about the nature of the problem and focus on how you get to be acquainted with the person and what follows afterwards. You happen to overhear someone discussing an issue with others that is related to a personal problem that you are going through. You later decide to talk to the person in private and the person is only more than willing to help. Unfortunately, since the person is so busy and is in a hurry, he decides to tell you where you can meet one evening and he forgets to give you phone number and all you can do is to find about his place of residence on your own. The only thing that you got is little clue of where he lives but you have never been to the place before. To drive to the place would require you plan your journey pretty carefully to avoid missing the place. To this end, the plans that you make would be pretty much be similar to the four operations of the machine cycle. The driver must bear in mind that the person told him he is only found at the place of his residence at a certain time in the evening and therefore should avoid as much as possible any delay related issues. The driver who in this case must not disclose any details of his activity due to its sensitive nature must find the place all on his own. It is important to note that the contact person never left any contact details such as email address or even telephone number. All that he gave was some vague details of where he can be found and at what time. The driver decides to compile some details that could lead to tracing the person. The driver fetches a map and puts down any detail that will help him get to his destination. This stage of gathering information about the contact person is similar to the fetching of instruction by the control unit. Next, the driver evaluates the map and determines the amount of money that would be needed for fuel and other logistics. This stage is akin to decoding part of the machine cycle since the driver must fully comprehend the cost of the whole journey and how he needs to get there. In decoding stage, the control unit interprets the instructions into commands that the computer will understand. Similarly the driver must be certain of where he is going by evaluating the maps carefully. The driver after planning for the journey must now hit the road into the unknown place until he gets there. Along the way, he notes down obvious sign posts and features to make sure that he is able to trace his way back home after he is done with the person. The beginning of the journey up to the moment the driver meets the contact person marks the execution stage of his expedition. Just like the control unit acts on the decoded commands, the driver acts based on the final sketches that he had made on the map. He follows all the roads he had marked until he reaches the place. After meeting the person and having discussed to his satisfaction the details of what he was after, he decides to enquire about the exact contact details of the person in case he needed to consult hem in future. The driver puts down the details of what transpired during the discussion and having thanked the person he decides to go back home. The final stage is akin to storing phase of the machine cycle where the driver decides to put down important details of what was discussed in case he forgot. In this phase, the control unit writes the end result to the main memory. Works cited Kent, Beck. Patterns and Software Development. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006. Print. Keith, Price. Understanding Machine Cycle. New York: Rutledge, 2005. Print. . Read More