Computer Busses

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Busses, Interrupts and PC Systems

2.1 Busses

The part that makes computers operate and allows devices to be easily plugged in is the computer bus, which allows the orderly flow of data between one device and another. The PC, and other computer systems, has an amazing number of different types of interfaces and bus systems, these include the PC bus, ISA bus, PCI bus, CAN bus, AGP bus, games port, parallel port, serial port, and so on.

The main elements of a basic computer system are a central processing unit (or microprocessor), memory, and I/O interfacing circuitry. These connect by means of three main buses: the address bus, the control bus and the data bus. A bus is a collection of common electrical connections grouped by a single name. Figure 2.1 ...