by Jordan Richardson
I spent four months in Philadelphia recently, and got pretty familiar with Philly's public transportation system - SEPTA. Thinking about computer architecture just now got me thinking about the similarities between computers and public transportation. In computers, the CPU is the central point for all information. For SEPTA's subway system, this would translate to City Hall Station in the center of the city. One piece of the CPU is the Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU). This component executes instructions. This would be equivalent to the route maps and directional arrows that show a passenger how to get to their train and to get to their destination. The CPU also has the ability to contain memory - very fast memory. Let's say someone is standing in City Hall Station and wants to get to LOVE Park. They can skip a trip on a train and instantly get to their destination by walking up the stairs and traveling half a block northwest. This is a very quick trip. The CPU also controls access to memory and devices further away in the computer by sending impulses along the "bus." Again, we find similarities. A passenger standing in City Hall Station can access great food by traveling south on the Orange Line for three stops and dining at Crown Chicken, or visit the liberty bell by traveling east on the Blue line for four stops. Like accessing external memory or devises from the CPU, these trips take time.
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