Introduction to Computers - Building to Programming by: William Matthew-Alika

Smith
Thank you for taking the course! Here are
This is the most recent computer that I built!
notes that you can follow along with and
After the class I hope that you understand and can
keep for the future:
name the main components of the computer:
I. CPU (Central Processing Unit): The
main processor in a computer that handles
instructions, I/O, arithmetic and more.
II. Motherboard: The circuit board that holds
and communicates with all other
components (all components connect to the
motherboard)
III. RAM (Random Access Memory): often
confused with internal storage as memory,
RAM has very quick speeds and stores only
certain program instructions. RAM consists
of memory addresses which we will talk
about.
IV. Storage (HDD and SSD): The hard
drive/solid state drives are what hold all of
your files in memory. (Hard drives are
mechanical spinning drives while solid
states use integrated circuits for greatly
improved speeds).
V. Power Supply (PSU): The PSU supplies
power to all components through different
cables. It is normally rated in efficiency and
output (i.e. mine is 80+ rated 750 watts)
VI. Case and fans: You store your computer in
a case and use fans to keep temperatures
down.
Temps: Temperatures are very important VII. Graphics Card (GPU): optional, modern
as computer components get HOT. Fans CPUs have integrated graphics normally,
and liquid coolers can keep temperatures
down!
I. Computing: A computer reads in 1s and 0s, but we read all kinds of letters
and numbers. We need to communicate with our computer via code. A
compiler does this for us as it converts our instructions into machine-code
that the computer can understand. We typically write these instructions in a
text-editor like Sublime, Emacs, Vim, etc.
II. How do I code: First, youll need a text-editor, choose whichever you like (I
like Emacs and Sublime). Now you write your code, and then you run it
through a compiler (depends on if you are using a Mac or a PC). I will explain
all of this in class and feel free to write questions and notes on the
back of this paper).
III. Getting Started: Go to https://www.python.org and download the latest
Python 3. Search Sublime text editor and install it. Write your code into
Sublime and save as a name.py file. I will show you how to compile it so you
can do it at home. You can learn further by reading Learning Python the Hard
Way by Shaw, trying Codeacademy, or checking stackexchange for code.