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data. The realization that instructions could be encoded and stored
just like ‘ordinary’ data was a major innovation.
Computers based on the stored program concept or the Von
Neumann architecture store both their program code (i.e.
instructions) and the data that is required for (or may result from) the
computation in the computer’s memory. During computation,
program instructions are retrieved from the memory and executed
one after the other. The component in a computer that controls this
computation is known as the central processing unit (CPU, or
nowadays often just referred to as the processor). The CPU consists
of:
• the arithmetic logic unit, which performs operations, such as
addition and subtraction, on the data;
• the control unit, which coordinates the computer’s activities;
• the registers, which are data storage cells that are used for the
temporary storage of data; for example, the data that is required in a
calculation that is carried out.
The connection between the CPU and the memory is known as
a bus.
But the underlying idea here is that the Von Neumann
architecture presents a logical description of the stored program
computer. The exact way in which this architecture is implemented
was not Von Neumann’s concern. The only thing that was relevant
was that the technology used met his functional specification.

Task 3. Do you remember the English equivalents of the
following words and word combinations?
Вмикаючи перемикачі та приєднуючи та від’єднуючи кабелі від
мережі, приписувати, незручності «зовнішнього»
програмування, очевидний, «залишкові» дані, проте, чітке
розмежування, шина, функціональні вимоги.

Task 4. Discuss the following ideas:
1. What idea is John von Neumann generally credited with?

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