Define Architecture 

In information technology, especially computers and more recently networks, architecture is a term applied to both the process and the outcome of thinking out and specifying the overall structure, logical components, and the logical interrelationships of a computer, its operating system, a network, or other conception. An architecture can be a reference model, such as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model, intended as a model for specific product architectures or it can be a specific product architecture, such as that for an Intel Pentium microprocessor or for IBM's OS/390 operating system.

Computer architecture can be divided into five fundamental components: input/output, storage, communication, control, and processing. In practice, each of these components (sometimes called subsystems) is sometimes said to have an architecture, so, as usual, context contributes to usage and meaning.

By comparison, the term design connotes thinking that has less scope than architecture. An architecture is a design, but most designs are not architectures. A single component or a new function has a design that has to fit within the overall architecture.

Answered by Nagendra , an ibibo Master, at 2:23 PM on May 11, 2008

In computer engineering, computer architecture is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It is a blueprint and functional description of requirements (especially speeds and interconnections) and design implementations for the various parts of a computer — focusing largely on the way by which the central processing unit (CPU) performs internally and accesses addresses in memory.

It may also be defined as the science and art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals.

Computer architecture comprises at least three main subcategories:[1]

* Instruction set architecture, or ISA, is the abstract image of a computing system that is seen by a machine language (or assembly language) programmer, including the instruction set, memory address modes, processor registers, and address and data formats.

* Microarchitecture, also known as Computer organization is a lower level, more concrete, description of the system that involves how the constituent parts of the system are interconnected and how they interoperate in order to implement the ISA.The size of a computer's cache for instance, is an organizational issue that generally has nothing to do with the ISA.

* System Design which includes all of the other hardware components within a computing system such as:

1. system interconnects such as computer buses and switches
2. memory controllers and hierarchies
3. CPU off-load mechanisms such as direct memory access
4. issues like multi-processing.

Once both ISA and microarchitecture has been specified, the actual device needs to be designed into hardware. This design process is often called implementation. Implementation is usually not considered architectural definition, but rather hardware design engineering.

Implementation can be further broken down into three pieces:

* Logic Implementation/Design - where the blocks that were defined in the microarchitecture are implemented as logic equations.
* Circuit Implementation/Design - where speed critical blocks or logic equations or logic gates are implemented at the transistor level.
* Physical Implementation/Design - where the circuits are drawn out, the different circuit components are placed in a chip floor-plan or on a board and the wires connecting them are routed.

For CPUs, the entire implementation process is often called CPU design.

More specific usages of the term include more general wider-scale hardware architectures, such as cluster computing and Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) architectures.

Answered by Kaushal , an ibibo Advisor, at 11:10 AM on April 13, 2008

A framework for organizing the planning and implementation of data resources. The set of data, processes, and technologies that an enterprise has selected for the creation and operation of information systems.

Answered by pooja , an ibibo Master, at 10:27 AM on April 13, 2008

well,A design. The term architecture can refer to either hardware or software, or to a combination of hardware and software. The architecture of a system always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well.
Architects are primarily driven by the creative manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, shadow, materials, program, and pragmatic elements such as cost, construction and technology, in order to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional and often artistic. This distinguishes architecture from engineering design, which is driven primarily by the creative manipulation of materials and forms using mathematical and scientific principles.

Answered by Saurabh , an ibibo Master, at 7:08 PM on April 12, 2008

Architecture refers to the planning phase of the software or hardware development process, much like architecture refers to the same in the process of building a house.

Answered by Ashish Yadav , an ibibo Wizard, at 5:41 PM on April 12, 2008

The design of a computer system. It sets the standard for all devices that connect to it and all the software that runs on it. It is based on the type of programs that will run (business, scientific) and the number of programs that run concurrently.
The way a computer's instructions are designed is a fundamental architectural component. The trend toward large, complicated instruction sets was reversed with RISC computers, which use simpler instructions.

Answered by Kajal , an ibibo Master, at 5:40 PM on April 12, 2008

Computer architecture is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It is a blueprint and functional description of requirements (especially speeds and interconnections) and design implementations for the various parts of a computer — focusing largely on the way by which the central processing unit (CPU) performs internally and accesses addresses in memory.

Answered by kamlesh , an ibibo Specialist, at 5:10 PM on April 12, 2008

kash it is an architectural product or work

Answered by raj u , an ibibo Master, at 2:06 PM on April 12, 2008

Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment, from the macro level of how a building integrates with its surrounding manmade landscape (see town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture) to the micro level of architectural or construction details and, sometimes, furniture. The term "Architecture" is also used for the profession of providing architectural services.

Architects are primarily driven by the creative manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, shadow, materials, program, and pragmatic elements such as cost, construction and technology, in order to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional and often artistic. This distinguishes architecture from engineering design, which is driven primarily by the creative manipulation of materials and forms using mathematical and scientific principles.

Separate from the design process, architecture is also experienced through the senses, which therefore gives rise to aural , visual, olfactory , and tactile architecture. As people move through a space, architecture is experienced as a time sequence. Even though our culture considers architecture to be a visual experience, the other senses play a role in how we experience both natural and built environments. Attitudes towards the senses depend on culture [6]. The design process and the sensory experience of a space are distinctly separate views, each with its own language and assumptions.

Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Colosseum are cultural symbols, and are an important link in public consciousness, even when scholars have discovered much about a past civilization through other means. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with (and are known by) their architectural monuments.

Answered by Archit , an ibibo Advisor, at 12:51 PM on April 12, 2008

Architecture is the design of any part of a computer, system, or of an entire system, including software and hardware. The design of a microprocessor's circuits, for example is called Architecture.

Answered by Nishis , an ibibo Master, at 10:52 AM on April 12, 2008