HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Parts and Pieces--Seen and Unseen
Much of your computer is hidden in metal cases. Some of it is invisible
to you. Behind the scenes are the fundamental parts of the computer.
They consist of these elements:
Hardware All of the pieces that you can see, or touch, or
pick up, or move around compose the hardware of
your computer.
Software Recorded instructions that control the computer's
operation. What you see of most programs is their
names--you use their names to start them
running--and their behavior, what they do when you
use them.
Many of these recorded instructions are so well
hidden that you may never be aware of their
existence.
Files Recorded information. A typical file might be a
letter that you write using the computer, or the
accounting data that you enter into the computer.
Software is kept in files, too. There is a broad
distinction between files: some files hold only
information of one kind or another; other files
(programs and their relatives) hold instructions
that the computer can follow.
Hardware
Hardware consists of several different parts, each having its own role.
At the minimum, your MPE/iX hardware consists of these parts:
* a system processing unit (hidden inside the computer cabinet)
* peripherals (some are hidden inside the computer cabinet)
system processing The SPU. Often you will hear this called the
unit central processing unit (CPU). This is the "brain"
or "heart" of the computer. It is housed inside
the computer box. Every instruction that you give
to the computer passes through the electronic
circuits of the SPU.
Turning on a personal computer sets in motion a
number of automatic functions that prepare the
computer for work--usually in a matter of seconds
or minutes. A multiuser system, such as your HP
3000 Series 9X7LX, requires time to start up, and
it requires attention from someone who will perform
many tasks to prepare the system for work.
In general, there are very few occasions for
turning off your computer. An emergency
of some sort--overheating or some other
malfunction--requires turning off the power to your
computer. Some maintenance tasks also warrant
turning off the computer: a change in the
computer's configuration (adding or removing
certain vital hardware), or physically moving the
computer to another location.
Peripheral devices.
Peripherals are all of the other hardware connected in some way to the
system processing unit. They are sometimes referred to as peripheral
devices, meaning that they exist outside the system processing unit
itself. Peripherals, such as an internal disk drive, might be built into
your system and thus hidden from view, or they might exist outside the
computer box, as printers and terminals do.
In one sense, a computer is a system processing unit plus everything else
that might be connected to it.
terminal Your screen and your keyboard, together. With the
keyboard, you send instructions to the computer.
The screen displays your instructions as you type
them and displays the computer's response. There
may be one or many connected to your computer.
You may turn off your terminal at the end of the
day, if you wish. Doing so will have no effect on
the operation of the computer itself.
system console A special terminal that serves as the main terminal
for your computer. The person who manages your
system uses the console to control the day-to-day
functioning of the computer. There is only one of
these connected to your computer.
This terminal is vital to the operation of the
computer and should not be turned off, except for
special maintenance of the system.
disk drive Information that you create or record, and all the
programs that the computer uses, are stored on disk
drives. There may be one or many attached to your
computer. Your MPE/iX computer comes to you with
at least one disk drive built into the computer
cabinet. You can add one more internal drive and
other, external disk drives, too.
tape drive Information (files and perhaps programs) that you
do not frequently use are stored on tape. The
tapes might be magnetic, much like the tape used in
a conventional tape recorder, or they might be
digital data storage tapes (DDS). Your HP 3000
Series 9X7LX computer comes with a DDS tape drive
installed in the computer cabinet, but you can add
other, external tape drives, too.
printer Printers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are
designed for extremely high speeds. Some produce
very high quality, finished documents. If there is
only one attached to your computer, it may be
referred to as the line printer. There might be
more than one, however.
Software
Software are the programs that control all of the actions of the
computer. Software determines whether the computer acts as a text
processor, graphic artist, accountant, mail deliverer, or the many other
roles that computers can play.
The basic set of programs and files that come with your computer are
called the fundamental operating system (FOS). You may, of course, add
other programs from Hewlett-Packard or from other vendors who specialize
in creating programs for the MPE line of computers.
Regardless of their source, three types of software will be of most
concern to you.
operating system This is the "master" program that oversees and
directs all of the programs that are used on your
system. [REV BEG]The operating system in your
computer is called MPE/iX, MultiProgramming
Executive (MPE) with Integrated Posix (iX). iX in
the name means that your operating system has more
memory and more computing power than its
predecessors.[REV END]
command interpreter The command interpreter (CI) is a special program
whose primary purpose is to read what you enter at
your terminal, determine whether you have entered a
command that the computer can accept, and then
determine what to do about it.
If you can log on, the CI is already at work and is
waiting for you to issue a command. If the
computer cannot carry out your command, the CI
displays a message on your terminal. Such messages
might consist of information about what is
happening. They might be error messages that tell
you that the computer cannot carry out your
instructions. They might be warning messages to
alert you that in some respect the action that you
intended is not happening exactly as you expected
it to occur.
other programs The number and variety of programs that could be in
your computer, waiting for you to use them, may be
surprising, and more are being created every year.
The programs most commonly found on MPE/iX computers perform tasks such
as these:
electronic mail sending and receiving messages
word processing creating and printing documents of all sorts (sometimes called a
text editor)
data processing organizing and managing immense volumes of information, such as
inventory and orders management, mailing lists, and the like
(usually recorded in a database)
forms creation mimicking the kinds of paper forms that businesses use to
collect, assemble, and organize information (frequently used in
conjunction with a data processing program)
accounting accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, payroll,
billing, and many others
process control controlling other machinery in the manufacture of products, as
well as monitoring and analyzing the performance of other
(electronic) machinery
This list is far from exhaustive.
HP Easytime/iX is a program, too--one that is designed expressly for
managing your MPE/iX computer and using its many functions. You will
find detailed information about using HP Easytime/iX in Using Your
System.
Programs are sometimes called applications. And, some programs on the
MPE/iX operating system are referred to as subystems. The distinction
between programs, applications, and subsystems is of interest to the
people who design them. In everyday use, the terms are interchangeable
and mean the same thing.
Files
Files--recorded information or instructions--fall into two broad
categories, data files and executable files.
data files Data files include the letter or document that you
might create, the database holding immense
quantities of information, personnel records,
financial records, and many others. What they have
in common is that the information contained in
these files is created and recorded by programs of
one kind or another.
executable files Executable files include all of the
programs--recorded instructions--that direct the
computer.
Command files and job files are text (data) files.
Unlike most data files, command files and job files
contain instructions that the computer can
interpret and carry out. Superficially, however,
they behave like executable files. You will find
more information about command files and job files
in "Jobs and Job Files" and in Using Your
System.