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发表于 2011-6-17 08:30:14
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A reply of my question to Lavry FYI. No need to argue on this topic and is never be my intention and interest (only text that I've deleted is my name, all text are original). Here's the reply from the specialist FYI (hope that this is useful for other forum users as a reference)...
Well, it really depends on how you define “computer.”
If you group all digital processors that perform some form of computation into the definition of “computer;” then you are correct. For example; there are specialized computational IC’s that are referred to as “DSP’s” for “Digital Signal Processor.”
However, in terms of popular usage; most people are referring to something like a personal computer or mainframe where information is stored, moved to and from mass storage (typically a hard drive or memory), and a “CPU” or “Central Processing Unit” controls all operations including moving data between mass storage and RAM, arithmetic functions, and file system control. Thus, what most people refer to as a “computer” has the ability to run different software and is thus more “user programmable” than dedicated “processors” that run one program which is typically “hard coded” in ROM or PROM memory.
Virtually all contemporary “DAC’s” are systems like a PC, where multiple IC’s have specific functions necessary to allow the DAC to accept inputs and output analog signals. Even the actual DA converter IC has a certain amount of computation internally because the vast majority operate on an “oversampling” principle that requires the output of the very high sample frequency converter to be manipulated mathematically to generate a 24 bit output at a lower sample frequency.
So strictly speaking; you are correct in that a contemporary DAC must “compute” in order to function. The question is more a matter of communication, and whether or not the term “computer” as most people understand it would include devices that are commonly referred to by other names such as “DSP” as a means to differentiate them from a PC or mainframe (or “smart phone”). It may be more accurate in terms of common usage to call a DAC a form of “DSP.”
For quite some time, automobiles have had multiple “computers” to control things like ignition and fuel injection. People still commonly refer to them as “computers” even though they are more similar to a DSP or DAC IC (dedicated processor) than a PC. So it is definitely a “grey area” and more a matter of syntax than strict definition.
Hope this helps.
Brad Johnson
Lavry Engineering Technical Support
[ 本帖最后由 24.7.365 于 2011-6-17 08:35 编辑 ] |
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