How does a computer program actually work?

[jaydnul]

I really want to know the physical path an electrical signal takes on its journey. For example, when i press the J key on my keyboard, an electrical impulse is sent where? to the hard drive where the keyboard program is stored? Could someone just give me all the stops that electrical signal will take in order to be eventually displayed as a J by the pixels on my screen? Thanks a bunch

 

[the_emi_guy]

There is no single electrical signal that conveys the J key on the keyboard to the J shown on the display. In fact there are thousands of electrical signals involved. The dirty details of the sequence of all of these signals needed to perform this seemly simple act is what computer/electrical engineers learn getting their degree.

Many of these signals are inside of integrated circuits (processor memory etc.).
Many are on the motherboard (address/data lines), USB lines, interrupts.
Many are within the keyboard itself (inside microcontroller and on keyboard motherboard).

And it depends on stuff like:
What kind of keyboard (traditional, USB, wireless).
What kind of computer (Apple, PC, Sun workstation, Ipad)
Which operating system (Linux, Microsoft).

 

[dlgoff]

I really want to know the physical path an electrical signal takes on its journey. ...

Well, this shows "one path" in a microprocessor: http://education.mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/cineplex/cpu/cpu2b.html

 

[berkeman]

I really want to know the physical path an electrical signal takes on its journey. For example, when i press the J key on my keyboard, an electrical impulse is sent where? to the hard drive where the keyboard program is stored? Could someone just give me all the stops that electrical signal will take in order to be eventually displayed as a J by the pixels on my screen? Thanks a bunch

Here is some reading that you should check out at HowStuffWorks.com:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm

.

 

[alphysicist]

A computer program is a set of instructions or code written by a programmer to perform a specific task. When you press the J key on your keyboard, it sends an electrical signal to the computer's processor. The processor interprets this signal and executes the corresponding code for the J key, which is typically stored in the computer's memory. The code may include instructions to display the letter J on the screen, so the processor sends a signal to the graphics card. The graphics card then converts the signal into pixels and sends it to the display monitor, which ultimately displays the letter J on the screen.

The exact path that the electrical signal takes may vary depending on the specific hardware and software configuration of your computer. However, generally, the signal will travel from the keyboard to the processor, then to the memory, graphics card, and finally to the display monitor. It is important to note that modern computers are extremely complex and have multiple components working together to execute a single task, so the signal may also travel through other components such as the motherboard and input/output devices.

In summary, a computer program works by interpreting and executing code to perform a specific task, and the physical path of an electrical signal involves multiple components working together to display the desired output on the screen.