A computer module is a selection of independent electronic circuits packaged onto a
circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes and other features (similar to wires on a flat surface) ...
to provide a basic function within a
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
.
An example might be an
inverter or
flip-flop, which would require two or more
transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...
s and a small number of additional supporting devices. Modules would be inserted into a chassis and then wired together to produce a larger logic unit, like an adder.
History
Modules were the basic building block of most early computer designs, until they started being replaced by
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...
s in the 1960s, which were essentially an entire module packaged onto a single
computer chip. Modules with discrete components continued to be used in specialist roles into the 1970s, notably high-speed
modular design
Modular design, or modularity in design, is a design principle that subdivides a system into smaller parts called ''modules'' (such as modular process skids), which can be independently created, modified, replaced, or exchanged with other modules ...
s like the
CDC 8600, but advances in chip design led to the disappearance of the discrete-component module in the 1970s.
See also
*
Modularity
Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a system into varying ...
References
{{Reflist
Modularity
Electronic engineering
Logic gates