section_path: Fields/Computer systems/Computer architecture and organization
section_name: Computer architecture and organization
paragraph_text: Computer architecture and organization
  
  Computer architecture, or digital computer organization, is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It focuses largely on the way by which the central processing unit performs internally and accesses addresses in memory. Computer engineers study computational logic and design of computer hardware, from individual processor components, microcontrollers, personal computers to supercomputers and embedded systems. The term "architecture" in computer literature can be traced to the work of Lyle R. Johnson and Frederick P. Brooks Jr., members of the Machine Organization department in IBM's main research center in 1959.