Computer Architecture

Computer architecture is a relatively recently recognized discipline. The Technical Committee on Computer Architecture (TCCA) of the Computer Society was formed in 1970 and the Special Interest Committee on Computer Architecture (SICARCH) of ACM only in the summer of 1971. It is perhaps pertinent then, to ask what computer architecture is. A dictionary (1) defines architecture as: "the profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, etc., usually with some regard to aesthetic effect." I once said (2) that computer architecture is "the art of designing a machine that will be a pleasure to work with," so I would tend to go along with the dictionary.