Computer architecture paradigms

Computer architecture paradigms

There are many types of computer architectures:

• Quantum computer vs Chemical computer
• Scalar processor vs Vector processor
• Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computers
• Register machine vs Stack machine
• Harvard architecture vs von Neumann architecture
• Cellular architecture

The quantum computer architecture holds the most promise to revolutionize computing.^[56]
Logic gates are a common abstraction which can apply to most of the above digital or analog paradigms.
The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a minimum capability (being Turing-complete) is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore any type of computer (netbook, supercomputer, cellular automaton, etc.) is able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.