Dr.

Chao Tan,
Carnegie Mellon University
Chap. 1: Digital Logic Circuits

• Logic Gates, • Boolean Algebra

• Map Simplification, • Combinational Circuits
• Filp-Flops, • Sequential Circuits

Chap. 2: Digital Components

• Integrated Circuits, • Decoders, • Multiplexers

• Registers, • Shift Registers, • Binary Counters
• Memory Unit

Chap. 3: Data Representation

• Data Types, • Complements

• Fixed Point Representation
• Floating Point Representation
• Other Binary Codes, • Error Detection Codes
Chap. 4: Register Transfer and Microoperations

• Register Transfer Language, • Register Transfer

• Bus and Memory Transfers
• Arithmetic Microoperations
• Logic Microoperations, • Shift Microoperations
• Arithmetic Logic Shift Unit

Chap. 5: Basic Computer Organization and Design

• Instruction Codes, • Computer Registers

• Computer Instructions, • Timing and Control
• Instruction Cycle,
• Memory Reference Instructions
• Input-Output and Interrupt
• Complete Computer Description
• Design of Basic Computer
• Design of Accumulator Logic
Chap. 6: Programming the Basic Computer

• Machine Language, • Assembly Language

• Assembler, • Program Loops
• Programming Arithmetic and Logic Operations
• Subroutines, • Input-Output Programming

Chap. 7: Microprogrammed Control

• Control Memory, • Sequencing Microinstructions

• Microprogram Example, • Design of Control Unit
• Microinstruction Format

Chap. 8: Central Processing Unit

• General Register Organization

• Stack Organization, • Instruction Formats
• Addressing Modes
• Data Transfer and Manipulation
• Program Control
• Reduced Instruction Set Computer
Chap. 9: Pipeline and Vector Processing

• Parallel Processing, • Pipelining

• Arithmetic Pipeline, • Instruction Pipeline
• RISC Pipeline, • Vector Processing

Chap. 10: Computer Arithmetic

• Arithmetic with Signed-2's Complement Numbers

• Multiplication and Division Algorithms
• Floating-Point Arithmetic Operations
• Decimal Arithmetic Unit
• Decimal Arithmetic Operations

Chap. 11: Input-Output Organization

• Peripheral Devices, • Input-Output Interface

• Asynchronous Data Transfer, • Modes of Transfer
• Priority Interrupt, • Direct Memory Access
Chap. 12: Memory Organization

• Memory Hierarchy, • Main Memory

• Auxiliary Memory. • Associative Memory
• Cache Memory, • Virtual Memory

Chap. 13: Multiprocessors (Δ)

• Characteristics of Multiprocessors
• Interconnection Structures
• Interprocessor Arbitration
• Interprocessor Communication/Synchronization
• Cache Coherence
Register Transfer & μ-operations

SIMPLE DIGITAL SYSTEMS

• Combinational and sequential circuits (learned in Chapters 1 and 2)

can be used to create simple digital systems.

• These are the low-level building blocks of a digital computer.

• Simple digital systems are frequently characterized in terms of

• the registers they contain, and
• the operations that they perform.

• Typically,
• What operations are performed on the data in the registers
• What information is passed between registers
Register Transfer & μ-operations

REGISTER TRANSFER AND MICROOPERATIONS

• Register Transfer Language

• Register Transfer

• Bus and Memory Transfers

• Arithmetic Microoperations

• Logic Microoperations

• Shift Microoperations

• Arithmetic Logic Shift Unit

Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

MICROOPERATIONS (1)

• The operations on the data in registers are called microoperations.

• The functions built into registers are examples of microoperations
• Shift
• Load
• Clear
• Increment
• …
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

ORGANIZATION OF A DIGITAL SYSTEM

• Definition of the (internal) organization of a computer

- Set of registers and their functions

- Microoperations set

Set of allowable microoperations provided

by the organization of the computer

- Control signals that initiate the sequence of

microoperations (to perform the functions)
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

MICROOPERATION (2)

An elementary operation performed (during

one clock pulse), on the information stored
in one or more registers

Registers ALU 1 clock cycle

(R) (f)

R ← f(R, R)

f: shift, load, clear, increment, add, subtract, complement,

and, or, xor, …
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

REGISTER TRANSFER LEVEL

• Viewing a computer, or any digital system, in this way is called the

register transfer level

• This is because we’re focusing on

• The system’s registers
• The data transformations in them, and
• The data transfers between them.
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

REGISTER TRANSFER LANGUAGE

• Rather than specifying a digital system in words, a specific notation is

used, register transfer language

• For any function of the computer, the register transfer language can be
used to describe the (sequence of) microoperations

• Register transfer language

• A symbolic language
• A convenient tool for describing the internal organization of digital computers
• Can also be used to facilitate the design process of digital systems.
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

DESIGNATION OF REGISTERS

• Registers are designated by capital letters, sometimes followed by

numbers (e.g., A, R13, IR)
• Often the names indicate function:
• MAR - memory address register
• PC- program counter
• IR - instruction register

• Registers and their contents can be viewed and represented in various

ways
• A register can be viewed as a single entity:

MAR

• Registers may also be represented showing the bits of data they contain
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer Language

DESIGNATION OF REGISTERS

• Designation of a register
- a register
- portion of a register
- a bit of a register

• Common ways of drawing the block diagram of a register

Register Showing individual bits

R1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

15 0 15 8 7 0
R2 PC(H) PC(L)
Numbering of bits Subfields
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

REGISTER TRANSFER

• Copying the contents of one register to another is a register transfer

• A register transfer is indicated as

R2 ← R1

• In this case the contents of register R2 are copied (loaded)

into register R1
• A simultaneous transfer of all bits from the source R1 to
the destination register R2, during one clock pulse
• Note that this is a non-destructive; i.e. the contents of R1
are not altered by copying (loading) them to R2
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

REGISTER TRANSFER

• A register transfer such as

R3 ← R5

Implies that the digital system has

• the data lines from the source register (R5) to the

destination register (R3)
• Parallel load in the destination register (R3)
• Control lines to perform the action
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

CONTROL FUNCTIONS

• Often actions need to only occur if a certain condition is true

• This is similar to an “if” statement in a programming language
• In digital systems, this is often done via a control signal, called a control
function
• If the signal is 1, the action takes place
• This is represented as:

P: R2 ← R1

Which means “if P = 1, then load the contents of register R1

into register R2”, i.e., if (P = 1) then (R2 ← R1)
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTROLLED TRANSFERS

Implementation of controlled transfer

P: R2 ← R1

Block diagram Control P Load

R2 Clock
Circuit
n
R1

Timing diagram t t+1

Clock

Load
Transfer occurs here

• The same clock controls the circuits that generate the control function
and the destination register
• Registers are assumed to use positive-edge-triggered flip-flops
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS

• If two or more operations are to occur simultaneously, they

are separated with commas

P: R3 ← R5, MAR ← IR

• Here, if the control function P = 1, load the contents of R5

into R3, and at the same time (clock), load the contents of
register IR into register MAR
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

BASIC SYMBOLS FOR REGISTER TRANSFERS

Symbols Description Examples

Capital letters Denotes a register MAR, R2
& numerals
Parentheses () Denotes a part of a register R2(0-7), R2(L)
Arrow ← Denotes transfer of information R2 ← R1
Colon : Denotes termination of control function P:
Comma , Separates two micro-operations A ← B, B ←
A
Register Transfer & μ-operations Register Transfer

CONNECTING REGISTRS

• In a digital system with many registers, it is impractical to have data

and control lines to directly allow each register to be loaded with the
contents of every possible other registers

• To completely connect n registers n(n-1) lines

• O(n2) cost
• This is not a realistic approach to use in a large digital system

• Instead, take a different approach

• Have one centralized set of circuits for data transfer – the bus
• Have control circuits to select which register is the source, and which
is the destination
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

BUS AND BUS TRANSFER

Bus is a path(of a group of wires) over which information is
transferred, from any of several sources to any of several destinations.
From a register to bus: BUS ← R
Register A Register B Register C Register D

Bus lines

Register A Register B Register C Register D

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

B1 C1 D 1 B2 C2 D 2 B3 C3 D 3 B4 C4 D 4

0 0 0 0
4 x1 4 x1 4 x1 4 x1
MUX MUX MUX MUX

x
select
y

4-line bus
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

TRANSFER FROM BUS TO A DESTINATION REGISTER

Bus lines

Load
Reg. R0 Reg. R1 Reg. R2 Reg. R3

D 0 D1 D2 D 3
z E (enable)
Select 2x4
w
Decoder

Three-State Bus Buffers

Normal input A Output Y=A if C=1
High-impedence if C=0
Control input C

Bus line with three-state buffers

Bus line for bit 0
A0
B0
C0
D0

S0 0
Select 1
S1 2
Enable 3
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

BUS TRANSFER IN RTL

• Depending on whether the bus is to be mentioned explicitly or not,

register transfer can be indicated as either

R2 ← R1
or

BUS ← R1, R2 ← BUS

• In the former case the bus is implicit, but in the latter, it is explicitly
indicated
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

MEMORY (RAM)
• Memory (RAM) can be thought as a sequential circuits containing
some number of registers
• These registers hold the words of memory
• Each of the r registers is indicated by an address
• These addresses range from 0 to r-1
• Each register (word) can hold n bits of data
• Assume the RAM contains r = 2k words. It needs the following
• n data input lines
data input lines
• n data output lines
• k address lines n
• A Read control line
address lines
• A Write control line
k
RAM
Read
unit
Write
n
data output lines
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

MEMORY TRANSFER
• Collectively, the memory is viewed at the register level as a device,
M.
• Since it contains multiple locations, we must specify which address in
memory we will be using
• This is done by indexing memory references

• Memory is usually accessed in computer systems by putting the

desired address in a special register, the Memory Address Register
(MAR, or AR)
• When memory is accessed, the contents of the MAR get sent to the
memory unit’s address lines
M
Memory Read
AR
unit Write

Data out Data in

Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

MEMORY READ

• To read a value from a location in memory and load it into a register,

the register transfer language notation looks like this:

R1 ← M[MAR]

• This causes the following to occur

• The contents of the MAR get sent to the memory address lines
• A Read (= 1) gets sent to the memory unit
• The contents of the specified address are put on the memory’s output data lines
• These get sent over the bus to be loaded into register R1
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

MEMORY WRITE

• To write a value from a register to a location in memory looks like

this in register transfer language:

M[MAR] ← R1

• This causes the following to occur

• The contents of the MAR get sent to the memory address lines
• A Write (= 1) gets sent to the memory unit
• The values in register R1 get sent over the bus to the data input lines of the
memory
• The values get loaded into the specified address in the memory
Register Transfer & μ-operations Bus and Memory Transfers

SUMMARY OF R. TRANSFER MICROOPERATIONS

A←B Transfer content of reg. B into reg. A

AR ← DR(AD) Transfer content of AD portion of reg. DR into reg. AR
A ← constant Transfer a binary constant into reg. A
ABUS ← R1, Transfer content of R1 into bus A and, at the same
time,
R2 ← ABUS transfer content of bus A into R2
AR Address register
DR Data register
M[R] Memory word specified by reg. R
M Equivalent to M[AR]
DR ← M Memory read operation: transfers content of
memory word specified by AR into DR
M ← DR Memory write operation: transfers content of
DR into memory word specified by AR
Register Transfer & μ-operations Arithmetic Microoperations

MICROOPERATIONS

• Computer system microoperations are of four types:

- Register transfer microoperations

- Arithmetic microoperations
- Logic microoperations
- Shift microoperations
Register Transfer & μ-operations Arithmetic Microoperations

ARITHMETIC MICROOPERATIONS
• The basic arithmetic microoperations are
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Increment
• Decrement

• The additional arithmetic microoperations are

• Add with carry
• Subtract with borrow
• Transfer/Load
• etc. …

Summary of Typical Arithmetic Micro-Operations

R3 ← R1 + R2 Contents of R1 plus R2 transferred to R3
R3 ← R1 - R2 Contents of R1 minus R2 transferred to R3
R2 ← R2’ Complement the contents of R2
R2 ← R2’+ 1 2's complement the contents of R2 (negate)
R3 ← R1 + R2’+ 1 subtraction
R1 ← R1 + 1 Increment
R1 ← R1 - 1 Decrement
Register Transfer & μ-operations Arithmetic Microoperations

BINARY ADDER / SUBTRACTOR / INCREMENTER

Binary Adder
Binary Adder-Subtractor
Binary Incrementer
Register Transfer & μ-operations Arithmetic Microoperations

ARITHMETIC CIRCUIT
Cin
S1
S0
A0 X0 C0
S1 D0
S0 FA
B0 0 4x1 Y0 C1
1 MUX
2
3
A1 X1 C1
S1 FA D1
S0
B1 0 4x1 Y1 C2
1 MUX
2
3
A2 X2 C2
S1 FA D2
S0
B2 0 4x1 Y2 C3
1 MUX
2
3
A3 X3 C3
S1 FA D3
S0
B3 0 4x1 Y3 C4
1 MUX
2
3 Cout
0 1

S1 S0 Cin Y Output Microoperation

0 0 0 B D=A+B Add
0 0 1 B D=A+B+1 Add with carry
0 1 0 B’ D = A + B’ Subtract with borrow
0 1 1 B’ D = A + B’+ 1 Subtract
1 0 0 0 D = A Transfer A
1 0 1 0 D=A+1 Increment A
1 1 0 1 D=A-1 Decrement A
1 1 1 1 D = A Transfer A
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

LOGIC MICROOPERATIONS
• Specify binary operations on the strings of bits in registers
• Logic microoperations are bit-wise operations, i.e., they work on the individual bits
of data
• useful for bit manipulations on binary data
• useful for making logical decisions based on the bit value
• There are, in principle, 16 different logic functions that can be defined
over two binary input variables

A B F0 F1 F2 … F13 F14 F15

0 0 0 0 0 … 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0 … 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 … 0 1 1
1 1 0 1 0 … 1 0 1

• However, most systems only implement four of these

• AND (∧), OR (∨), XOR (⊕), Complement/NOT
• The others can be created from combination of these
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

LIST OF LOGIC MICROOPERATIONS

• List of Logic Microoperations
- 16 different logic operations with 2 binary vars.
n
- n binary vars → 2 2 functions

• Truth tables for 16 functions of 2 variables and the

corresponding 16 logic micro-operations
x 0011 Boolean Micro-
Name
y 0101 Function Operations
0000 F0 = 0 F←0 Clear
0001 F1 = xy F←A∧B AND
0010 F2 = xy' F ← A ∧ B’
0011 F3 = x F←A Transfer A
0100 F4 = x'y F ← A’∧ B
0101 F5 = y F←B Transfer B
0110 F6 = x ⊕ y F←A⊕B Exclusive-OR
0111 F7 = x + y F←A∨B OR
1000 F8 = (x + y)' F ← (A ∨ B)’ NOR
1001 F9 = (x ⊕ y)' F ← (A ⊕ B)’ Exclusive-NOR
1010 F10 = y' F ← B’ Complement B
1011 F11 = x + y' F←A∨B
1100 F12 = x' F ← A’ Complement A
1101 F13 = x' + y F ← A’∨ B
1110 F14 = (xy)' F ← (A ∧ B)’ NAND
1111 F15 = 1 F ← all 1's Set to all 1's
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOGIC MICROOPERATIONS

Ai
0
Bi

1
4X1 Fi
MUX
2

3 Select

S1
S0

Function table
S1 S0 Output μ-operation
0 0 F=A∧B AND
0 1 F=A∨B OR
1 0 F=A⊕B XOR
1 1 F = A’ Complement
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

APPLICATIONS OF LOGIC MICROOPERATIONS

• Logic microoperations can be used to manipulate individual bits or a

portions of a word in a register

• Consider the data in a register A. In another register, B, is bit data that

will be used to modify the contents of A

• Selective-set A←A+B
• Selective-complement A ← A ⊕ B
• Selective-clear A ← A • B’
• Mask (Delete) A←A•B
• Clear A←A⊕B
• Insert A ← (A • B) + C
• Compare A←A⊕B
• ...
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

SELECTIVE SET

• In a selective set operation, the bit pattern in B is used to set certain bits
in A

1 1 0 0 At
1010 B
1 1 1 0 At+1 (A ← A + B)

• If a bit in B is set to 1, that same position in A gets set to 1, otherwise

that bit in A keeps its previous value
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

SELECTIVE COMPLEMENT

• In a selective complement operation, the bit pattern in B is used to

complement certain bits in A

1 1 0 0 At
1010 B
0 1 1 0 At+1 (A ← A ⊕ B)

• If a bit in B is set to 1, that same position in A gets complemented from

its original value, otherwise it is unchanged
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

SELECTIVE CLEAR

• In a selective clear operation, the bit pattern in B is used to clear certain

bits in A

1 1 0 0 At
1010 B
0 1 0 0 At+1 (A ← A ⋅ B’)

• If a bit in B is set to 1, that same position in A gets set to 0, otherwise it

is unchanged
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

MASK OPERATION

• In a mask operation, the bit pattern in B is used to clear certain bits in A

1 1 0 0 At
1010 B
1 0 0 0 At+1 (A ← A ⋅ B)

• If a bit in B is set to 0, that same position in A gets set to 0, otherwise it

is unchanged
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

CLEAR OPERATION

• In a clear operation, if the bits in the same position in A and B are the
same, they are cleared in A, otherwise they are set in A

1 1 0 0 At
1010 B
0 1 1 0 At+1 (A ← A ⊕ B)
Register Transfer & μ-operations Logic Microoperations

INSERT OPERATION
• An insert operation is used to introduce a specific bit pattern into A register,
leaving the other bit positions unchanged
• This is done as
• A mask operation to clear the desired bit positions, followed
by
• An OR operation to introduce the new bits into the desired
positions
• Example
• Suppose you wanted to introduce 1010 into the low order four bits
of A: 1101 1000 1011 0001 A (Original)
1101 1000 1011 1010 A (Desired)

• 1101 1000 1011 0001 A (Original)

1111 1111 1111 0000 Mask
1101 1000 1011 0000 A (Intermediate)
0000 0000 0000 1010 Added bits
1101 1000 1011 1010 A (Desired)
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

SHIFT MICROOPERATIONS
• There are three types of shifts
• Logical shift
• Circular shift
• Arithmetic shift
• What differentiates them is the information that goes into the
serial input

• A right shift operation

Serial
input

• A left shift operation Serial

input
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

LOGICAL SHIFT
• In a logical shift the serial input to the shift is a 0.

• A right logical shift operation:

0

• A left logical shift operation:

0

• In a Register Transfer Language, the following notation is used

• shl for a logical shift left
• shr for a logical shift right
• Examples:
• R2 ← shr R2
• R3 ← shl R3
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

CIRCULAR SHIFT
• In a circular shift the serial input is the bit that is shifted out of the other
end of the register.

• A right circular shift operation:

• A left circular shift operation:

• In a RTL, the following notation is used

• cil for a circular shift left
• cir for a circular shift right
• Examples:
• R2 ← cir R2
• R3 ← cil R3
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

ARITHMETIC SHIFT
• An arithmetic shift is meant for signed binary numbers (integer)
• An arithmetic left shift multiplies a signed number by two
• An arithmetic right shift divides a signed number by two
• The main distinction of an arithmetic shift is that it must keep the sign of
the number the same as it performs the multiplication or division

• A right arithmetic shift operation:

sign
bit

• A left arithmetic shift operation:

0
sign
bit
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

ARITHMETIC SHIFT
• An left arithmetic shift operation must be checked for the overflow

0
sign
bit

Before the shift, if the leftmost two

V bits differ, the shift will result in an
overflow

• In a RTL, the following notation is used

– ashl for an arithmetic shift left
– ashr for an arithmetic shift right
– Examples:
» R2 ← ashr R2
» R3 ← ashl R3
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF SHIFT MICROOPERATIONS

0 for shift right (down)

Serial Select 1 for shift left (up)
input (IR)

S
MUX H0
0
1
A0

A1 S
MUX H1
0
A2 1

A3
S
MUX H2
0
1

S
MUX H3
0
1

Serial
input (IL)
Register Transfer & μ-operations Shift Microoperations

ARITHMETIC LOGIC SHIFT UNIT

S3
S2 Ci
S1
S0

Arithmetic D i
Circuit
Select

Ci+1
0 4x1 Fi
1 MUX
2
3
Ei
Logic
Bi Circuit
Ai
Ai-1 shr
Ai+1 shl

S3 S2 S1 S0 Cin Operation Function

0 0 0 0 0 F=A Transfer A
0 0 0 0 1 F=A+1 Increment A
0 0 0 1 0 F=A+B Addition
0 0 0 1 1 F = A + B + 1 Add with carry
0 0 1 0 0 F = A + B’ Subtract with borrow
0 0 1 0 1 F = A + B’+ 1 Subtraction
0 0 1 1 0 F=A-1 Decrement A
0 0 1 1 1 F=A TransferA
0 1 0 0 X F=A∧B AND
0 1 0 1 X F=A∨B OR
0 1 1 0 X F=A⊕B XOR
0 1 1 1 X F = A’ Complement A
1 0 X X X F = shr A Shift right A into F
1 1 X X X F = shl A Shift left A into F