COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

Architecture refers to the structure of the processor and how computer

components are related to each other.

The processor
• Can be referred to generally as Central Processing Unit (CPU)
which is responsible for fetching, decoding and executing of all
computer instructions.
• It is commonly called the brain of the computer
• Computers cannot work without the processor

The processor has the following functions:

- It controls the transmission of data from input device to
memory
- It processes the data and instructions held in main memory
- It controls the transmission of information from main memory
to output device.
- Controls the sequence of instructions,
- Give commands to all parts of the computer,
- Fetches the next instruction to be executed
- Decodes instructions
- Executes decoded instructions

Co-Processor
This is an additional processor used for a specific task and improves
processing speed by executing jobs concurrently, e. g. maths co-
processor
Maths Core-Processor: an additional processor which works alongside
the main processor, capable of processing large representations using
large size registers, particularly used for floating point calculations

Processor Performance
The traditional processor’s performance is affected by these four main
components:
(a) Clock Speed
- The processor contains a timing device known as the clock. It
determines the timing of all operations.
- This sends out signals at a given interval, and all processes within the
computer will start with one of these pulses.
- A process may take any amount of time to complete, but it will only
start on a pulse.

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- It therefore makes sense that a processor with a faster clock speed
will perform faster, since more pulses will be sent out in the same
time frame.
- A faster clock increases the speed of the processor and/or memory
but not the peripherals
- The clock speed is generally quoted in factors of Hertz, with modern
processors typically Gigahertz.

(b) Word Size

- The word size of a computer is the number of bits it can process at a
time.
- Increasing the word length of the registers benefits programs with
many numerical calculations
- Word length is determined by size of registers
- Bits are grouped into words, the length of a word varies but it is
typically, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 bits.
- Obviously if the processor is able to deal with more bits at a time then
it is going to perform better.
- Typically home computers are 32-bit, but 64-bit technology is
becoming widespread too.

(c) Bus Width

- The addresses of data, and the data itself, is transmitted along buses
inside the computer.
- The width of the bus is the number of bits it can store / carry.
- A wider data bus will allow more data to be sent at a time, and
therefore the processor will perform more efficiently.
- A wider address bus will increase the number of memory addresses a
computer may use.
- For example an 8 bit bus will only allow a value between 0 and 255 to
be transmitted at a time.

(d) Architecture
- The architecture of a processor will affect its performance,
- A better designed processor will perform better than a different
processor.

The main components of the processor are:

- ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
- Control Unit (CU)
- Registers

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 - System Clock

1. Arithmetic and Logic Unit

Responsible for carrying out operations on data, like calculations. It
consists of two parts:
(a) Arithmetic Unit
(b) Logic Unit

(a) Arithmetic Unit

Responsible for basic arithmetic functions such as: Addition,
Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, etc
(b) Logical Unit
It perform logical operations like comparing two data items to
find which data item is > ,= ,< the other, etc
The ALU works together with the accumulator register, which
temporarily stores data being processed and the results of processing.
The ALU performs the following:
 Carries out all arithmetic.
 Carries out logic operations.
 Acts as gateway to and from the processor

2. Control unit
It manages the execution of instructions by running the clock.
It coordinates and controls all operations of computer system.
It also called the supervisor of the computer. It performs the following:
- Fetches the next instruction to be executed
- Decodes instructions
- Manages execution of instructions
- Executes decoded instructions
- Uses control signals to manage rest of processor.
- It carries out the Fetch-Execute Cycle as illustrated below:

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The Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle
Step 1. Fetch instruction: In the
instruction phase, the computer’s control
unit fetches the next instruction to be
executed from main memory.
Microprocessor gets software instruction
telling it what to do with data.
Step 2. Decode instruction: Then the
instruction is decoded so that the central
processor can understand what is to be
done. Microprocessor determines what the
The Fetch-Execute Cycle instructions mean. At this stage, the
computer produces signals which control
other computer components like the ALU.
Step 3. Execute the instruction: In the
execution phase, the ALU does what it is
instructed to do, making either an
arithmetic computation or a logical
comparison. Microprocessor performs the
instruction (cause instruction to be
executed).
Step 4. Store results: Then the results are
stored in the registers or in memory.
Step 3 & 4 are called the execution phase.
The time it takes to complete the execution
phase is called the EXECUTION TIME (E-
time).
After both phases have been completed for
one instruction, they are again performed
for the second instruction, and so on.

(c) Registers:
- This is a high-speed storage area in the CPU used to temporarily
hold small units of program instructions and data immediately
before, during and after execution by the CPU.
- It is a small amount of storage available on the CPU whose contents
can be accessed more quickly than storage available elsewhere
- Registers are special memory cells that operate at very high speed.
They provide the fastest way for a CPU to access data.
- The CPU contains a number of registers and each has a predefined
functions

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 - Most modern computer architectures operate by moving data from
main memory into registers, operate on them, then move the result
back into main memory
- Register size determines how much information it can store
- The size of register is in bytes: i.e., can be one, two, four or eight
byte register
- The processor contains a number of special purpose registers
(which have dedicated uses) and general purpose registers (which
may be used for arithmetic function and are a sort of “working
area”)
- The main types registers (special purpose registers) found in the
Von Neumann Machine are as given below:
 program counter
 memory address register
 memory data register/memory buffer register
 current instruction register
 index register

Program Counter (PC)

- Contains the address of the next instruction to be
fetched/executed
- PC holds address of next instruction
- this register is automatically incremented so that it always
holds the memory address of the next instruction
- Keeps check of whereabouts the next program is in the
memory.
- After one instruction has been carried out, the PC will be able
to tell the processor whereabouts the next instruction is.
- The PC is also called the Sequence Control Register (SCR) as it
controls the sequence in which instructions are executed.
- During program execution, the PC:
 stores the address of the next instruction to be executed
 Its content is incremented after the address is read
 Its content is altered to specific address if instruction is a
jump instruction

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Memory address register (MAR)
• Is used to hold the memory address that contains either the next
piece of data or an instruction that is to be used
• It holds the address of a memory location from which data will be
read from or written to. Data might be a variable as part of a
program, or an instruction for the processor to execute
• Specifies the address for the next read or write
• MAR holds address of instruction/data
• This is where the address that was read from the PC is sent.
• Stored here so that the processor knows where-abouts in the
memory the instruction is.

Memory Data Register (MDR) also called Memory buffer register

(MBR)
• This is used to store data which has been read from or is ready to
write to memory. All transfers from memory to CPU go through this
buffer
• It acts like a buffer and holds anything that is copied from the
memory ready for the processor to use it
• It contains data written into memory or receives data read from
memory

Current instruction register (CIR)

- it holds the instruction that is to be executed
- Contains both the operator and operand of the current instruction
- For example the instruction MOVE 100,#13
- “MOVE” is the operator, and “100” and “#13” are the operands.
- It stores an instruction while it is being
decoded/executed/carried out
- Its contents change when an instruction from memory has been
placed in MDR, and then it is copied from MDR to CIR.

The Status Register (SR).

- This contains status bits which reflect on the results of an
instruction. For example, if there is an error in the operation (such
as an overflow) this will be recorded in the status register. The
Status Registers also store data about interrupts

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Instruction Register (IR)
- Contains the instruction most recently fetched or the
instruction currently being executed

Index register
 It is a register used for modifying operand addresses during
program execution,
 Used in performing vector/array operations.
 Used for indirect addressing where an immediate constant (i.e.
which is part of the instruction itself) is added to the contents of
the index register to form the address to the actual operand or
data

How and why is the index register (IR) used

- used in indexed addressing
- stores a number used to modify an address which is given in an
instruction
- allows efficient access to a range of memory locations by
incrementing the value in the IR e.g. used to access an array
- It stores an integer value
- The integer value is added to the base address in the instruction
- Used for the successive reading of values from memory locations
e.g. in an array
- Can be incremented after use

General Purpose Registers

Accumulator
- A general purpose register used to accumulate results of
processing
- it is where the results from other operations are stored
temporarily before being used by other processes.
- Available to the programmer and referenced in assembly
language programs
- Used for performing arithmetic functions

Flags Register: Used to record the effect of the last ALU operation

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HOW REGISTERS OPERATE
Fetch phase:
• The address of next instruction is copied from the PC to the MAR.
• The instruction held at that address is copied to the MDR
• The contents of the MDR are copied to the CIR
Execute Phase:
• The instruction held in the CIR is decoded.
• The instruction is executed.

The Fetch-Decode Execute Cycle

There are three stages of the machine cycle in a Von Neumann
architecture, which are: fetch, decode and execute stages.

The stages are summarised as follows:

Fetch
 The PC stores the address of the next instruction which needs to
be carried out
As instructions are held sequentially in the memory, the value in
the PC is incremented so that it always points to the next
instruction.
 When the next instruction is needed, its address is copied from
the PC and placed in the MAR
 The data which is stored at the address in the MAR is then copied
to the MDR
 Once it is ready to be executed, the executable part if the
instruction is copied into the CIR

Decode
 The instruction in the CIR can now be split into two parts, the
address and the operation
 The address part can be placed in the MDR and the data fetched
and put in the MAR.

Execute
 The contents of both the memory address register and the
memory data register are sent together to the central processor.
The central processor contains all the parts that do the
calculations, the main part being the CU (control unit) and the

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 ALU (arithmetic logic unit), there are more parts to the central
processor which have specific purposes as well.
 The ALU will keep referring back to where the data and
instructions are stored, while it is executing them, the MDR acts
like a buffer, storing the data until it is needed
 The CU will then follow the instructions, which will tell it where to
fetch the data from, it will read the data and send the necessary
signals to other parts of the computer.

The fetch-decode-execute cycle operates in the following way:

 Load the address that is in the program counter (PC) into the
memory address register (MAR).
 Increment the PC by 1.
 Load the instruction that is in the memory address given by the
MAR into the MDR
 Load the instruction that is now in the MDR into the current
instruction register (CIR).
 Decode the instruction that is in the CIR.
 If the instruction is a jump instruction then
 Load the address part of the instruction into the PC
 Reset by going to step 1.
 Execute the instruction.
 Reset by going to step 1.

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How a jump instruction executed
- by changing contents of PC (to address part of
- instruction)
- copy address part of instruction in CIR to PC

The first step simply places the address of the next instruction into the
memory Address Register so that the control unit can fetch the
instruction from the correct part of the memory. The program counter
is then incremented by 1 so that it contains the address of the next
instruction, assuming that the instructions are in consecutive locations.

The memory data register is used whenever anything is to go from the

central processing unit to main memory, or vice versa. Thus the next
instruction is copied from memory into the MDR and is then copied into
the current instruction register.

Now that the instruction has been fetched the control unit can decode it
and decide what has to be done. This is the execute part of the cycle. If it
is an arithmetic instruction, this can be executed and the cycle restarted
as the PC contains the address of the next instruction in order. However,
if the instruction involves jumping to an instruction that is not the next
one in order, the PC has to be loaded with the address of the instruction
that is to be executed next. This address is in the address part of the
current instruction, hence the address part is loaded into the PC before
the cycle is reset and starts all over again.

Memory Unit
Is the computer memory that temporarily stores the operating system,
application programs and data currently use.
It used to store the following:
 Program instructions in current use;
 Data in current use;
 Parts of Operating System that are currently in use.
Some architectures have a Memory Unit (Main memory) which has two
types: RAM and ROM.

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Buses
 A bus is a pathway through which data and signals are transferred
from one device to another.
 They are a set of parallel wires connecting two or more
components of the computer.
 Buses can be internal or external.
 Buses can be generally referred to as system bus and this connect
the CPU, memory and I/O devices.
 Each bus is a shared transmission medium, so that only one
device can transmit along a bus at any one time.
 Multiple devices can be connected to the same bus

Diagram

 Data and control signals travel in both directions between the

processor, memory and I/O controllers.
 Address, on the other hand, travel only one way along the address
bus: the processor sends the address of an instruction, or of data
to be stored or retrieved, to memory to an I/O controller.

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The main types of buses are:
- Data bus:
 Used for carrying data from memory to the processor and
between I/O ports.
 Comprises of either 8, 16, 32 or 64 separate parallel lines
 Provide a bi-directional path for data and instruction’s
between computer components. This means that the CPU can
read data from memory and input ports and also send data to
memory and output ports.
 The width of the bus determines the overall system
performance. For example, if the data bus is 8 bits wide, and
each instruction is 16 bits long, then the processor must access
the main memory twice during each instruction cycle

- Address bus:
 Used for transferring memory addresses from the processor
when it is accessing main memory
 They are used to access memory during the read or write
process
 The width of the address bus determines the maximum
possible memory capacity of the computer.
 This a uni-directional bus (one way). The address is send from
CPU to memory and I/O ports only.

- Control bus:
 The purpose of the control bus is to transmit command, timing
and specific status information between system components.
Timing signals indicate the validity of data and address
information. Command signals specify operations to be
performed. Specific status signals indicate the state of a data
transfer request, or the status of request by a components to
gain control of the system bus
 This is a bi-directional bus used for carrying control signals
(Signals can be transferred in both directions).
 They carry signals to enable outputs of addressed port and
memory devices
 Control signals regulate activities on the bus.
 Control buses transmit command, timing and status
information between computer components.
 Typical control signals are:
 Memory Read
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  Memory Write
 I/O Read
 I/O Write
 Interrupt Request
 Interrupt Grant
 Reset
 Ready hold
 etc
 Timing signals: indicate validity of data and information.
 Command signals: Specify operations to be performed
 Status signals: Indicate state of data transfer request or status
of a request.

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INTERRUPTS
Interrupt: it is a signal generated by a device or software, which may
cause a break in the execution of the current routine
An interrupt is a signal send to the processor by a peripheral or
software for attention to be turned to that peripheral/software, thereby
causing a break in the execution of a program, e.g. printer out of paper.
Control is transferred to another routine and the original routine will be
resumed after the interrupt

Interrupt Service Routine (Handler): a small subprogram that is calld

when an interrupt occurs and it handles the interrupt.

Interrupt priorities
Interrupts have different priorities
This is important if two interrupts are received simultaneously the
processor for it to decide which one is more important to execute first.
There are four levels of priority, which are (highest priority order):
- Hardware Failure: can be caused by power failure or memory
parity error.
- Program Interrupts: Arithmetic overflow, division by zero, etc
- Timer Interrupts: generated by the internal clock
- I/O Interrupts:

Interrupt Handling
At the end of each Fetch-Execute cycle, the contents of the interrupt
registers are checked.
Should there be an interrupt; the following steps will typically be taken:
a) The current fetch-decode-execute cycle is completed
b) The operating system halts current task
c) The contents of the PC and other registers will be stored safely
in a stack.
d) The highest priority interrupt is identified. Interrupts with a
lower priority are disabled.
e) The source of the interrupt is identified.
f) The start address of the interrupt handler is loaded into the PC.
g) The interrupt handler is executed.
h) Interrupts are enabled again, and the cycle will restart with
any further interrupts.
i) The PC and other registers are “popped” from the stack and
restored.
j) The user’s program resumes with the next step in its cycle.

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- When dealing with an interrupt, the computer has to know which
interrupt handler to call for which interrupt.
- One method of doing this is known as the vectored interrupt
mechanism.
- In this approach a complete list of interrupts and the memory address
of their handler is stored in a table called the interrupt vector table.
- The interrupt supplies an offset number, which identifies the
interrupt uniquely.
- This offset is added to a base term, and the resultant number is the
memory address of a pointer to the memory location of the handler
routine.
- This is explained in the example below:

- If the interrupt 002 is received, the base number 5000 is added to it,
which allows the processor to know that the handler can be found by
opening the data stored at address 5002.
- The address 5002 simply stores a pointer to another memory
location, 6280, where the actual handler routine begins.
- The advantage of this approach is that each interrupt only needs to
give the processor an offset number, such as 002, and the processor
can determine from that the correct memory location to use. This is
more efficient than the interrupt sending the full memory address
itself. This approach also allows the interrupt routines to be stored
anywhere in the memory, with the pointer table updated to reflect if a
handler routine is moved

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Types of interrupts
Input / output interrupt e.g. disk full, printer out of paper, etc. they are
generated by the I/O devices
Interrupts generated by running process: process may need more
storage or to communicate with the operator
Timer interrupts: generated by the processor clock, e.g. control being
transferred to another user in a time sharing system
Program check interrupts: caused by errors like division by zero
Machine check interrupts: Caused by malfunctioning hardware.
Clock (happens normally in time sharing systems where the clock
transfers control from one computer to another.)

Why interrupts are used in a computer system

- to obtain processor time for a higher priority task
- to avoid delays
- to avoid loss of data
- as an indicator to the processor that a device needs to be serviced
- allows computer to shut down if the power off interrupt predicts
loss of power, saving data in time

Sources of interrupts
- power failure/system failure
- peripheral e.g. printer (buffer empty)/hardware
- clock interrupt
- user interrupt e.g. new user log on request
- software

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Vectored Interrupts
A specific number assigned to each interrupt is called an interrupt
vector. Each interrupt is numbered.
Each interrupt vector is the one used to call the interrupt handler
Address of interrupt service routines are stored in an array (known as
interrupt dispatch table) and the interrupt vector is used as a subscript
to this array.

Buffer
- Buffer: This is a temporary memory store for data awaiting
processing or output, compensating speed at which devices
operate, for example printer buffer.
- A buffer is a memory in the interface between two devices which
temporarily store data which is being transmitted from one
device to another
- A buffer is a small amount of fast memory outside the processor
that allows the processor to get on with other work instead of
being held up by the secondary device.
- The buffer is necessary if the two devices work at the different
speed
- Buffering is appropriate where an output device processes data
slower than the processor. For example, the processor sends data
to the printer, which prints much slower and the printer does not
need to wait for the printer to finish printing in order for it to
carry out the next task.
- It therefore saves the data in a buffer where it will be retrieved by
the printer.
- Buffering usually match devices that work at different speeds, e.g.
processor and disk.

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 - Sometimes a device is already busy in executing some
instructions.
- Example: there are three printing jobs, the printer can print only
one job at a time. The OS sends the next two jobs in buffer, a
process which is also known as Spooling
- Buffers are a main component of Memory
- The printer buffer is one of the most common type of buffer.

Reasons for using printer buffers:

Stores data or information being sent to the printer temporarily.
Compensates for difference in speed of CPU and printer.
Allows CPU to carry out other tasks whilst printer is printing.

Benefits of increasing size of buffer in a printer:

Reduces the number of data transfers to the printer.
Ensures a more efficient use of the CPU.
Larger files can be sent to the printer without problems

Use of buffers and interrupts in the transfer of data between

primary memory and hard disk.
 Buffer is temporary storage area for data
 Data transferred from primary memory to buffer (or vice
versa)
 When buffer full, processor can carry on with other tasks
 Buffer is emptied to the hard disk
 When buffer empty, interrupt sent to processor requesting
more data to be sent to buffer.
 Works according to priorities

Cache Memory
- A cache is a small and very high speed memory used to speed
up the transfer of data and instructions, doubling the speed of
the computer in some cases.
- It can located inside or close to the CPU Chip
- it is placed between the CPU and the main memory.
- It stores frequently or most recently used instructions and data
- It is faster than RAM
- The data and instructions that are most recently or most
frequently used by CPU are stored in cache memory.

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 - it is used to increase the speed of processing by making
current programs and data available to the CPU at a rapid rate
- CPU processes data faster than main memory access time, thus
processing speed is limited primarily by the speed of main
memory.
- It compensates the speed difference between the main
memory access time and processor logic.
- It is used to increase the speed of processing by making
current programs and data available to the CPU at a rapid rate.
-
- The cache thus used for storing segments of programs
currently being executed in the CPU and temporary data
frequently needed in the present calculations
-
- The amount of cache memory is generally between 1kb and
512kb

How cache memory works

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Von Neumann Architecture

Diagram A Diagram B

The Von Neumann Computer architecture has the following

characteristics
• Stores both data and instructions in the same memory.
• Has a single processor which follows a linear sequence of the
fetch-decode-execute cycle. Therefore it only processes one job at
a time with one set of data. Execution occurs in a sequential
fashion from one instruction to the next, unless explicitly
modified.
• Uses serial processing of instructions. Allows for one instruction
to be read from memory or data to be read/written from/to
memory at a time.
• Instructions and data are stored in the same memory and share a
communication pathway or bus to the CPU. Because program
memory and data memory cannot be accessed at the same time,
throughput is much smaller than the rate at which the CPU can
work. This constraint (problem) is called the Von Neumann
bottleneck and directly impacts the performance of the system.
This can however be solved by use of cache memory.
• The von Neumann architecture allows instructions and data to be
mixed and stored in the same memory module and the contents of
this memory are addressable by location only. The execution
occurs in a sequential fashion.
• Von Neumann architectures usually have a single unified cache
• The Von Neumann machine had five basic parts:- (i) Memory (ii)
ALU (iii) control unit (iv) Input equipment & (v) output
equipment: as shown below

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  Processor needs two clock cycles to complete an instruction.

• In the first clock cycle the processor gets the instruction from
memory and decodes it. In the next clock cycle the required data
is taken from memory. For each instruction this cycle repeats and
hence needs two cycles to complete an instruction
• Pipelining the instructions is not possible with this architecture.
• A stored-program digital computer is one that keeps its
programmed instructions, as well as its data, in read-write,
random access memory (RAM), that is the Von Neumann
computer. This makes the machines much more flexible.
• By treating those instructions in the same way as data, a stored-
program machine can easily change the program, and can do so
under program control.
• Once in the computer’s memory a program will be executed one
instruction at a time by repeatedly going through
• In the vast majority of modern computers, the same memory is
used for both data and program instructions.

Advantages
- Almost all data can be processed by the von Neumann
computer
- Cheaper than alternative types of processing
- Its design is very simple

Disadvantages
- Slower than other architectures
- Limited by bus transfer rate
- Does not maximise CPU utilisation
- Poorly written programs can have their data mixed up as both
data and instructions share the same memory

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Harvard architecture.

Diagram A Diagram B

The Harvard architecture has the following characteristics:

 Stores instructions and data in separate memory, thus has

physically separate storage for data and instructions
 Has separate data and instruction buses, allowing transfers to be
performed simultaneously on both buses.
 Data and instructions are treated separately
 May employ pipelining. Efficient Pipelining - Operand Fetch and
Instruction Fetch can be overlapped.
 Harvard Architecture have a system would have separate caches
for each bus.

Using a simple, unified memory system together with a Harvard

architecture is highly inefficient. Unless it is possible to feed data into
both busses at the same time, it might be better to use a von Neumann
architecture processor.

Disadvantages

· Not widely used.

· More difficult to implement.
· More pins needed for buses.

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System clock
• It is an electronic component that generates clock pulses to step
the control unit through its operation.
• This sends out a sequence of timing pulses or signals, which are
used to step the control unit through its operations.
• It generates electric signals at a fast speed
• It controls all functions of computer using clock ticks
• These ticks of system clock are known as clock cycle and speed of
CPU
• The speed at which the CPU executes instructions is called clock
speed or clock rate.
• It generates a continuous sequence of clock pulse to step the
control unit through its operations

Serial Processing
Each instruction is executed in turn until the end of the program.
Advantages
- Nearly all programs can run on serial processing and therefore
no additional complex code can be written.
- All data types are suitable for serial processing
- Program can use the previous result in the next operation
- Data set are independent of each other
- Cheaper to handle than parallel

Disadvantages
- Slows data processing especially in the Von Neumann
architecture (bottleneck)
- Too much thrashing especially with poorly designed programs

Parallel Processing
- Parallel processing is the ability of a computer system to divide a
job into many tasks which are executed simultaneously, using
more than one processor, thus allowing multiple processing.
- Multiple CPUs can be used to carry out different parts of the fetch-
execute cycle.
- The computer is able to perform concurrent data processing to
achieve faster execution time.
- The system may have two or more ALUs and be able to execute
two or more instructions at the same time.
- It may also have two or more processors operating concurrently

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 - The objective is to increase throughput
- Mostly applies to Single Instruction Single Data computer (SISD)
- Supercomputers utilizing parallel processing are used to maintain
the safety.
- Scientists are using parallel processing to design computer-
generated models of vehicles.
- Airlines use parallel processing to process customer information,
forecast demand and decide what fares to charge.
- The medical community uses parallel processing supercomputers.
NB:-
- Instruction Stream:-the sequence of instructions read from
memory
- Data stream: operations performed on the data in the
processor
Parallel processing occurs in the instruction stream, the data stream or
both.
(a) Single Instruction Stream, Single Data Stream (SISD) –
Instructions are executed sequentially and parallel processing can
be achieved by multiple functional units or by pipelining.
(b) Single Instruction Stream, Multiple Data Stream (SIMD)-
includes multiple processing units with a single control unit. All
processors receive the same instruction but operate on different
data
(c) Multiple Instruction Stream, Single Data Stream (MISD) –
Involves parallel computing where may functional units perform
different operations by executing different instructions on the
same data set
(d) Multiple Instruction Stream, Multiple Data Stream (MIMD) –
processor capable of processing several programs at the same
time

Advantages of parallel processing

- allows faster processing especially when handling large amounts
of data
- more than one instruction (of a program) is processed at the same
time
- Not limited (affected) by bus transfer rate
- Can make maximum CPU utilisation as long as it is kept full
- different processors can handle different tasks/parts of same job

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 - Memory is scalable with number of processors. Increase the
number of processors and the size of memory increases
proportionately.
- Each processor can rapidly access its own memory without
interference and without the overhead incurred with trying to
maintain cache

Disadvantages of parallel processing:

- Only certain types of data is appropriate for parallel processing
- Data that relies on previous operation cannot be made parallel.
- Each data set must be independent of each other
- Usually more expensive
- The programmer is responsible for the details associated with
data communication.
- operating system is more complex to ensure synchronisation
- program has to be written in a suitable format
- Program is more difficult to test/write/debug
- It may be difficult to map existing data structures, based on global
memory, to this memory organization.

Parallel processing includes Vector (Array) Processing and Pipeline

Processing
Involves the use of a several processors to perform a single job.

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1. Array / Vector Processing
 It is when a processor allows the same instruction to operate
simultaneously on multiple data locations and apply the same
calculation on different data very fast on a processor with several
ALUs
 Is a Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD)
 It applies to any example of a mathematical problem involving
large number of similar calculations, e. g weather forecasting,
airflow simulation around new aircraft, games, etc.
 It is a simple processor used for data that can be processed
independently of one another –a single instruction can be applied
to multiple bits of data all at the same time, and none of the results
of that data will be needed to process the next bit of data.
 These types of processors are normally used for things like
controlling input or output devices. They can be used to track the
point of the mouse on a screen, or display the data on the monitor.
 They are sometimes called array processors, because the data is
stored in an array, similar to that used in programing, the array
can have one to many dimensions.
 Array processors are an extension to the CPU’s arithmetic unit.
 The only disadvantage to array processing is that it relies on the
data sets all acting on the same instruction, and it is impossible to
use the results of one data set to process the next, although this
does not matter in their use.
 It is also important to know, that an array processor is a single
instruction multiple data (SIMD) processor, meaning that, lots of
bits of data get processed with a single instruction.
 They are expensive to use it processing methods
 They have limitation on type of data to process

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2. Pipeline Processing
 It is a technique which allows the overlapping of the fetch-decode-
execute cycle for different instructions.
 A parallel processing architecture in which several processors are
used, each one doing a different part of the fetch, decode, execute
cycle, so the fetch-decode-execute cycle is staggered.
 The processor is split up into three parts (fetch, decode, execute),
each of which handles one of the three stages.
 Each part is called a line, where each single line is a pipeline.
 This can be best illustrated with the diagram below.

As long as the pipelines can be kept full, it is making best use of the CPU.
This is an example of single instruction single data (SISD) processor,
again it should be quite clear why, the processor is processing a single
instruction to a single bit of data.

In pipelining, three instructions are dealt with at the same time. This
reduces the execution time considerably.
However, this would only be true for a very linear program.
Once jump instructions are introduced the problem arises that the
wrong instructions are in the pipeline waiting to be executed, so every
time the sequence of instructions changes, the pipeline has to be cleared
and the process started again.

A non-pipeline architecture is inefficient because some CPU components

(modules) are idle while another module is active during the instruction
cycle. Pipelining does not completely cancel out idle time in a CPU but

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making those modules work in parallel improves program execution
significantly.

Processors with pipelining are organized inside into stages which can
semi-independently work on separate jobs. Each stage is organized and
linked into a 'chain' so each stage's output is fed to another stage until
the job is done. This organization of the processor allows overall
processing time to be significantly reduced

Difference s between Vector and Serial Processors Program Codes

Serial Processor Array/ Vector processor
- execute this loop 10 times - read instruction and decode
- read the next instruction and it
decode it - fetch these 10 numbers
- fetch this number - fetch those 10 numbers
- fetch that number - add them
- add them - put the results here
- put the result here
- end loop

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ADDRESSING MODES
Each instruction specifies an operation on certain data.
The different ways in which a computer calculate addresses holding the
source and/or destination of the data being processed in a particular
instruction is called addressing mode.

Addressing modes are mostly found in assembly language for

microprocessors
Each assembly language instruction has the following structure:

Op-code (operator):
- is the part that represent the operations that the computer can
understand and carry out. It is the mnemonic part of the
instruction/that indicates what it is to do/code for the operation.
They are easier to remember. They can be represented by
mnemonics which are the pseudo names given to the different
operations that make it easier. E.g. ADD.
Operand:
- it is the address field in an instruction that holds data to be used
by the operation given in the opcode, e.g. in ADD 12, “12” is the
operand
- is the data to be manipulated, there’s no point telling the
computer what to ADD if there’s no data to apply it to. It can hold
the address of the data, or just the data.

The data is what the operation is being applied to, there are a number of
different ways in which this data can be represented, and this is known
as addressing.

Symbolic addressing: the use of characters to represent the address of

a store location

Effective Address: the actual address of operand to be used by the

instruction.

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The most common addressing modes are: direct, indirect, indexed,
relative and immediate addressing.

1. Immediate Addressing
 This is where the value to be used is stored in the instruction.
 This is when the value in the instruction is not an address at all
but the actual data (constant to be used in the program).
 The data to be operated on is held as part of the instruction
format.
 The data to be used is stored immediately after the op code for the
instruction. Thus the operand field actually contains the data
 e.g: LDA #&80 : Means that Load the hexadecimal value of 80 into
the accumulator register.
 MOVE #8, R1: Moves the value 8 into register R1
 Immediate addressing uses the # symbol.
 This is very simple, although not often used because the program
parameters cannot be changed.
 This means that the data being operated on can’t be adjusted and
only uses constants.
 Can be used to initialize constants.

2. Direct Addressing
 The address in the instruction is the address to be used to get to
the operand.
 The operand gives the address of the data to be used in the
program.

 It requires one memory reference to read the operand from the

given location
 The address given in the instruction is the one that contains the
data to be used in the operation without any modification.
 It is also called memory addressing

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  e.g In the instruction ADD 23,
- we first go to memory address 23 which stores the instruction to
be executed.
 It provides only a limited address space
 It is very simple, although does not make best use of memory
 It is slow as too much memory is used

Why is it not possible to use only direct addressing in assembly

languages?
- Because the number of addresses available in memory is limited
by the size
- the address field code is not re-locatable/code uses fixed memory
locations

3. Indirect Addressing
- In this mode of addressing, the address given in the instruction
holds the address of where the data is stored.
- This is whereby the real address is stored in the memory so the
value in the address part of the instruction is pointing to the
address of the data.
- The address of data in memory is held in another memory
location and the operand of the instruction holds the address of
this memory location.

- It is MOSTLY used when access areas of memory that are not

accessible using the space available for the address in the
instruction code
- using our example, ADD 23
- we go to memory address 23
- there we are given another memory address, e.g 32, where the
actual instruction will be stored

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 - This method is useful because the amount of space in a location is
much bigger than the space in the address part of the instruction.
- It gives flexibility as the original program does not need to be
altered if the position of the routines (sub-programs) change.
- Therefore we can store larger addresses and use more memory.
- It is used where memory larger than can be accessed by address
in instruction
- It is also used when one wants to allow full size of register to be
used for address
- used if memory locations are 32 bits are used and thus allowing
more memory to be accessed
- there is a problem that some areas of memory cannot be
addressed because size of memory address is larger than space
available in instruction
- Indirect addressing solves this problem as the Memory address
will fit in a memory location

Relative Addressing
- The same as Indexed Addressng except that the PC replces the
Index Register.
- E.g Load Ri, X (PC)
- This loads register Ri with the contents of the memory location
whose address is the sum of the contents of the PC and the value
X.

- This is direct addressing that does not commence from the start of
the address of the memory.
- It begins from a fixed point, and all addresses are relative to that
point.
- allows a real address to be calculated from a base address by
adding the relative address
- relative address is an offset and can be used for arrays

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 - can be used for branching instructions
- it adds the PC contents to the base address to get the effective
address
- it is appropriate when the code is going to be loaded at a random
place in memory to be executed.
- Use to refer to jump instructions

Indexed Addressing
- The address part of the instruction is added to a value held in the
index register.
- It is where the actual address is found by adding a displacement
to the base address.

- The result of this is then the required address.

- The instructions specify two registers. The processor then adds
contents of these two registers to get the effective address.
- One of the registers is an address register and it holds the base
address.
- The other one is a data register or the displacement or index
register
- Jmp +10: branch to instruction 10 bytes on.
- Used when a number of contiguous locations need to be accessed
in order-e.g. contents of array
- Used when address in instruction does not change (need not to be
altered-like constants), only contents of IR need to be changed

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Questions
1. The Program Counter (Sequence Control Register) is a special register
in the processor of a computer.
a) Describe the function of the program counter. (2)
b) Describe two ways in which the program counter can change during
the normal execution of a program, explaining, in each case, how this
change is initiated. (4)
c) Describe the initial state of the program counter before the running of
the program. (2)
2. Explain what is meant by the term Von Neumann Architecture. (2)
3. Describe the fetch/decode part of the fetch/decode/execute/reset
cycle, explaining the purpose of any special registers that you have
mentioned. (7)
4. a) Describe how pipelining normally speeds up the processing done
by a computer. (2)
b) State one type of instruction that would cause the pipeline system to
be reset, explaining why such a reset is necessary. (3)
5). Give 3 differences between the Von Neumann and the Harvard
Computer architectures.

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