Computer architecture acts as the interface between the hardware and the lowest level software. Computer architecture refers to: Attributes of a system visible to programmers like data type of variables. Attributes that have a direct impact on the execution of programs like clock cycle.
“ Computer Architecture is defined as study of the structure, behavior, and
design of computers.” Computer Organization: It refers to the operational units and their interconnections that realize the architectural specifications. It describes the function of and design of the various units of digital computer that store and process information. The attributes in computer organization refers to: 1. Computer/peripheral interface 2. Control signals 3. Memory technology Computer hardware: Consists of electronic circuits, displays, magnetic and optical storage media, electromechanical equipment and communication facilities. Computer Architecture: It is concerned with the structure and behavior of the computer. It includes the information formats, the instructionset and techniques foraddressing memory. The attributes in computer architecture refers to the: 1. Instruction set 2. Data representation 3. I/O mechanisms 4. Addressing techniques Unit 1 Syllabus: Basic functional blocks of a computer: CPU, memory, input-output subsystems, control unit. Instructions: Operations and Operands, Representing instructions, Logical operations, control operations, Basic organization of computing machine: fetch, decode, and execute, execution cycle, addressing modes.
FUNCTIONAL UNIT
A computer consists of five functionally independent main parts input,
memory, arithmetic logic unit (ALU), output and control unit.
Fig: Functional units of computer
Input device accepts the coded information as source program i.e. high level language. This is either stored in the memory or immediately used by the processor to perform the desired operations. The program stored in the memory determines the processing steps. Basically the computer converts one source program to an object program i.e. into machine language. Finally the results are sent to the outside world through output device. All of these actions are coordinated by the control unit. Input unit: -The source program/high level language program/coded information/simply data is fed to a computer through input devices keyboard is a most common type. Whenever a key is pressed, one corresponding word or number is translated into its equivalent binary code over a cable & fed either to memory or processor. Joysticks, trackballs, mouse, scanners etc are other input devices. Memory unit: - Its function into store programs and data. It is basically to two types 1. Primary memory 2. Secondary memory
Word: In computer architecture, a word is a unit of data of a defined bit length that can be addressed and moved between storage and the computer processor. Usually, the defined bit length of a word is equivalent to the width of the computer's data bus so that a word can be moved in a single operation from storage to a processor register. For any computer architecture with an eight-bit byte, the word will be some multiple of eight bits. In IBM's evolutionary System/360 architecture, a word is 32 bits, or four contiguous eight-bit bytes. In Intel's PC processor architecture, a word is 16 bits, or two contiguous eight-bit bytes. A word can contain a computer instruction, a storage address, or application data that is to be manipulated (for example, added to the data in another word space). The number of bits in each word is known as word length. Word length refers to the number of bits processed by the CPU in one go. With modern general purpose computers, word size can be 16 bits to 64 bits. The time required to access one word is called the memory access time. The small, fast, RAM units are called caches. They are tightly coupled with the processor and are often contained on the same IC chip to achieve high performance.
1. Primary memory: - It is a fast memory that operates at electronic speeds.
Programs must be stored in the memory while they are being executed. The memorycontains largeno of semiconductor storage cells. Each cell carries 1 bit of information. The cells are processed in a group of fixed size called Words. To provide easy access to any word in a memory, a distinct address is associated with each word location. Addresses are numbers that identify successive locations. The number of bits in each word is called the word length. The word length ranges from 16 to 64 bits. There are 3 types of primary memory: a. RAM: Memory in which any location can be reached in short and fixed amount of time after specifying its address is called RAM. Time required to access 1 word is called Memory Access Time. b. Cache Memory: The small, fast, RAM units are called Cache. They are tightly coupled with processor to achieve high performance. c. Main Memory: The largest and the slowest unit is the main memory. 2.Secondary memory: - Is used where large amounts of data & programs have to be stored, particularly information that is accessed infrequently. Examples: - Magnetic disks & tapes, optical disks (ie CD-ROM’s), floppies etc.,
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU):-
Most of the computer operators are executed in ALU of the processor like addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, etc. the operands are brought into the ALU from memory and stored in high speed storage elements called register. Then according to the instructions the operation is performed in the required sequence. The control and the ALU are may times faster than other devices connected to a computer system. This enables a single processor to control a number of external devices such as key boards, displays, magnetic and optical disks, sensors and other mechanical controllers.
Output unit:- These actually are the counterparts of input unit. Its basic function is to send the processed results to the outside world. Examples:- Printer, speakers, monitor etc.
Control unit:- It effectively is the nerve center that sends signals to other units and senses their states. The actual timing signals that govern the transfer of data between input unit, processor, memory and output unit are generated by the control unit.
BASIC OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS
To perform a given task an appropriate program consisting of a list of instructions
is stored in the memory. Individual instructions are brought from the memory into the processor, which executes the specified operations. Data to be stored are also stored in the memory. Examples: - Add LOCA, R0 This instruction adds the operand at memory location LOCA, to operand in register R0 & places the sum into register. This instruction requires the performance
of several steps,
1. First the instruction is fetched from the memory into the processor. 2. The operand at LOCA is fetched and added to the contents of R0 3. Finally the resulting sum is stored in the register R0
The preceding add instruction combines a memory access operation with an ALU Operations. In some other type of computers, these two types of operations are performed by separate instructions for performance reasons.
Load LOCA, R1 Add
R1, R0 Transfers between the memory and the processor are started by sending the address of the memory location to be accessed to the memory unit and issuing the appropriate control signals. The data are then transferred to or from the memory.
The fig shows how memory & the processor can be connected. In addition to the ALU & the control circuitry, the processor contains a number of registers used for several different purposes.
Register: It is a special, high-speed storage area within the CPU. All data must be represented in a register before it can be processed. For example, if two numbers are to be multiplied, both numbers must be in registers, and the result is also placed in a register. (The register can contain the address of a memory location where data is stored rather than the actual data itself.) The number of registers that a CPU has and the size of each (number of bits) help determine the power and speed of a CPU. For example a 32-bit CPU is one in which each register is 32 bits wide. Therefore, each CPU instruction can manipulate 32 bits of data. In high-level languages, the compiler is responsible for translating high-level operations into low-level operations that access registers.
INSTRUCTIONS
An instruction is a binary code, which specifies a basic operation for the computer. Operation Code (opcode) defines the operation type. Operands define the operationsource and destination. Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) describes the processor in terms of what the assembly language programmer sees, i.e. the instructions and registers.
Instruction Format:
Computer instructions are the basic components of a machine language program. They are also known as macro operations, since each one is comprised of sequences of micro operations. Each instruction initiates a sequence of micro operations that fetch operands from registers or memory, possibly perform arithmetic, logic, or shift operations, and store results in registers or memory. Instructions are encoded as binary instruction codes. Each instruction code contains of a operation code, or opcode, which designates the overall purpose of the instruction (e.g. add, subtract, move, input, etc.). The number of bits allocated for the opcode determined how many different instructions the architecture supports. In addition to the opcode, many instructions also contain one or more operands, which indicate where in registers or memory the data required for the operation is located. For example, and add instruction requires two operands, and a not instruction requires one. 15 12 11 6 5 0 +----------------------- + | Opcode | Operand | Operand | +----------------------- +
The opcode and operands are most often encoded as unsigned binary numbers in order to minimize the number of bits used to store them. For example, a 4-bit opcode encoded as a binary number could represent up to 16 different operations. The control unit is responsible for decoding the opcode and operand bits in the instruction register, and then generating the control signals necessary to drive all other hardware in the CPU to perform the sequence of micro operations that comprise the instruction. INSTRUCTION CYCLE:
The instruction register (IR):- Holds the instructions that are
currently being executed. Its output is available for the control circuits which generates the timing signals that control the various processing elements in one execution of instruction.
The program counter PC:-
This is another specialized register that keeps track of execution of a program. It contains the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched and executed.
Besides IR and PC, there are n-general purpose registers R0
through Rn-1.
The other two registers which facilitate communication with memory are: - 1. MAR – (Memory Address Register):- It holds the address of the location to be accessed. 2. MDR – (Memory Data Register):- It contains the data to be written into or read out of the address location. Operating steps are 1. Programs reside in the memory & usually get these through the I/P unit. 2. Execution of the program starts when the PC is set to point at the first instruction of the program.
3. Contents of PC are transferred to MAR and a Read Control Signal
is sent to the memory.
4. After the time required to access the memory elapses, the
address word is read out of the memory and loaded into the MDR. 5. Now contents of MDR are transferred to the IR & now the instruction is ready to be decoded and executed. 6. If the instruction involves an operation by the ALU, it is necessary to obtain the required operands. 7. An operand in the memory is fetched by sending its address to MAR & Initiating a read cycle. 8. When the operand has been read from the memory to the MDR, it is transferred from MDR to the ALU. 9. After one or two such repeated cycles, the ALU can perform the desired operation. 10. If the result of this operation is to be stored in the memory, the result is sent to MDR. 11. Address of location where the result is stored is sent to MAR & a write cycle is initiated. 12. The contents of PC are incremented so that PC points to the next instruction that is to be executed.
The definition of the instruction itself specify the operands
implicitly. It is also called as implicit addressing mode. Examples- The instruction “ Complement Accumulator ” is an implied mode instruction.
In a stack organized computer, Zero Address Instructions are
implied mode instructions.
(since operands are always implied to be present on the top of the stack)
2. Stack Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The operand is contained at the top of the stack.
Example-
ADD
This instruction simply pops out two symbols contained at the top of the stack. The addition of those two operands is performed. The result so obtained after addition is pushed again at the top of the stack.
3. Immediate Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The operand is specified in the instruction explicitly.
Instead of address field, an operand field is present that contains the operand.
Examples-
ADD 10 will increment the value stored in the accumulator by 10.
MOV R #20 initializes register R to a constant value 20.
4. Direct Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The address field of the instruction contains the effective address of
the operand.
Only one reference to memory is required to fetch the operand.
It is also called as absolute addressing mode.
Example-
ADD X will increment the value stored in the accumulator by the value stored at memory location X.
AC ← AC + [X]
5. Indirect Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The address field of the instruction specifies the address of memory
location that contains the effective address of the operand. Two references to memory are required to fetch the operand.
Example-
ADD X will increment the value stored in the accumulator by the value stored at memory location specified by X. AC ← AC + [[X]]
6. Register Direct Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The operand is contained in a register set.
The address field of the instruction refers to a CPU register that contains the operand. No reference to memory is required to fetch the operand.
Example-
ADD R will increment the value stored in the accumulator by the content of register R.
AC ← AC + [R]
7. Register Indirect Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
The address field of the instruction refers to a CPU register that
contains the effective address of the operand. Only one reference to memory is required to fetch the operand.
Example- ADD R will increment the value stored in the accumulator by the content of memory location specified in register R.
AC ← AC + [[R]]
8. Relative Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
Effective address of the operand is obtained by adding the content
of program counter with the address part of the instruction.
Effective Address
= Content of Program Counter + Address part of the instruction
9. Indexed Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
Effective address of the operand is obtained by adding the content
of index register with the address part of the instruction.
Effective Address
= Content of Index Register + Address part of the instruction
10. Base Register Addressing Mode-
In this addressing mode,
Effective address of the operand is obtained by adding the content
of base register with the address part of the instruction.
Effective Address
= Content of Base Register + Address part of the instruction
11. Auto-Increment Addressing Mode-
This addressing mode is a special case of Register Indirect Addressing
Mode where- Effective Address of the Operand
= Content of Register
In this addressing mode,
After accessing the operand, the content of the register is
automatically incremented by step size ‘d’. Step size ‘d’ depends on the size of operand accessed. Only one reference to memory is required to fetch the operand. Example-
Assume operand size = 2 bytes.
Here,
After fetching the operand 6B, the instruction register RAUTO will be automatically incremented by 2. Then, updated value of RAUTO will be 3300 + 2 = 3302. At memory address 3302, the next operand will be found.
12. Auto-Decrement Addressing Mode-
This addressing mode is again a special case of Register Indirect
Addressing Mode where-
Effective Address of the Operand
= Content of Register – Step Size
In this addressing mode,
First, the content of the register is decremented by step size ‘d’.
Step size ‘d’ depends on the size of operand accessed. After decrementing, the operand is read. Only one reference to memory is required to fetch the operand.
Example-
Assume operand size = 2 bytes.
Here,
First, the instruction register RAUTO will be decremented by 2.
Then, updated value of RAUTO will be 3302 – 2 = 3300. At memory address 3300, the operand will be found.
THE VON NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE
The task of entering and altering programs for the ENIAC was extremely tedious. The programming process can be easy if the program could be represented in a form suitable for storing in memory alongside the data. Then, a computer could get its instructions by reading them from memory, and a program could be set or altered by setting the values of a portion of memory. This idea is known a the stored-program concept. The first publication of the ideawas in a 1945 proposal by von Neumann for a new computer, the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer). In 1946, von Neumann and his colleagues began the design of a new stored-program computer, referred to as the IAS computer, at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies. The IAS computer, although not completed until 1952, is the prototype of all subsequent general-purpose computers. It consists of A main memory, which stores both data and instruction An arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) capable of operating on binary data A control unit, which interprets the instructions in memory and causes them to be executed Input and output (I/O) equipment operated by the control unit
Question Bank 1. Explain the Basic Functional units of Computer. 2. Explain the Block Diagram of Computer System. 3. Explain Primary Storage and Secondary Storage. 4. What is meant by Instruction in Computer Architecture? 5. What are Instruction Codes and Operands in Computer Architecture? 6. What is instruction cycle? Explain in detail. 7. What is Logical Operations? 8. What is Controlled Operations? 9. Explain the addressing modes in Computer Architecture? 10. Explain General Structure of the VON NEUMANN Architecture.
