Basic Operational Concepts in Computer Architecture
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Questions and Answers

What is a main advantage of smaller transistors in electronic circuits?

  • Reduction in memory storage capacity
  • Slower switching times
  • Increase in power consumption
  • Faster execution of instructions (correct)

    • What is the term used to describe the overlapping execution of instructions in a processor?

  • Concurrency
  • Parallel processing
  • Pipelining (correct)
  • Multithreading

    • Which term refers to a processor that contains two cores?

  • Dual-core (correct)
  • Single-core
  • Multi-core
  • Bi-core

    • Which type of processor can execute multiple application tasks in parallel?

    <p>Multiprocessor system</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'core' refer to in the context of processors?

    <p>A single processing unit on a chip</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one downside of using multiprocessor systems?

    <p>Increased cost and complexity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes the technological advancement that allows more transistors on a chip?

    <p>Advances in Fabrication Technology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do multicore processors enhance performance?

    <p>By executing multiple tasks in parallel</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of memory address does a little-endian system use for byte ordering?

    <p>Least significant byte first</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When is a memory word considered aligned?

    <p>When it starts at an address that is a multiple of the word size</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following reflects a fundamental characteristic of computers regarding word assignment?

    <p>Words require a power of 2 bytes for natural alignment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the effect of using unaligned word addresses in a computer system?

    <p>More complex memory access mechanisms</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In bit numbering conventions, which bit is considered the most significant in a standard byte?

    <p>b7</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is true regarding the memory addresses for a 64-bit word length?

    <p>They start at addresses 0, 8, 16...</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What represents a significant task carried out by a computer program?

    <p>Performing a sequence of small instructions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which byte-ordering system stores the most significant byte in the highest memory address?

    <p>Big-endian</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens to the contents of registers R2 and R3 after the instruction Add R4, R2, R3 is executed?

    <p>Their contents are preserved.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which instruction transfers the content of a register to a specified memory location?

    <p>Store R4, LOC</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the program counter (PC) do in a processor?

    <p>Contains the address of the next instruction to execute.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the instruction register (IR) in a processor?

    <p>To hold the currently executing instruction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do Load and Store instructions interact with memory and processors?

    <p>By asserting appropriate control signals to transfer data.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens to the original contents of a memory location when a Store instruction is executed?

    <p>They are overwritten by new data.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In addition to the ALU and control circuitry, what is a function of general-purpose registers R0 through Rn−1?

    <p>To hold operands fetched from memory.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is depicted in the connection between the processor and the main memory?

    <p>The processor-memory interface.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the index mode address the operand based on?

    <p>A constant value and the contents of a register</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens to the contents of the register involved in index mode during effective address calculation?

    <p>They remain unchanged</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the example given, what is the purpose of register R2?

    <p>To point to the ID location of the first student record</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is the effective address computed using the index mode?

    <p>By adding the constant to the contents of the register</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the constant X represent in the index mode?

    <p>An offset or displacement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the initial value of registers R3, R4, and R5 before processing scores?

    <p>0</p> Signup and view all the answers

    After processing the test scores for one student, what is done to register R2?

    <p>It is incremented by the size of the student record</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What action is taken at the end of each pass through the loop regarding register R6?

    <p>It is decremented by 1</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What types of operations must a computer be capable of performing?

    <p>Data transfers, arithmetic and logic operations, program sequencing, and I/O transfers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Register Transfer Notation (RTN), how is the transfer of data from a memory location to a register denoted?

    <p>R1 ← [LOC]</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the 'Load' instruction in assembly language notation?

    <p>To read data from a memory location into a register</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the instruction 'Add R4, R2, R3' accomplish in assembly language notation?

    <p>It adds the contents of registers R2 and R3 and stores the result in R4</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Register Transfer Notation, what does the notation 'R3 ← [R1] + [R2]' signify?

    <p>The result of adding values from R1 and R2 is stored in R3</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following terms best describes the right-hand side of a Register Transfer Notation expression?

    <p>A value to be transferred</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In assembly language notation, what is the effect of the instruction 'Load R2, LOC'?

    <p>It transfers data from memory location LOC to register R2, overwriting R2's previous contents</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which operation is not typically performed by register transfer instructions?

    <p>Executing a loop procedure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Basic Operational Concepts

    • The Add R4, R2, R3 instruction adds the contents of registers R2 and R3 and places their sum into register R4.
    • The original contents of R2 and R3 are not altered, but the previous value in R4 is overwritten.
    • The Store R4, LOC instruction copies the operand in register R4 to memory location LOC.
    • The original contents of location LOC are overwritten, but those of R4 are preserved.
    • Load and Store instructions transfer data between the memory and the processor by sending the address of the desired memory location to the memory unit.
    • The data is then transferred to or from the memory.

    Processor Components

    • The processor contains an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), control circuitry, and numerous registers.
    • The instruction register (IR) holds the instruction currently being executed.
    • The program counter (PC) contains the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched and executed.
    • General-purpose registers (R0 through Rn−1) serve various functions, including holding operands from memory for processing.

    Memory and Processor Connection

    • The processor-memory interface manages the transfer of data between the main memory and the processor.

    VLSI Technology

    • Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology fabricates processor circuits on a single chip, impacting instruction execution speed.
    • Smaller transistors switch faster, leading to faster execution.
    • Advances in fabrication technology have significantly reduced transistor sizes, allowing for faster execution and increased logic functionality and memory storage capacity.

    Parallelism

    • Executing multiple operations in parallel improves performance.
    • Instruction-level parallelism: Overlapping the execution of successive instructions reduces total execution time.
    • Pipelining: Fetching the next instruction while the current instruction's arithmetic operation is being performed.

    Multicore Processors

    • Multiple processing units are fabricated on a single chip, referred to as cores.
    • Dual-core, quad-core, and octo-core processors have two, four, and eight cores, respectively.

    Multiprocessors

    • Computer systems with multiple processors, each potentially containing multiple cores, are called multiprocessors.
    • These systems can execute multiple application tasks or subtasks of a single task in parallel.
    • Multiprocessors typically have shared access to all memory, often called shared-memory multiprocessors.
    • Although these systems offer high performance, they are more complex and costly due to multiple processors, memory units, and complex interconnection networks.

    Word Alignment

    • Word alignment ensures that words begin at a byte address that is a multiple of the number of bytes in a word.
    • The common convention is to number bits within a word or byte from left to right, with the most significant bit on the left and the least significant bit on the right (Figure 2.6a).

    Instruction Set Architecture:

    • Instructions are categorized by their operation types:
      • Data transfers between memory and processor registers
      • Arithmetic and logic operations on data
      • Program sequencing and control
      • I/O transfers

    Register Transfer Notation (RTN)

    • RTN uses symbolic names for locations and square brackets to denote the contents.
    • R1 ← [LOC] means transferring the contents of memory location LOC into processor register R1.
    • R3 ← [R1] + [R2] means adding the contents of registers R1 and R2 and placing their sum into register R3.

    Assembly Language Notation

    • Assembly language uses mnemonic codes (e.g., Load, Add) to represent machine instructions.
    • Load R2, LOC transfers data from memory location LOC to processor register R2.
    • Add R4, R2, R3 adds the contents of registers R2 and R3 and places the sum in register R4.

    Addressing Modes

    • Index Mode: Uses a register to provide an offset from a base address to reach the actual operand.
    • X(Ri) indicates an offset X from the address in register Ri.
    • The effective address (EA) is calculated as: EA = X + [Ri].

    Indexed Addressing Example:

    • A list of student test scores stored in memory uses Indexed addressing mode.
    • Register R2 acts as the index register to navigate through student records.
    • By using offsets (e.g., 4(R2), 8(R2), 12(R2)), the program accesses scores within each record.

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    Description

    This quiz explores foundational operational concepts and processor components in computer architecture. It covers key instructions such as addition and storage, detailing how data transfer occurs between registers and memory. Test your understanding of these principles and how they influence processing tasks.

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