Computer Organization and Architecture: Instruction Sets

Instruction Set Architecture

• The collection of different instructions that a processor can execute is referred to as the instruction set architecture (ISA).

Machine Instruction Components

• The binary code that specifies the operation to be performed in a machine instruction is called the opcode.
• The operands that are inputs for an operation in a machine instruction are called source operands.
• The information required by the processor for execution in each instruction is referred to as the operands.

Instruction Execution

• The next instruction reference in a machine instruction tells the processor where to fetch the next instruction.

Logic Instructions

• The purpose of logic (Boolean) instructions in a computer is to perform logical operations on data.

Operand Representation

• Symbolic operands in computer instructions are represented by a symbol, which represents the value of each operand.

Operand Location

• Source and result operands can be located in registers, memory, or a combination of both.

Input/Output Operations

• If memory-mapped I/O is used in a computer, it means that the processor uses the same instructions to access both memory and I/O devices.

Instruction Structure

• The constituent elements of an instruction within a computer are the opcode, source operands, and result operands.

Test your knowledge of Chapter 12 Instruction Sets: Characteristics and Functions from William Stallings' book 'Computer Organization and Architecture 10th Edition'. This quiz covers machine instruction characteristics and the operation of the processor.