Advanced Computer Architecture Notes

Advanced Computer Architecture
Module – I (18 Hrs)

Microprocessor and Microcontroller, RISC and CISC architectures, Parallelism, Pipelining
fundamentals, Arithmetic and Instruction pipelining, Pipeline Hazards, Superscalar Architecture,
Super Pipelined Architecture, VLIW Architecture, SPARC and ARM processors.
INTRODUCTION TO MICROPROCESSOR ARCHITECTURE:
A microprocessor is a programmable electronics chip that has computing and

decision making capabilities similar to central processing unit of a computer. Any
microprocessor based systems having limited number of resources are called
microcomputers. Nowadays, microprocessor can be seen in almost all types of
electronics devices like mobile phones, printers, washing machines etc.
Microprocessors are also used in advanced applications like radars, satellites and
flights. Due to the rapid advancements in electronic industry and large scale
integration of devices results in a significant cost reduction and increase
application of microprocessors and their derivatives.
 Bit: A bit is a single binary digit.

 Word: A word refers to the basic data size or bit size that can be processed
by the arithmetic and logic unit of the processor. A 16-bit binary number is
called a word in a 16-bit processor.
 Bus: A bus is a group of wires/lines that carry similar information.
 System Bus: The system bus is a group of wires/lines used for
communication between the microprocessor and peripherals.
 Memory Word: The number of bits that can be stored in a register or
memory element is called a memory word.
 Address Bus: It carries the address, which is a unique binary pattern used to
identify a memory location or an I/O port. For example, an eight bit address
bus has eight lines and thus it can address 28 = 256 different locations. The
locations in hexadecimal format can be written as 00H – FFH.
 Data Bus: The data bus is used to transfer data between memory and
processor or between I/O device and processor. For example, an 8-bit
processor will generally have an 8-bit data bus and a 16-bit processor will
have 16-bit data bus.
 Control Bus: The control bus carry control signals, which consists of signals
for selection of memory or I/O device from the given address, direction of
data transfer and synchronization of data transfer in case of slow devices.
A typical microprocessor consists of arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) in

association with control unit to process the instruction execution. Almost all the
microprocessors are based on the principle of store-program concept. In store-
program concept, programs or instructions are sequentially stored in the memory
locations that are to be executed. To do any task using a microprocessor, it is to be
programmed by the user. So the programmer must have idea about its internal
resources, features and supported instructions. Each microprocessor has a set of
instructions, a list which is provided by the microprocessor manufacturer. The
instruction set of a microprocessor is provided in two forms: binary machine code
and mnemonics.
Microprocessor communicates and operates in binary numbers 0 and 1. The
set of instructions in the form of binary patterns is called a machine language and it
is difficult for us to understand. Therefore, the binary patterns are given
abbreviated names, called mnemonics, which forms the assembly language. The
conversion of assembly-level language into binary machine-level language is done
by using an application called assembler.
Fig2: Block Diagram of a Basic Microcomputer

Microprocessor is a controlling unit of a micro-computer, fabricated on a small
chip capable of performing ALU (Arithmetic Logical Unit) operations and
communicating with the other devices connected to it. Microprocessor consists
of an ALU, register array, and a control unit. ALU performs arithmetical and
logical operations on the data received from the memory or an input device.
Terminology concerned with Basic Microprocessor:-
 Instruction Set: It is the set of instructions that the microprocessor can

understand.
 Bandwidth: It is the number of bits processed in a single instruction.
 Clock Speed: It determines the number of operations per second the
processor can perform. It is expressed in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz
(GHz).It is also known as Clock Rate.
 Word Length: It depends upon the width of internal data bus, registers,
ALU, etc. An 8-bit microprocessor can process 8-bit data at a time. The
word length ranges from 4 bits to 64 bits depending upon the type of the
microcomputer.
 Data Types: The microprocessor has multiple data type formats like binary,
BCD, ASCII, signed and unsigned numbers.
Technology Used:
The semiconductor manufacturing technologies used for chips are:
 Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL)
 Emitter Coupled Logic (ECL)
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)
Classification of Microprocessors:
Based on their specification, application and architecture microprocessors are
classified.
Based on size of data bus:
 4-bit microprocessor
Features of a Microprocessor
Cost-effective: The microprocessor chips are available at low prices and results its
low cost.
Size: The microprocessor is of small size chip, hence is portable.
Low Power Consumption: Microprocessors are manufactured by using metal-
oxide semiconductor technology, which has low power consumption.
Versatility: The microprocessors are versatile as we can use the same chip in a
number of applications by configuring the software program.
Reliability: The failure rate of an IC in microprocessors is very low, hence it is
reliable.

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Advanced Computer Architecture

Module – I (18 Hrs)

INTRODUCTION TO MICROPROCESSOR ARCHITECTURE:

A microprocessor is a programmable electronics chip that has computing and

 Bit: A bit is a single binary digit.

A typical microprocessor consists of arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) in

Fig2: Block Diagram of a Basic Microcomputer

Terminology concerned with Basic Microprocessor:-

 Instruction Set: It is the set of instructions that the microprocessor can

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