DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE COMPUTER

(SAP-1)
1

Engr. Rashid Farid Chishti

Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering & Technology
International Islamic university Islamabad.
E-mail: chishti@iiu.edu.pk
http://sites.google.com/site/chishti

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 SAP-1 Introduction
2

SAP-1 is the first stage in the evolution towards

modern computers.
The main purpose of SAP is to introduce all the crucial
ideas behind computer operations.
Being a simple computer, SAP-1 also covers many
advanced concepts.
SAP-1 is a bus organized computer. All registers are
connected to the W bus with the help of tri-state
buffers.

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 3

SAP-1
Block Diagram

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 Main Features
4

Simple-As-Possible.
One output device with 8 LEDs
16 bytes of read only memory.
5 instructions

3 with 1 operand,
 2 with implicit operands.

Accumulator Architecture
 Accumulator, Out Register,
 B Register, Memory Address Register (MAR)
 Instruction Register (IR).

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 Architecture
5

8-bit "W" bus.

4-bit program counter, only counts up, it starts counting from 0
and counts up to 15.
4-bit Memory Address Register (MAR).
16 Byte Memory.
8-bit (1 Byte) Instruction Register (IR).
6-cycle controller with 12-bit microinstruction word.
8-bit Accumulator.
8-bit B Register.
8-bit adder/subtractor.
8-bit Output Register.

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 6

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 Program Counter
7

 Instructions to be executed are placed at the starting addresses

of memory, e.g. the first instruction of a program will be placed
at binary address 0000. the second at address 0001.
 Now to execute one instruction, first step is to generate the
address at which this instruction is placed in memory.
 So this address is generated by (4-bit) Program Counter, that
counts from 0000 to 1111 (for total of 16 memory locations).
 If the value of program counter is 0100, then the instruction at
address at 4 will be executes next.
 program counter is like a pointer register; it points to the
address of next instruction to be executed.

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 Program Counter
8

Back to Block Diagram

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 Input and Memory Address Register (MAR)
9

The MAR stores the (4-bit) address of data and

instruction which are placed in memory.
When SAP-1 is Running Mode, the (4-bit) address is
generated by the Program Counter which is then
stored into the MAR through W bus.
A bit later, the MAR applies this 4-bit address to the
RAM, where Data or instruction is read from RAM.
In Simulation we are using first 16 locations (0 to 15)
of a 32x8 PROM.

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 10

Back to Block Diagram

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 The RAM
11

In initial design, the RAM is a 16 x 8 static TTL RAM. It

means there are 16 memory locations (from 0 to 15) and
each location contains an 8-bit of data/instruction.
You can program the RAM by means of the switches to be
used for address and data. This allows you to store a
program and data in the memory before a computer run.
During a computer run, the RAM receives 4-bit addresses
from the MAR and a read operation is performed,
in this way, the instruction or data stored in the RAM is
placed on the W bus for use in some other part of the
computer.

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 Intel Hex File Format

This Each line starts with “: ”

This is is aa single
single byte.
byte. This
This last
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Record Address 0080

Segment Address B0E0 +
---------
Absolute Address B0E80
 Instruction Register
13

When the instruction is placed at W-bus from memory,

the Instruction Register stores this instruction on the
next positive clock edge.
The contents of the instruction register are split into
two nibbles.
 The upper nibble is a two-state output that goes directly to the
block labeled "Controller-sequencer“
 The lower nibble is a three-state output that is read onto the W
bus when needed.

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 14

Back to Block Diagram

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 Adder/Subtractor
15

SAP-1 uses a 2's complement adder-subtractor. When

input Su is low (logic 0), the sum is:
S = A + B
When Su is high (logic 1), the sum is:
S = A + B’ + 1
The Adder-subtractor is asynchronous and its contents
change as soon as the input changes.
When EU is high, these contents appear on the W bus.

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 16

Back to Block Diagram

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 Accumulator
17

To add/sub two 8-bit numbers A and B, the

accumulator register stored the number A.
The Accumulator has two outputs.
 One output goes to the adder/subtractor
 The other goes to the W through tri-state buffers.
It also stores the (answer of two values) output of
adder/subtractor through w-bus, when LA is low.
It’s value is appeared on w-bus when EA is high, which
can then be read by output register.

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 18

Back to Block Diagram

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 B Register
19

To add/sub two 8-bit numbers A and B, the B register

stored the number B.
It supplies the number to be added or subtracted from
the contents of accumulator to the adder/subtractor.
When data is available at W-bus and Lb goes low, at the
positive clock edge, B register loads that data.

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 20

Back to Block Diagram

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 Output Register
21

At the end of an arithmetic operation the accumulator

contains the word representing the answer,
Then answer stored in the accumulator register is then
loaded into the output register through W-bus.
This is done in the next positive clock edge when EA is
high and LO is low.
Now this value can be displayed to the outside world
with the help of LEDs or 7 Segments.

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 22

Back to Block Diagram

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 Binary Display
23

The binary display is a row of eight light-emitting

diodes (LEDs).
Because each LED connects to one flip-flop of the
output port, the binary display shows us the contents
of the output port.
Therefore, after we've transferred an answer from the
accumulator to the output port, we can see the answer
in binary form.
But we are using 7-segments in simulation.

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 Controller Sequencer
24

The 12 bits coming out of the Controller Sequencer form a

word that controls the rest of the computer. Before each
operation a Clear (CLR) signal resets the computer.
The 12 wires carrying the control word are called the Control
Bus. The control word has the format:
 C P E P LM CE L1 E1 L A E A SU EU LB LO
   CON
This word determines how the registers will react to the next
positive clock (CLK) edge. For instance a high and a low
means that the contents of Program Counter are latched into
MAR on the next positive clock edge. As another example, a
low and a low mean that the addressed RAM word will be
transferred to the accumulator on the next positive clock edge.
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 Ring Counter
25
T1

T6 T5 T4 T3 T2 T1

Back to Block Diagram

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 Ring Counter Timing Diagram

26

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 27

Back to Block Diagram

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 Control Matrix
28

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 Control Matrix
29

Back to Block Diagram

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 Instruction Set
30
Computer is a useless hardware until it is programmed
This means loading step-by-step instructions into the
memory before the start of a computer run.
Before you can program a computer, however, you must
learn its instruction set, the basic operations it can
perform. The SAP-1 instruction set follows.
SAP-1 INSTRUCTION SET
Mnemonics Operation Description
LDA ACC ← RAM[MAR] Load RAM data into accumulator
ADD ACC ← ACC + B Add RAM data to accumulator
SUB ACC ← ACC – B Subtract RAM data from accumulator
OUT OUT ← ACC Load accumulator data into output register
HLT CLK ← 0 Stop processing

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 LDA Instruction
31

LDA stands for "load the accumulator," A complete LDA

instruction includes the hexadecimal address of the
data to be loaded.
For example, LDA 8H means “load the accumulator
with the contents of memory location 8H.”
Therefore, given RAM[8] = 1111 0000
 The execution of LDA 8H results in ACC = 1111 0000
Similarly. LDA FH means "load the accumulator with
the contents of memory location FH.

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 ADD Instruction
32
 ADD 9H means “add the data of memory location 9H with data
of accumulator and save the result in accumulator.
 Suppose No. 2 is in the accumulator and No.3 is in memory
location 9H. Then ACC =0000 0010, RAM[9] = 0000
0011
  During the execution of ADD 9H,
 First data at RAM address 9 is loaded into the B register to get B = 0000 0011
and instantly the adder/subtracter forms the sum of A and B SUM = 0000 0101
 Second, this sum is loaded into the accumulator to get ACC = 0000
0101
 Similarly, the execution of ADD FH adds data at RAM address 15
to the accumulator and save the answer back in accumulator
overwriting the previous value.
 The negative numbers are stored in 2’s complement form.
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 SUB Instruction
33

 SUB 9H means “subtract the data of memory location 9H from

data of accumulator and save the result in accumulator.
 Suppose No. 3 is in the accumulator and No.2 is in memory
location 9H. Then ACC =0000 0011, RAM[9] = 0000
0010
  During the execution of SUB 9H,
 First data at RAM address 9 is loaded into the B register to get B = 0000 0010
and instantly the adder/subtracter forms the diff. of A and B Diff. = 0000 0001
 Second, this diff. is loaded into the accumulator to get ACC = 0000
0001
 Similarly, the execution of SUB FH subtracts data at RAM
address 15 from the accumulator and save the answer back in
accumulator overwriting the previous value.
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 OUT Instruction
34

 The instruction OUT tells the SAP-1 computer to

transfer the accumulator contents to the output port.
After OUT has been executed, you can see the answer
to the problem being solved on LEDs display.
OUT is complete by itself; that is, you do not have to
include an address when using OUT because the
instruction does not involve data in the memory.

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 HLT Instruction
35

HLT stands for halt. This instruction tells the computer

to stop processing data so it stops the clock.
HLT marks the end of a program, similar to the way a
period marks the end of a sentence.
You must use a HLT instruction at the end of every
SAP-1 program; otherwise, you get computer trash
(meaningless answers caused by runaway processing).
HLT is complete by itself; you do not have to include a
RAM word when using HLT because this instruction
does not involve the memory.

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 Memory Reference Instructions
36

LDA, ADD, and SUB are called memory-reference

instructions because they use data stored in the memory.
OUT and HLT, on the other hand, are not memory reference
instructions because they do not involve the data stored in
the memory.
Mnemonics
 LDA, ADD, SUB, OUT, and HLT are the instruction set for
SAP-1. Abbreviated instructions like these are called
mnemonics (memory aids). Mnemonics are popular in
computer work because they remind you of the operation
that will take place when the instruction is executed.

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 Op Codes of SAP-1
37
 To load instruction and data words into the SAP-1 memory , we
have to use some kind of code that the computer can interpret.
 The number 0000 stands for LDA, 0001 for ADD, 0010 for SUB,
0000 for OUT, and 1111 for HLT.
 Because this code tells the computer which operation to
perform, it is called an operation code (op code).
 Assembly language involves working TABLE 2, SAP-1 OP CODES
Mnemonics Op Code
with mnemonics when writing a
LDA 0000
program.
ADD 0001
 Machine language involves
SUB 0010
working with strings of 0s and 1s. OUT 1110
HLT 1111

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Program in Assembly Program in Machine Language
Address Contents Address Contents in Binary Contents in Hexadecimal
0H LDA 9H 0000 0000 1001 09H
1H ADD AH 0001 38
0001 1010 1AH
2H ADD CH 0010 0001 1100 1CH
3H SUB BH 0011 0010 1011 2BH
4H OUT 0100 1110 1111 EFH
5H HLT 0101 1111 1111 FFH
6H FFH 0110 1111 1111 FFH
7H FFH 0111 1111 1111 FFH
8H FFH 1000 1111 1111 FFH
9H 10H 1001 0001 0000 10H
AH 18H 1010 0001 1000 18H
BH 14H 1011 0001 0100 14H
CH 20H 1100 0010 0000 20H
DH FFH 1101 1111 1111 FFH
EH FFH 1110 1111 1111 FFH
FH
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 The 8080 and 8085 Microprocessors
39

The 8080 was the first widely used microprocessor.

It has 72 instructions. The 8085 is an enhanced
version of the 8080 with essentially the same
instruction set (both are designed by Intel Corp.).
The SAP-1 instructions are upward compatible with
the 8080/8085 instruction set.
In other words, the SAP-1 instructions LDA, ADD, SUB,
OUT, and HLT are 8080/8085 instructions.
Learning SAP instructions is getting you ready for the
8080 and 8085, two widely used microprocessors.

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 Fetch Cycle
40
The control unit is the key to a computer's automatic
operation. The control unit generates the control words
that fetch and execute each instruction.
While each instruction is fetched and executed, the
computer passes through different timing states (T states),
time intervals during which register contents change.
Ring Counter has an output of
T = T6T5T4T3T2T1
 At the beginning of a computer run, the ring word is
T = 00 0001 = T1
Successive clock pulses produce, ring words of
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 Ring Counter
41
Successive clock pulses produce, ring words of
T = 000010 = T2
T = 000100 = T3
T = 001000 = T4
T = 010000 = T5
T = 100000 = T6
Then, the ring counter resets to 00 00 01, and the cycle
repeats.
Each ring word represents one T state.
The initial state T1 starts with a negative clock edge and ends
with the next negative clock edge.
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 Ring Counter
42
During this T state, the T1 bit out of the ring counter is
high.
During the next state, T2 is high; the following state has a
high T3; then a high T4; and so on.
The ring counter produces six T states. Each instruction
is fetched and executed during these six T states.
A positive CLK edge occurs midway through each T state.

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 Address State (T = 00 0001 = 1 = T1)
43
The T1 state is called the address state because the
address in the program counter (PC) is transferred to the
memory address register (MAR) during this state.
During the address state, EP and L'M are active; all other
control bits are inactive. This means that the controller-
sequencer is sending out a control word of 5E3H during
this state
CON  C P  E P  L M  CE  L I  E I  L A  E A  SU  EU  L B  L O
= 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
= 5 E 3

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 Increment State (T = 00 0010 = 2 = T2)
44
The T1 state is called the increment state because the
program counter is incremented.
During the increment state, the controller-sequencer is
producing a control word of BE3H
Only the CP bit is active in this state.

CON  C P  E P  L M  CE  L I  E I  L A  E A  SU  EU  L B  L O
= 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
= B E 3

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 Memory State (T = 00 0100 = 4 = T3)
45
The T3 state is called the memory state because the
addressed RAM instruction is transferred from the
memory to the instruction register.
The only active control bits during this state are CE' and
LI , and the word out of the controller-sequencer is 263H

CON  C P  E P  L M  CE  L I  E I  L A  E A  SU  EU  L B  L O
= 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
= 2 6 3

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 Fetch Cycle
46
The address, increment, and memory states are called the fetch cycle of
SAP-l.
During the address state, EP and LM arc active; this means that the
program counter sets up the MAR via the W bus.
A positive clock edge occurs midway through the address state; this
loads the MAR with the contents of the PC.
During the increment state, CP is the only active control bit.
This sets up the program counter to count positive clock edges.
Halfway through the increment state, a positive clock edge hits the
program counter and advances the count by 1.
During the memory state, CE' and L'I are active. The addressed RAM
word sets up the instruction register via the W bus. Midway through
the memory state, a positive clock edge loads the instruction register
with the addressed RAM word.
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 Execution Cycle
47

The next three states (T4, T5, and T6) are the execution
cycle of SAP-1.
The register transfers during the execution cycle
depend on the particular instruction being executed.
For instance. LDA 9H requires different register
transfers than ADD BH.
What follows are the control routines for different
SAP-1 instructions.

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 Micro Instructions
48

The controller-sequencer sends out control words, on

during each T state or clock cycle.
These words are like directions telling the rest of the
computer what to do.
Because it produces a small step in the data
processing, each control word is called a micro-
instruction.

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 Macro Instructions
49
The instructions we have been programming with (LDA,
ADD, SUB, . . .) are sometimes called macro-instructions to
distinguish them from micro-instructions.
Each SAP-1 macroinstruction is made up of three
microinstructions. For example, the LDA
macroinstruction consists of the three microinstructions
shown in the next Table.
This table shows the SAP-1 macro-instruction and the
micro-instructions needed to carry it out.

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 Fetch and Execute Cycle of SAP-1
Macro Inst. T State Micro Operation Active CON
All T1 MAR ← PC L'M, EP 5E3H
Instructions 50
T2 PC← PC+1 CP BE3H
T3 IR ← RAM[MAR] CE', L‘I 263H
LDA T4 MAR ← IR(3…0) L'M, E‘I 1A3H
T5 ACC ← RAM[MAR] CE', L'A 2C3H
T6 None None 3E3H
ADD T4 MAR ← IR(3…0) L'M, E‘I 1A3H
T5 B ← RAM[MAR] CE', L'B 2E1H
T6 ACC ← ACC+B L'A, EU 3C7H
SUB T4 MAR ← IR(3…0) L'M, E‘I 1A3H
T5 B ← RAM[MAR] CE', L'B 2E1H
T6 ACC ← ACC – B L'A, SU, EU 3CFH
OUT T4 OUT ← ACC EA, L'O 3F2H
T5 None None 3E3H
T6 None None 3E3H
HLT
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 51
0011
0001
0000
0010
0100 0000 1000

SAP-1
0000 1000
Simulation
of Program
1111
0001 1111
1001
0101
1010
0011
LDA 9H 0000
1110

ADD AH 1010
1001

OUT
0000
0001
1110
1111

HLT 08
Computer T321654
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 That’s all
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