CDA 3103 Exam 1

Computer Architecture

concerns itself with instruction sets and formats, operation codes, data types, the number and types of registers, addressing modes, main memory access methods, and various I/O mechanisms.

Computer Organization

encompasses all physical aspects of computer systems (circuit design, control signals, memory types.).

Moore's Law

"The density of transistors in an integrated circuit will double every year."

Moore's Law Contemporary Version

"The density of silicon chips doubles every 18 months."

Rock's Law

"The cost of capital equipment to build semiconductors will double every four years."

At the most basic level, a computer is a device consisting of three pieces:

processor, memory, mechanism for data input and output

Processor

interprets and executes programs

Memory

stores both data and programs

Level 6: The User Level

- Program execution and user interface level.

- The level with which we are most familiar.

- Executable programs.

Level 5: High-Level Language Level

- The level with which we interact when we write programs in languages such as C, Pascal, Lisp, and Java.

Level 4: Assembly Language Level

- Acts upon assembly language produced from Level 5, as well as instructions programmed directly at this level.

Level 3: System Software Level

- Controls executing processes on the system.

- Protects system resources.

- Assembly language instructions often pass through Level 3 without modification.

Level 2: Machine Level

- Also known as the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Level.

- Consists of instructions that are particular to the architecture of the machine.

- Programs written in machine language need no compilers, interpreters, or assemblers.

Level 1: Control Level

- A control unit decodes and executes instructions and moves data through the system.

- Control units can be microprogrammed or hardwired.

Level 0: Digital Logic Level

- This level is where we find digital circuits (the chips).

- Digital circuits consist of gates and wires.

- These components implement the mathematical logic of all other levels.

The level of the computer hierarchy that is composed of gates and wires is the

Level 0

The level of the computer hierarchy where an operating system functions is the

Level 3

The Von Neumann Model consists of

- a memory, containing instructions and data

- a processing unit, for performing arithmetic and logical operations

- a control unit, for interpreting instructions

A three way hardware system consists of

a central processing unit (CPU) with a control unit, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), registers (small storage areas), a main memory system, and an I/O system

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Brain of the computer that performs instructions defined by software

Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle

- Fetch instruction from memory

- Decode instruction

- Evaluate address

- Fetch operands from memory

- Execute operation

- Store result

The Von Neumann Bottleneck

A single data path between the CPU and main memory

We study computer ___________ to become familiar with how circuits and signals collaborate to create working computer systems.

organization

The ________ is the agreed-upon interface between all the software that runs on the machine and the hardware that executes it. It allows you to talk to the machine.

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)

Clock speeds in today's microprocessors are measured in ________ .

GHz

The computer component that makes sure that instructions are decoded and executed properly is the ___________.

control unit

Computer chips having multiple processing units on a single chip are _____ architectures.

multicore

The task done by any software program can also be done by hardware.

true

ENIAC is the first general-purpose, digital computer.

true

Because of VLSI technologies, current computers become cheaper and

more powerful.

true

Von Neumann computers execute instructions sequentially.

true

1010 is a legal decimal, binary, octal, or hexadecimal number.

true

Every hexadecimal number corresponds to an unique binary number.

true

The decimal value of the BCD number 1001 0101 00112 is 95310.

true

Boolean simplification allows to produce a smaller or faster digital circuit.

true

The range of decimal values that can be expressed in n bits using binary two's

complement is - 2^n to 2^(n-1) -1

false

Signed-magnitude and two's complement both have two representations for zero.

false

Overflow is indicated when the carry in to the high-order bit is not equal to the carry

out.

true

Decoder

are used to decode binary information from a set of n inputs to a maximum of 2^n outputs

Multiplexers

selects one data line from two or more input lines and routes data from the selected line to the output. The particular data line that is selected is determined by the select inputs.

The synchronous sequential circuits can also be called

Finite State Machines (FSM)

The two types of FSM are

Mealy Machine and Moore Machine

Kilobyte

2^10

Megabyte

2^20

Gigabyte

2^30

Tera

2^40

Millisecond

2^-10

Microsecond

2^-20

Nanosecond

2^-30

Picosecond

2^-40