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computer science > 4.7 - Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture > Flashcards

4.7 - Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture Flashcards

1
Q

What does the Accumulator do?

A

Stores result of calculations processed by ALU.

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2
Q

What does the Memory Buffer Register do?

A

Stores data read from memory.

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3
Q

What does the Memory Address Register do?

A

Stores address of memory location processor needs to access.

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4
Q

What does the Status Register do?

A

Used to store information about the state of the CPU or a particular operation, such as whether a previous calculation resulted in a zero or a negative number. Each bit within this register checks for errors or exceptions, or disables interrupts.

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5
Q

What does an Input/Output controller do?

A

act as an interface between peripheral devices and the core computer

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6
Q

Why does an Input/Output controller need to be used?

A

Because the CPU won’t be able to interpret the signals received from the peripheral device without it

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7
Q

What does the Current Instruction Register do?

A

Stores current instruction being executed.

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8
Q

What do General Purpose Registers do?

A

They act as fast memory used to temporarily store and access results of operations. Connected to ALU.

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9
Q

What does the Program Counter do?

A

Stores address of the next instruction to be executed

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10
Q

What are the uses of RFID tags?

A

Labels concealed within products.
ID cards used to open doors
Library cards
Track movements of farm animals

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11
Q

What does an RFID tag do?

A

Made of antenna for transmitting and receiving radio signals. Also contains a chip which processes these signals. Each tag has a unique identifier. Can be read only or read and write.

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12
Q

What does an RFID reader do?

A

It transmits an encoded radio signal to query the tag. The tag receives the message and responds with an identifier/stored data.

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13
Q

How does the Input/Output controller work?

A

It manages data communications to and from peripheral devices. This saves the processing power of the CPU which would otherwise be wasted.

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14
Q

What is RFID for?

A

RFID (radio frequency identification) allows data to be transmitted over radio waves. Uses a tag and a reader, doesn’t require line of sight for the reader.

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15
Q

What is the difference between passive and active RFID tags

A

Passive RFID tag - No power supply, uses radio signals transmitted by the reader. Uses the energy from the transmitter to active the chip. Range of 1m.
Active RFID tag - Small battery within the tag, transmits its identifier regularly. Range up to 200m.

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16
Q

What is an Interrupt Service Routine (ISR)?

A

ISR is a software routine that is called when an interrupt occurs. The ISR determines how to handle the interrupt. For example when a key is pressed on a keyboard the ISR will determine which key was pressed.

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17
Q

What does a device driver do?

A

Allow the operating system to communicate with a peripheral device, which allows the device to be made for any operating system.

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18
Q

What are Interrupts?

A

In computing, an interrupt is a signal that temporarily stops the CPU from executing its current program or task and redirects it to handle a higher-priority task. An interrupt can be triggered by either hardware or software.

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19
Q

What is a bus?

A

A communication system that is used to transfer data between components

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20
Q

Examples of hardware interrupts?

A

Keyboard interrupt: Generated when a key is pressed or released on the keyboard.
Mouse interrupt: Generated when a mouse button is pressed or released, or when the mouse is moved.
Network interrupt: Generated by a network interface card to indicate that a packet has been received or sent.

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21
Q

What is a system bus?

A

A bus which uses parallel connections to allow internal components to communicate with each other and exchange data.

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22
Q

Examples of software interrupts?

A

Open: Used to open a file for reading or writing.
Close: Used to close an open file.
Read: Used to read data from an open file.
Write: Used to write data to an open file.

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23
Q

What is an external bus?

A

buses which are used to connect peripherals to the processor. They can be either serial or parallel connections

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24
Q

Hardware vs software interrupts?

A

hardware interrupts are generated by external devices or signals, indicating they have completed a task, while software interrupts (service calls) are triggered by software instructions to request a service from the operating system.

25
Q

What busses are in Von Neumann architecture?

A
  • Address bus
  • Data bus
  • Control bus
26
Q

What is the Addressing Mode?

A

The addressing mode is part of the opcode, it determines the way in which the operand is interpreted. For example if the operand is a piece of data or an address.

27
Q

What is a data bus?

A

A bi-directional bus used to transfer data and instructions.

28
Q

What is the Opcode?

A

Opcode specifies the operation to be performed.

29
Q

What does it mean when a bus is bi-directional?

A

it allows a two-way connections between internal components of the system

30
Q

What are instructions in a CPU?

A

Instructions are used by the processor to execute programs and perform various operations, such as arithmetic calculations, logical operations, and data manipulation. An instruction is made from the opcode (operation code), and operand. E.G. ADD 3 5 where the opcode is ADD and the operands are 3 and 5.

31
Q

What is the operand?

A

The operand specifies the data, or the address of the data, for the operation.

32
Q

What data is transferred along the data bus?

A
  • to and from the processor
  • to and from main memory
  • to and from the I/O controllers
  • instructions from main memory to the processor
33
Q

Summarise Von Neumann Architecture:

A

In Von Neumann Architecture, the computer consists of a CPU, Memory, busses and I/O controllers. There is only one set of main memory, meaning the computer has to access instructions and data asynchronously.

34
Q

Summarise Harvard Architecture:

A

In Harvard Architecture, the computer has physically separate memory and buses for instructions and data. This means instructions and data can be accessed at the same time which increases speed. Each memory can be optimised for specific systems, each being different sizes or word lengths. Instruction memory can also be implemented as ROM in specific embedded systems.

35
Q

What is the difference between Von Neumann and Harvard Architecture?

A

Von Neumann architecture has only one set of memory for instructions and data, whereas Harvard architecture has separate memory for both. Von Neumann is More common than Harvard architecture in general purpose systems as it is more flexible.

36
Q

What does the width of a data bus refer to

A

The number of bits that can be transferred in one operation. It is typically a multiple of the byte.

37
Q

What is an address bus?

A

A uni-directional bus which is used to send the address of a memory location to either read from or write data to that memory location

38
Q

What are the connections of an address bus?

A
  • from the processor to the address bus
  • from the address bus to the main memory
  • from the address bus to the I/O controller
39
Q

What are the advantages of Von Neumann Architecture?

A

Von Neumann Architecture has a simpler design and lower cost due to the use of a single memory space for both instructions and data.

40
Q

What does it mean when a bus is uni-directional?

A

It only allows one-way connections between components.

41
Q

What happens in the Fetch stage of the FDE cycle?

A

At the fetch stage, the program counter (PC) register is used to keep track of the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched. The PC is incremented after each instruction is fetched to point to the next instruction in memory.

42
Q

What does the width of the address bus refer to?

A

The number of bits that can be used to form an address of a memory location. This means that if the width is n bits, there are 2^(n) numbers that can be used to address memory locations.

43
Q

What happens in the Decode stage of the FDE cycle?

A

At the decode stage, the instruction register (IR) is used to hold the current instruction that has been fetched from memory. The IR is used to determine the opcode and operands of the instruction.

44
Q

What happens in the Execute stage of the FDE cycle?

A

During the execute stage, various registers such as the accumulator (ACC), general-purpose registers (GPRs), and flags registers may be used to perform arithmetic and logic operations, and to store intermediate results.

45
Q

What is the control bus?

A

A bi-directional bus which is used to send control signals that manage and orchestrate the operations that take place inside a computer system.

46
Q

How does a barcode reader work?

A

Light from a laser illuminates the barcode, which reflects more light from the white areas than the black areas.
Reflected light is captured by photoelectric cells that generate a set of electrical pulses corresponding to the black and white stripes.
The pulses are processed and converted to a binary number which represents the code

47
Q

What are guard bars on barcodes?

A

Longer lines at the start, middle and end of barcodes which are used as starting and stopping points of the barcode. They provide a reference point for reading and allow the scanner to read the barcodes whatever orientation they are scanned in.

48
Q

How does a laser printer work?

A

1) A bitmap image of the page is created
2) The print drum is negitively charged
3) The laser is used to change the polarity on the drum in line with the bitmap image
4) The drum is exposed to positivey charged toner, which is attracted to the negatively charged parts of the drum
5) A sheet of paper is passed under the drum
6) The toner is transfered onto the paper
7) The toner is heated to ensure it sticks onto the paper

49
Q

What is the stored program concept?

A

The stored program concept is the idea that instructions and data of many types can be stored in memory as numbers, leading to the stored-program computer. This allows a computer to run many different programs making it much more versatile. Whereas before this existed, instructions were hard wired, which limited the computers capability.

50
Q

How much does an inkjet printer cost?

A

£10s - £100s

51
Q

What are inkjet printers most suitable for printing?

A

photo-quality images.

52
Q

What is the most common type of printer in the household and why?

A

Inkjet printers because of their low upfront cost.

53
Q

What are laser printers most suitable for printing?

A

text

54
Q

Which type of printers are frequently used in the workplace and why?

A

laser printers because the toner is cheaper for regular text-based printing

55
Q

What is the role of interrupts?

A

Allows the currently executing process to be stopped so that a device that needs the immediate attention of the processor can be dealt with.

56
Q

What are the advantages of Harvard architecture?

A

Instructions and data can be accessed simultaneously. Different technologies can be used to implement data and instruction memory.

57
Q

What are addressing modes?

A

In machine code, the addressing mode is part of the opcode, and specifies how the operand is interpreted. Either as a memory location or an actual data value.

58
Q

What is immediate addressing of an addressing mode?

A

Immediate addressing specifies that the operand is an actual data value.

computer science (14 decks)

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