Chatper 15: Intro to Processor Architecture

Question 1

Name the four types of registers Tarnoff mentions in chapter 15
Hint: DIFA

Answer 1

1. Data Registers
2. Address Registers
3. Instruction Registers
4. Flag Registers

Question 2

What type of register is this? Numeric values stored in memory. Each number represents a different command to be executed by the processor
Hint: of it were a human it’d be a teacher

Answer 2

Instruction Register

Question 3

What type of register is this? A common use of an “ “ register is
to hold a pointer to an array or string.

Answer 3

Address Register

Question 4

What type of register is this? These registers hold the values on which to perform arithmetic or logical functions.

Answer 4

Data Registers

Question 5

What type of register is this? The processor can also use individual bits grouped together to represent the status of an operation or of the processor itself.

Answer 5

Flag Register

Question 6

Where is the flags register located at on the processor?

Answer 6

It’s connected to the mathematical unit of the processor.

Question 7

What is one of the primary uses of a flag?
Hint: The processors short term memory
What does the flag need to do?

Answer 7

To remember the results of the previous operation.

Question 8

Define a buffer.
Hint: May I hold this for you while you load your car?

Answer 8

A block of memory that can hold data until it is ready to be picked up by the processor.

Question 9

Define a stack.
Hint: Kind of like a buffer but more temporary

Answer 9

A block of memory locations reserved to function as temporary memory.

Question 10

When a processor puts a piece of data, a plate, on the top of the stack, the data below it is hidden and cannot be removed until the data above it is removed. This
type of buffer is referred to as a?

Answer 10

“last-in-first-out” or LIFO buffer.

Question 11

What are the two main operations a processor can perform on the stack?

Answer 11

1. Store the value of a register to the top of the stack.
2. Remove the top piece of data from the stack and place it in a register.

Question 12

Storing data to the stack is referred to as “ “ while removing the
top piece of data is called “” or “ “.

Answer 12

Storing data is called pushing
Retrieving data is called pulling or popping

Question 13

Input/output ports or I/O ports refer to?
Hint: Think about what the ports jobs are. How can they perform this job?

Answer 13

Any connections that exist between the processor and its external devices.

Question 14

If the device is incorporated into the processor, then communication with the port is done by reading and writing to registers. This is sometimes the case for simple serial and parallel interfaces such as a?
Hint: Peripheral devices in her face

Answer 14

printer port or keyboard and mouse interface

Question 15

What component is this? This is the brain of the processor.
The execution of all instructions occurs inside the component along with the computation required to determine addressing.

Answer 15

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Question 16

What component is this? It is used for any internal computations that need to be done fast without the added overhead of writing to external memory.

Answer 16

Internal memory

Question 17

What component is this? A bidirectional device that holds outgoing data until the memory bus is ready for it or incoming data until the CPU is ready for it.

Answer 17

Data buffer

Question 18

What component is this? Maintains the address that the processor wishes to exchange data with on the memory bus. It also provides signal conditioning and circuit protection for the CPU.

Answer 18

Address latch

Question 19

What component is this? Represents the device interfaces that have been incorporated into the processor’s hardware.

Answer 19

I/O ports

Question 20

What component is this? These registers contain the flags that represent the current configuration of the processor.

Answer 20

Configuration registers

Question 21

What component of the CPU is this? It knows the big picture of what needs to be done, it knows which of the CPU’s components can do it, and it controls the timing to do it.

Answer 21

Control unit

Question 22

What component of the CPU is this? A collection of logic
circuits designed to perform arithmetic.

Answer 22

ALU

Question 23

What component of the CPU is this? Receives the instruction from memory, interprets the value to see what instruction is to be performed, and tells the ALU and the registers which circuits to energize in order to perform the function.

Hint:those rings kids used to get in the mail.

Answer 23

Instruction decoder

Question 24

What component of the CPU is this? Used to store the data, addresses, and flags that are in use by the CPU

Answer 24

Registers