Flashcards - Computer Systems Week 7 - Instruction Set and Assembly Study Set
What is the principle of abstraction in computer systems?
It allows us to focus on one layer in a computer system and treat it like a black box, using its functionality without needing to understand its inner workings.
What does the application layer do in web browsing on a tablet?
It deals with the software application running at the time, such as rendering websites in a web browser.
What is the difference between an interface and implementation in computing?
An interface shows the functionality that is available, while implementation shows how that functionality is carried out.
How does high-level programming compare to assembly language in terms of abstraction?
High-level programming languages provide a large amount of abstraction from the hardware, while assembly language is machine dependent and tied to a specific instruction set.
What does ISA stand for in computer architecture?
Instruction Set Architecture.
What operations can a data movement instruction perform?
It can copy data from one location to another, such as MOVE $1000,D0.
What is an example of a control transfer instruction?
BNE LABEL - Branch to LABEL if the result is not zero.
What does the CPU micro-architecture refer to?
It refers to the internal organization of the processor including functional units and data paths.
What is the purpose of an instruction set in computing?
It defines how high-level instructions and data are mapped to the underlying hardware and memory organization.
What are floating-point instructions used for?
They are used for floating-point data movement, arithmetic, comparison, square root, and absolute value.
What instruction is used to load data into a register from memory?
Load content of memory into a register can be represented by the opcode 0002.
What does ‘Shift and rotate instructions’ do?
They perform left or right shifts and rotations of data.
What is the role of the operating system layer in a computer system?
It accepts requests from the application layer and makes requests of the hardware to fulfill those requests.
What could happen if a CPU has no registers according to ISA?
The interpretation of the ISA will treat an area of RAM as if it were the registers, resulting in slower performance.
Which ISA type utilizes an accumulator for operations?
The ‘Accumulator’ type, such as Vax.
What type of ISA is used by modern architectures like ARM and MIPS?
‘Register to Register’ type.
What is an Assembly Language?
A low-level programming language that is machine dependent and tied to a specific instruction set.
What are the components of an instruction format in an ISA?
Typically includes an opcode followed by operand addresses or register identifiers.
What type of ISA is employed in x86 architectures?
‘Register to Memory’ type.
What can be an effect of the interface and implementation concept in computing?
It allows programmers to focus on functionality while ignoring complex implementation details.
What are bit manipulation instructions typically used for?
To operate on specific bit fields, such as setting or clearing a bit in a register.
What defines the instruction set architecture of a microprocessor?
It standardizes instructions, machine language format, and low-level operations implemented by the micro-architecture.
What is the effect of data types in designing an instruction set?
Data types influence the semantics of the instructions that can be implemented and their operations.
What does the term ‘historic ISA types’ refer to?
It refers to older instruction set architectures and their specific operational models, such as stack type or accumulator type.
What is the function of control transfer instructions in an ISA?
They primarily handle jumps, branches, procedure calls, and returns within the control flow of a program.
