Fundamentals of Computer Organisation and Architecture Flashcards
What is a processor?
A device that carries out computation on data by following instructions in order to produce an output
Define the purpose of Main Memory
The main memory stores data and instructions that will be used by the processor.
What is the Fetch-Execute cycle
It is the continuous process carried out by the processor when running programs.
The steps are to fetch data and instructions, decode them and then execute them.
What does RAM stand for and what does it do?
Random
Access
Memory
- It stores tempory data and can be read to and written from
What does ROM stand for and what does it do?
Read
Only
Memory
- It stores data and can be read from but not written to (except programmable ROM)
Explain Von Neuman Architecture
It is a technique for building a processor where data and instructions are stored in the same memory and accessed via buses.
Explain Harvard Architecture
It is a technique for building a processor that uses separate buses and memory for data and instructions
What does PC stand for and what does it do
A Program Counter is a register that stores the address of the next instruction to be taken from the main memory into the processor.
How does the Fetch-Execute cycle work
Fetch:
PC holds address of next instruction.
Processor sends this along the address bus to main memory.
The contets of this are sent via the data bus to the CIR and the PC is incremented.
The details of addresses are loaded into the MAR and data into the MBR
Execute:
Processor takes instruction from CIR and referres to the instruction set which are either classed as RISC or CISC (Reduced or Complex Instruction Set)
If instructed to do so it could send contents of the MBR to the ALU
What is the CIR
Current
Instruction
Register
What is the MBR
Memory
Buffer
Register
What is the MAR
Memory
Address
Register
