5.1 Instruction Set Architecture (P1)

Question 1

What is an Instruction Set Architecture, and what does it typically define

Answer 1

Question 2

What is a general purpose register

Answer 2

Purpose controlled by software

Question 3

What is a special purpose register (and some examples)

Answer 3

Question 4

What is an address space

Answer 4

Question 5

What 4 features do ISAs need to define about memory.

Answer 5

Question 6

In regards to instructions, what does an ISA need to define

Answer 6

Question 7

Are ISA instruction functions partial?

Answer 7

Yes can be (not every binary seq has a corresponding assembly code)

Question 8

In the context of ISAs, what are opcodes and operands

Answer 8

Question 9

What is an instruction class

Answer 9

Question 10

What instruction classes could you expect in a general-purpose ISA

Answer 10

Question 11

What instruction classes could you expect from a special-purpose ISA

Answer 11

Extensions add additional instructions to a general ISA

Question 12

What is an instruction type and an instruction variant

Answer 12

Question 13

How can we solve this problem using different amounts of addresses

Answer 13

Using more operands makes shorter but greater encoding pressure

Question 14

What is fixed length instruction encoding and the advantages / disadvantages

Answer 14

Question 15

What is variable length instruction encoding and the advantages / disadvantages

Answer 15

Question 16

What is an instruction format

Answer 16

Different types (R-type etc.)

Question 17

Compare the following ISAs:
- Memory-memory architecture
- Register-memory architecture
- Register-register architecture

Answer 17

Question 18

Compare RISC and CISC

Answer 18