Comp 1313 Systems 1 Flashcards
(222 cards)
What is a combination circuit?
An Interconnected set of gates whose output is a function of the input at a time.
What is a tri-state?
A gate with a extra input that disables the gate, used to prevent short-circuits.
How would I make a two variable Karnaugh Map?
- Create a table using your two variables, e.g A on top row and B on the first column
- Fill the next row/column with the possible values of the variables.
- Use the expression to calculate what result in 1, and place these in the table.
- Draw rectangles of size 2^n boxes around the ones. They cannot be diagonal and must be as big as possible.
How do you decipher a Karnaugh Map?
- Take each box
- If the digit in the heading stays the same keep it, otherwise discard the box
- The boxes left represent the expression
Why can’t machine code be run on different machines?
As different CPU’s have different instruction sets.
The clock is an electronic pulse. So when does the CPU perform an action?
On a clock edge
What is RISC?
Reduced Instruction Set Computer
What is CISC?
Complex Instruction Set Computer
How can runtime be calculated?
Runtime = instruction-time x cycles per instruction x Number of instructions
What is the difference between RISC and CISC?
RISC often has one instruction per cycles, while CISC instruction are more complex and therefore can take multiple cycles.
CISC will look much nicer than RISC code.
CISC aims to reduce Ninstr while RISC reduces the cycles per instruction
What is a register?
A group of flip-flops that can store multiple bits. Used as temporary storage on the processor.
What is a shift register?
They shift a bit every single clock cycle along the register. This is used to convert between serial and parallel data.
How many registers (general purpose) are needed?
16ish
Where are registers on the memory hierarchy?
Top
What is a general purpose register?
They store the CPU’s current required data.
How big is a register (general)?
Word length or more depending on if it has a specific purpose (e.g storing floating points)
What are the 6 types of registers?
Address only
General purpose
Condition Code
Status/flags
Control
Special
What can be stored in an address only register?
Just a memory address
What is the purpose of a Condition Code register?
Set of individual bits that indicate if an error has occurred.
Can a condition code register be written to be a program?
Not usually, but they can be read from
What is a Status/FLAGS register?
A register contain condition code or the sign of a result, an overflow indicator.
What are control registers?
A set of registers that are hidden by the CPU. This includes the MBR, MAR and others.
The PC is the only control register readable by assembly
What is a special register?
An additional register used for a specific function, like storing vectors. Usually implemented on CPU’s that have a specific purpose.
What is a pipeline?
Overlapping instructions with the aim to complete one instructions per cycle rather than one stage per cycle (if that).
Similar to an assembly line.