Intro

Question 1

Machine Cycle (3)

Answer 1

Fetch -> Decode -> Execute (loop)

Question 2

• Retrieve the instruction from memory
• Increment the program counter

Answer 2

Fetch

Question 3

Decode the bit pattern in the instruction register

Answer 3

Decode

Question 4

Perform the instruction in the Instruction register

Answer 4

Execute

Question 5

Each instruction is stored in memory as a __________

Answer 5

bunch of bits

Question 6

The ___ decodes the bits to determine what should happen

Answer 6

CPU

Question 7

Instructions are from a language called _______________

Answer 7

machine language

Question 8

A/An _______ is a sequence of these simple instructions

Answer 8

executable program

Question 9

The sequence is stored in ___________

Answer 9

memory

Question 10

The CPU processes the simple instructions _________

Answer 10

sequentially

Question 11

• This is what the computer actually sees and deals with
• Every command is given as a number or sequence of numbers

Answer 11

Machine Language

Question 12

The command numbers have been replaced by letter sequences which are easier to memorize

Answer 12

Assembly Language

Question 13

• middle-level language
• maps human-readable mnemonics to machine instructions
• allows machine-level programming without writing in machine language

Answer 13

Assembly Language

Question 14

• are there to make programming easier
• allows you to describe the program in a more natural language

Answer 14

High-Level Language

Question 15

Assembly gives you direct control of the system resources such as (3)

Answer 15

• setting processor registers
• accessing memory locations
• interfacing with other hardware elements

Question 16

Reasons NOT to use assembly (3)

Answer 16

• development time
• maintainability
• portability

Question 17

Reasons to use assembly (8)

Answer 17

• to understand how CPUs and compilers work
• developing compilers, debuggers, and other tools
• hardware drivers, system code and low level tasks
• embedded systems
• reverse engineering
• address critical performance issues
• creating/fighting malware
• improve algorithm development skills

Question 18

a collection of the computer’s electrical lines where signals pass through

Answer 18

bus

Question 19

• the computer’s processor
• engine that interprets instructions stored in main memory

Answer 19

central processing unit

Question 20

• a logic circuit in the CPU
• responsible for performing mathematical and logical operators

Answer 20

arithmetic and logic unit (alu)

Question 21

a set of flip-flops treated as a single unit

Answer 21

register

Question 22

a digital logic circuit capable of storing a single bit

Answer 22

flip-flop

Question 23

temporary storage device that holds both a program and the data it manipulates

Answer 23

main memory

Question 24

can be accessed with all 64-bits or some portion or subset accessed

Answer 24

general purpose register (gpr)

Question 25

register that is used to point to the current top of the stack

Answer 25

stack pointer register (rsp)

Question 26

register that is used as a base pointer during function calls

Answer 26

base pointer register (rbp)

Question 27

register that is used by the cpu to point to the next instruction to be executed

Answer 27

instruction pointer register (rip)

Question 28

register used for status and cpu control information

Answer 28

flag registers (rflags)

Question 29

what does a little-endian architecture mean

Answer 29

- least significant byte is stored in the lowest memory address - most significant byte is stored in the highest memory location

Question 30

general memory layout

Answer 30

stack heap BSS data text reserved

Question 31

where the machine language is stored

Answer 31

text (code)

Question 32

where the initialized data is stored

Answer 32

data

Question 33

where uninitialized declared variables are stored

Answer 33

BSS

Question 34

where dynamically allocated data will be stored

Answer 34

heap

Question 35

starts in high memory and grows downward

Answer 35

stack

Question 36

what is the goal of a memory hierarchy

Answer 36

balance performance with cost

Question 37

all initialized variables and constants are placed in this section

Answer 37

section .data

Question 38

all uninitialized variables are placed in this section

Answer 38

section .bss

Question 39

includes some headers or labels that define the initial program entry point

Answer 39

section .text

Question 40

modifies the original C program according to directives that begin with the # character

Answer 40

preprocessing

Question 41

translates the output text file of the pre-processor into a text file which contains an assembly language program

Answer 41

compilation

Question 42

translates compiler output to machine language instructions, generating a relocatable object program

Answer 42

assembly

Question 43

handles the merging of other necessary precompiled object files with the assembler's output, generating an executable file

Answer 43

linking

Question 44

program that will read an assembly language input file and convert the code into a machine language binary file

Answer 44

assembler

Question 45

combines one or more object files into a single executable file

Answer 45

linker

Question 46

will load the program from secondary storage into primary storage

Answer 46

loader

Question 47

- used to control execution of a program - allows for testing and debugging activities to be performed

Answer 47

debugger