Computer Architecture & Assembly Language

CSC-250
COURSE LECTURE

COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

SIBAU KANDHKOT CAMPUS
Processor Micro-Processor CPU
• A processor, or "microprocessor," is a small chip that resides in computers and
other electronic devices. Its basic job is to receive input and provide the
appropriate output

• A microprocessor is a programmable electronics chip that has computing and

decision making capabilities.

• Any microprocessor-based systems having limited number of resources are called

microcomputers. Nowadays, microprocessor can be seen in almost all types of
electronics devices like mobile phones, and smart gadgets etc.
Processor Micro-Processor CPU
• Microprocessor communicates and operates in binary numbers 0 and 1.

• The set of instructions in the form of binary patterns is called a machine language
and it is difficult for us to understand.

• Therefore, the binary patterns are given abbreviated names, called mnemonics,
which forms the assembly language.

• The conversion of assembly-level language into binary machine-level language is

done by using an application called assembler.
Processor Required Busses
• Address Bus: It carries the address, which is a unique binary pattern used to
identify a memory location or an I/O port. The locations in hexadecimal format
can be written as 00H – FFH.

• Data Bus: The data bus is used to transfer data between memory and processor
or between I/O device and processor. For example, an 8-bit processor will
generally have an 8-bit data bus and a 16-bit processor will have 16-bit data bus.

• Control Bus: The control bus carry control signals, which consists of signals for
selection of memory or I/O device from the given address, direction of data
transfer and synchronization of data transfer in case of slow devices.
Evolution of Microprocessors
• 4-bit Microprocessors

• The first microprocessor was introduced in 1971 by Intel Corp.

• It was named Intel 4004 as it was a 4 bit processor.

• It was a processor on a single chip. It could perform simple arithmetic and logic operations such as
addition, subtraction, boolean AND and boolean OR

• It had a control unit capable of performing control functions like fetching an instruction from memory,
decoding it, and generating control pulses to execute it. It was able to operate on 4 bits of data at a
time.

• This first microprocessor was quite a success in industry. Soon other microprocessors were also
introduced. Intel introduced the enhanced version of 4004, the 4040.
Evolution of Microprocessors
• 8-bit Microprocessors
• The first 8 bit microprocessor which could perform arithmetic and logic operations on 8 bit words was
introduced in 1973 again by Intel.
• This was Intel 8008 and was later followed by an improved version,
• Intel 8088. Some other 8 bit processors are Zilog-80 and Motorola M6800.

• 16-bit Microprocessors
• The 8-bit processors were followed by 16 bit processors.
• They are Intel 8086 and 80286.

• 32-bit Microprocessors
• The 32 bit microprocessors were introduced by several companies but the most popular one is Intel
80386.
Henrich Hertz

Cycle is a Pulse

Series of On/Off or like

switching

Architecture Update by
generations

MHz = 1 million

GHz = 1 Billion
 Intel Pentium & Power PC Evaluation
• Pentium Series 1993

• Instead of 80586, Intel came out with a new processor namely Pentium processor.

• Its performance is closer to RISC performance but follow CISC. Pentium was followed by Pentium Pro CPU. Pentium Pro
allows multiple CPUs in a single system in order to achieve multiprocessing.

• The MMX (MultiMedia eXtension, Multiple Math eXtension, or. Matrix Math eXtension.) extension was added to
Pentium Pro and the result was Pentium II.

• The Pentium III provided high performance floating point operations for certain types of computations by using the
SIMD extensions to the instruction set.
• SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data). SIMD describes any extension to microprocessors that allow it to operate on
data in parallel.
• These new instructions makes the Pentium III faster than high-end RISC CPUs.

• Pentium 4 & Itanium series organization occurs

 Power PC Processor
• PowerPC is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991
Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM.

• List of PowerPC processors · PowerPC 600 · PowerPC e700 · PowerPC 5000

Bits: 32-bit/64-bit (32 → 64)

• The three developing companies have made the PowerPC

architecture an open standard, inviting other companies to
build on it.
Intel Pentium & Power PC Evaluation
• The intel Pentium represents the result of decades of design effort on
complex instruction set computers

• The power PC are the first descendant of first RISC system.

• 8080 first general purpose microprocessor 8 bit machine with 8 bit

data path to memory was used in first personal computer ALTAIR

• Core processor properties (i series i3,i5, i7) 2006

Intel Pentium & Power PC Evaluation
• A Pentium processor is mainly intended for casual usage like browsing, light gaming and
doing school projects and such other examples. Usually used as a home desktop

• The PowerPC architecture provides an alternative to the popular processor

architectures from Intel, including the Pentium. (Microsoft builds its Windows
operating system offerings to run on Intel processors, and this widely-sold combination
is sometimes called "Wintel".)

• The PowerPC was first used in IBM's RS/6000 workstation with its UNIX-based
operating system and in Apple Computer's Macintosh personal computers. Today,
PowerPC chips are also used in diverse applications including internetworking
equipment, routers, telecom switches, interactive multimedia, automotive control, and
industrial robotics.
Intel Pentium & Power PC Evaluation
• In 1975, IBM started the 801 minicomputer project that launched the RISC
movement. In 1986, IBM developed a RISC workstation, the RT PC, which was
not a commercial success.

• In 1990, introduced the RISC/6000 and marketed that as a high performance

workstation. IBM began to refer to this as the POWER architecture.
• IBM then entered into an alliance with Motorola the developer of the 68000
series for Apple computers.

• The result of this alliance was the series of microprocessors that implement
the PowerPC architecture. The processors in the series were: 601, 603, 604,
620, 740/750 (G3), G4, and G5.
X86 Processor Family
• x86 is a family of instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based
on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The term "x86" came into
being because the names of several successors to Intel's 8086 processor end in
"86", including the 80186, 80286, 80386 and 80486 processors

• 1978 (16-bit), 1985 (32-bit), 2003 (64-bit)

• x86 is a term used to describe a CPU instruction set compatible with the Intel
8086 and its successors, including the Pentium and others made by Intel and
other companies. This is the CPU architecture used in most desktop and laptop
computers. Many 21st century workstations and servers also use x86 processors
 Reduced and Complex Instruction Set
Computer
• RISC • CISC
• whereas the PowerPC processors are • Intel Pentium processors are mainly CISC-based,
completely RISC-based with some RISC facilities built into them.
• Reduce the cycles per instruction at the cost of the • The CISC approach attempts to minimize the
number of instructions per program . number of instructions per program but at the cost
of increase in number of cycles per instruction.
What is CISC?
• CISC is an acronym for Complex Instruction Set Computer and are chips that are easy to program and
which make efficient use of memory. Since the earliest machines were programmed in assembly
language and memory was slow and expensive, the CISC philosophy made sense
• Most common microprocessor designs such as the Intel 80x86 and Motorola 68K series followed the
CISC philosophy.

• But recent changes in software and hardware technology have forced a re-examination of CISC and
many modern CISC processors are hybrids, implementing many RISC principles.
• CISC was developed to make compiler development simpler. It shifts most of the burden of generating
machine instructions to the processor. For example, instead of having to make a compiler write long
machine instructions to calculate a square-root, a CISC processor would have a built-in ability to do
this.
What is RISC?
• RISC?
RISC, or Reduced Instruction Set Computer. is a type of microprocessor architecture that utilizes a
small, highly-optimized set of instructions, rather than a more specialized set of instructions often
found in other types of architectures.

• History
The first RISC projects came from IBM, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley in the late 70s and early 80s.
The IBM 801, Stanford MIPS, and Berkeley RISC 1 and 2 were all designed with a similar
philosophy which has become known as RISC. Certain design features have been characteristic of
most RISC processors:
• one cycle execution time: RISC processors have a CPI (clock per instruction) of one cycle. This is due
to the optimization of each instruction on the CPU and a technique called PIPELINING
• pipelining: a techique that allows for simultaneous execution of parts, or stages, of instructions to more
efficiently process instructions;
• large number of registers: the RISC design philosophy generally incorporates a larger number of
registers to prevent in large amounts of interactions with memory
 CISC versus RISC
CISC RISC

Emphasis on hardware Emphasis on software

Includes multi-clock Single-clock,

complex instructions reduced instruction only

Memory-to-memory: Register to register:

"LOAD" and "STORE" "LOAD" and "STORE"
incorporated in instructions are independent instructions

Small code sizes, Low cycles per second,

high cycles per second large code sizes

Transistors used for storing Spends more transistors

complex instructions on memory registers
The Performance Equation
 The following equation is commonly used for expressing a
computer's performance ability: cisc

Risc
The CISC approach attempts to minimize the number of
instructions per program, sacrificing the number of cycles per
instruction.
RISC does the opposite, reducing the cycles per instruction at
the cost of the number of instructions per program.
Which one is better...?
There is still considerable controversy among experts about which
architecture is better.

Some say that RISC is cheaper and faster and therefore the
architecture of the future.

Others note that by making the hardware simpler, RISC puts a

greater burden on the software. Software needs to become more
complex. Software developers need to write more lines for the same
tasks.
Recent Developments & Future
Scope
EPIC :
 The biggest threat for CISC and RISC might not be each other, but a new technology called
EPIC.

 EPIC stands for Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing. EPIC can do many instruction
executions in parallel to one another.

 EPIC is a created by Intel and is in a way a combination of both CISC and RISC. This will in
theory allow the processing of Windows-based as well as UNIX-based applications by the
same CPU.

 Intel is working on it under code-name Merced. Microsoft is already developing their Win64
standard for it. Like the name says, Merced will be a 64-bit chip.
ARM Processor
• An ARM processor is one of a family of CPUs based on the RISC
(reduced instruction set computer) architecture developed by
Advanced RISC Machines (ARM). ARM makes 32-bit and 64-bit RISC
multi-core processors.

• ARM processors are microprocessors and are widely used in many of

the mobile phones sold each year, as many as 98% of mobile phones.
They are also used in PDAs (personal digital assistants), digital media
and music layers, hand-held gaming systems, calculators, and even
computer hard drives.
ARM Processor
• Companies that are current licensees of the 64-bit ARMv8-A core
designs include AMD, AppliedMicro (X-Gene), Broadcom, Calxeda,
HiSilicon, Rockchip,

• Arm's latest top-end processor core design – the Cortex-A76 unveiled

today – is its first CPU to only run kernel-level code that is 64-bit,
according to its inventors.msung, and STMicroelectronics.
ARM Processor
• There are three main CPU architectures used in today's Android phones. ARM
is perhaps the most common, as it's optimized for battery consumption.
ARM64 is an evolution of the original ARM architecture that supports 64-bit
processing for more powerful computing, and it's quickly becoming the standard
in newer devices

• Why ARM is most popular: ARM is the most popular processors, particularly
used in portable devices due to its low power consumption and reasonable
performance. ARM has got better performance when compared to other
processors. The ARM processor is basically consisting of low power consumption
and low cost.
The ARM Architecture
ARM Ltd
• Founded in November 1990
• Spun out of Acorn Computers

• Designs the ARM range of RISC processor cores

• Licenses ARM core designs to semiconductor partners who fabricate and
sell to their customers.
• ARM does not fabricate silicon itself

• Also develop technologies to assist with the design-in of the ARM

architecture
• Software tools, boards, debug hardware, application software, bus
architectures, peripherals etc
ARM Partnership Model
ARM Powered Products
Data Sizes and Instruction Sets
• The ARM is a 32-bit architecture.

• When used in relation to the ARM:

• Byte means 8 bits
• Half word means 16 bits (two bytes)
• Word means 32 bits (four bytes)

• Most ARM’s implement two instruction sets

• 32-bit ARM Instruction Set
• 16-bit Thumb Instruction Set

• Jazelle cores can also execute Java bytecode

Processor Modes
• The ARM has seven basic operating modes:

• User : unprivileged mode under which most tasks run

• FIQ : entered when a high priority (fast) interrupt is raised

• IRQ : entered when a low priority (normal) interrupt is raised

• Supervisor : entered on reset and when a Software Interrupt

instruction is executed

• Abort : used to handle memory access violations

• Undef : used to handle undefined instructions

• System : privileged mode using the same registers as user mode