From Essentials of Computer Architecture by Douglas E. Comer. ISBN © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4.1 Von Neumann Architecture Three principle components Processor Memory I/O facilities Programs and data stored in memory

4.3 Definition of a Processor A digital device that can perform a computation involving multiple steps

4.4 The Range of Processors Fixed logic Selectable logic Parameterized logic Programable logic

From Essentials of Computer Architecture by Douglas E. Comer. ISBN © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4.6 Structure of a conventional Processor Controller Computational Engine (ALU) Local data storage Internal interconnections External interfaces

From Essentials of Computer Architecture by Douglas E. Comer. ISBN © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Processor Categories and Roles Coprocessors Micro-controllers Micro-sequencers Embedded system processors General purpose processors

From Essentials of Computer Architecture by Douglas E. Comer. ISBN © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4.11 The Fetch-Execute Cycle Repeat forever { Fetch: access the next step of the program Execute: Perform the step of the program }

4.12 Clock Rate and Instruction Rate The time to execute an instruction depends on the operation being performed.

4.13 Control: Getting Started and Stopping The fetch-execute cycle continues indefinitely In a dedicated system, the same program executes repeatedly. In a general purpose system, an operating system runs when no application is running.

4.14 Starting the Fetch-Execute Cycle The steps used to start a processor are known as bootstrap Many devices have a soft power switch, which means the power switch does not actually turn power on or off.