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1 Inside The Computer: DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD

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42 views2 pages

1 Inside The Computer: DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD

Uploaded by

Paul Naveda
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1 Inside the computer

1.1 MICROCOMPUTERS
Computing, like many other processes, has three main parts:

input - processing - output

In a computer system, data (numbers and words) is input by an


input device, the processing is performed by a central processing
unit and data is output by an output device.

000

Display

I I
Memory

Central
Processing
Unit

DDDDDDDDDD
DDDDDDDDDD
DDDDDDDDDD Keyboard

DDDDDDDDDD
Figure 1.1
1

A. Woods, Assembly Language Assembled for the Sinclair ZX81


© Anthony Woods 1982
A computer can use many types of device but as far as the
Sinclair 2X8l is concerned the normal system is shown in figure
1.1.

The keyboard is used to input programs, and data for the pro-
grams. A program is a list of instructions to tell the computer
what to do during the processing stage. The television set is used
to output information, such as results from a program. The memory
is used to store programs and data.

If you are not familiar with binary and hexadecimal number


systems and signed (two's complement) and unsigned numbers, you
should work through Appendix A before continuing with the text.

1.2 THE zao CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT


There are several different microprocessor central processing
units available. This book is concerned with the Sinclair ZX8l
which uses a 280 microprocessor.

The components of the 280 which are of most importance to a


programmer are the registers, shown in figure 1.2.

Accumulator

A F Flag register

B C

0 E

H L

SP Stack pointer

PC Program counter

IX X index register

IV Y index register

I Interrupt vector
register

Figure 1.2

A register is a memory area which is built into the central


processor. It is used to hold data on a temporary basis while it
is being processed, or is waiting to be processed. Each register
can hold a single item of data in the form of a binary number.
Registers which can hold a binary number with 8 digits are called
8-bit registers and those which can hold l6-digit binary numbers
are called l6-bit registers. The term bit is a shorthand way of
referring to binary digits.

The accumulator is an 8-bit register which is used for arith-


metic and logical operations. For example, to add two numbers in

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