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AddisonWesley HighPerformanceC

The document discusses how computer architecture is a constantly changing field due to new technology developments. It focuses on teaching fundamental design principles and evaluation techniques that remain important over time, rather than specific machine implementations that will become obsolete.

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shiva “sarthaksansar” bhusal
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16 views526 pages

AddisonWesley HighPerformanceC

The document discusses how computer architecture is a constantly changing field due to new technology developments. It focuses on teaching fundamental design principles and evaluation techniques that remain important over time, rather than specific machine implementations that will become obsolete.

Uploaded by

shiva “sarthaksansar” bhusal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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reface

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Teaching computer architecture is an interesting challenge for the instructor


because the field is in constant flux. What the architect does depends strongly
on the devices available, and the devices have been changing every two to three
years, with major breakthroughs once or twice a decade. Within the brief life
of the first edition of this textbook a whole generation of processor and memory
chips were first offered for sale, appeared in popular computers, and then
gradually disappeared from the marketplace as their successors took their places.
The particular features and strengths of those devices have given way to other
features in various new combinations and new relative costs. Design practices
are evolving to exploit the new devices for a new generation of machines. And
they will evolve again as the next wave of devices appears in the coming years.
What then should be taught to prepare students for what lies ahead? What
information win remain important over the technical career of a student, and
what information will soon become obsolete, of historical interest only? This
text stresses design ideas embodied in many machines and the techniques for
evaluating those ideas. The ideas and the evaluation techniques are the principles
that will survive. The specific implementations of machines that one might
choose in 1995 2000, or 2005 reflect the basic principles described here as applied
to the device technology currently prevailing. Effective designs are those that
use technology cleverly and achieve balanced, efficient structures matched well
to the class of problems they attack. This text stresses the means to achieve
balance and efficiency in the context of any device technology.

vii

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