UNIT – I

Computer Architecture & Computer Organization

Computer Architecture is refers to the overall design of a computer system, including the hardware and software
components that make up the system and how they interact with each other.
Computer architecture provides the functional details and behavior of a computer system. It involves the design of
the instruction set, the microarchitecture, and the memory hierarchy, as well as the design of the hardware and
software components that make up the system.
Computer Architecture mainly deals with the functional behavior of a computer system and covers the "What to do?"
part. It gives the functional description of requirements, design, and implementation of the different parts of a
computer system.
In the designing process of a computer system, the computer architecture is to be defined before the computer
organization.

Computer Organization refers to the way in which the hardware components of a computer system are arranged
and interconnected. It implements the provided computer architecture and covers the "How to do?" part.
Computer Organization is to be defined after the decision of the computer architecture. It just provides information
that how operational attributes of a computer system are linked together and help in realizing the architectural
specification of the computer. It involves the design of the interconnections between the various hardware
components, as well as the design of the memory and I/O systems.
 Computer Architecture Computer Organization

Computer architecture explains what a computer Computer organization explains how a

should do. computer works.

Computer organization provides structural

Computer architecture provides functional
relationships between parts of computer
behavior of computer system.
system.

Computer architecture deals with high level Computer organization deals with low level
design. design.

Computer organization helps to understand the

Computer architecture assists in understanding
exact arrangement of component of a
the functionality of the computer.
computer.

Actors in Computer architecture are hardware

Actor in computer organization is performance.
parts.

Computer organization is started after finalizing

Computer architecture is designed first.
computer architecture.

Computer architecture involves the relationship

Computer organization involves the relationship
among logical attributes of the system like
among physical parts of the system like circuits,
instruction sets, data types, addressing modes,
peripherals, etc.
etc.

The modern computer took its shape with the arrival of your time. It had been around 16th century when
the evolution of the computer started. The initial computer faced many changes, obviously for the
betterment. It continuously improved itself in terms of speed, accuracy, size, and price to urge the form of
the fashionable day computer. This long period is often conveniently divided into the subsequent phases
called computer generations:
●​ First Generation Computers (1940-1956)
●​ Second Generation Computers (1956-1963)
●​ Third Generation Computers (1964-1971)
●​ Fourth Generation Computers (1972-2010)
●​ Fifth Generation Computers (2010 - Present)

First Generation Computers: Vacuum Tubes (1940-1956)

The technology behind the primary generation computers was a fragile glass device, which was called
vacuum tubes. These computers were very heavy and really large in size. These weren’t very reliable and
programming on them was a really tedious task as they used low-level programming language and used
no OS. First-generation computers were used for calculation, storage, and control purpose. They were
too bulky and large that they needed a full room and consume rot of electricity.
Main characteristics of first generation computers are:
 Main electronic component
Vacuum tube.

Programming language
Machine language.

Main memory
Magnetic tapes and magnetic drums.

Input/output devices
Paper tape and punched cards.

Speed and size

Very slow and very large in size (often taking up entire room).

Examples of the first

generation
IBM 650, IBM 701, ENIAC, UNIVAC1, etc.

Second Generation Computers: Transistors (1956-1963)

Second-generation computers used the technology of transistors rather than bulky vacuum tubes.
Another feature was the core storage. A transistor may be a device composed of semiconductor material
that amplifies a sign or opens or closes a circuit.
Transistors were invented in Bell Labs. The use of transistors made it possible to perform powerfully and
with due speed. It reduced the dimensions and price and thankfully the warmth too, which was generated
by vacuum tubes. Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, programming language and input, and output
units also came into the force within the second generation.
Programming language was shifted from high level to programming language and made programming
comparatively a simple task for programmers. Languages used for programming during this era were
FORTRAN (1956), ALGOL (1958), and COBOL (1959).
Main characteristics of second generation computers are:-

Main electronic
component
Transistor.

Programming
language
Machine language and assembly language.

Memory
Magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk.

Input/output devices
Magnetic tape and punched cards.

Smaller in size, low power consumption, and generated less heat (in
Power and size
comparison with the first generation computers).

PDP-8, IBM1400 series, IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107, CDC
Examples of second
generation
3600 etc.
Third Generation Computers: Integrated Circuits. (1964-1971)

During the third generation, technology envisaged a shift from huge transistors to integrated circuits, also
referred to as IC. Here a variety of transistors were placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors. The
most feature of this era’s computer was the speed and reliability. IC was made from silicon and also
called silicon chips.
A single IC, has many transistors, registers, and capacitors built on one thin slice of silicon. The value
size was reduced and memory space and dealing efficiency were increased during this generation.
Programming was now wiped out Higher level languages like BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code). Minicomputers find their shape during this era.
Main characteristics of third generation computers are:

Main electronic component

Integrated circuits (ICs)

Programming language
High-level language

Memory
Large magnetic core, magnetic tape/disk

Input / output devices

Magnetic tape, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc.

IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11, NCR 395, B6500, UNIVAC 1108,
Examples of third
generation
etc.

Fourth Generation Computers: Micro-processors (1972- 2010)

In 1971 First microprocessors were used, the large scale of integration LSI circuits built on one chip called
microprocessors. The most advantage of this technology is that one microprocessor can contain all the
circuits required to perform arithmetic, logic, and control functions on one chip.
The computers using microchips were called microcomputers. This generation provided the even smaller
size of computers, with larger capacities. That’s not enough, then Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI)
circuits replaced LSI circuits. The Intel 4004chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the pc
from the central processing unit and memory to input/ output controls on one chip and allowed the
dimensions to reduce drastically.
Technologies like multiprocessing, multiprogramming, time-sharing, operating speed, and virtual memory
made it a more user-friendly and customary device. The concept of private computers and computer
networks came into being within the fourth generation.
Main characteristics of fourth generation computers are:

Very large-scale integration (VLSI) and the microprocessor (VLSI has

Main electronic
component
thousands of transistors on a single microchip).

Memory
semiconductor memory (such as RAM, ROM, etc.)

Input/output devices
pointing devices, optical scanning, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc.
 Examples of fourth
generation
IBM PC, STAR 1000, APPLE II, Apple Macintosh, Alter 8800, etc.

Fifth Generation Computers (2010 - Present)

The technology behind the fifth generation of computers is AI. It allows computers to behave like humans.
It is often seen in programs like voice recognition, area of medicines, and entertainment. Within the field
of games playing also it’s shown remarkable performance where computers are capable of beating
human competitors.
The speed is highest, size is that the smallest and area of use has remarkably increased within the fifth
generation computers. Though not a hundred percent AI has been achieved to date but keeping in sight
the present developments, it is often said that this dream also will become a reality very soon.
In order to summarize the features of varied generations of computers, it is often said that a big
improvement has been seen as far because the speed and accuracy of functioning care, but if we
mention the dimensions, it’s being small over the years. The value is additionally diminishing and
reliability is in fact increasing.
Main characteristics of fifth generation computers are:

Based on artificial intelligence, uses the Ultra Large-Scale Integration (ULSI)

technology and parallel processing method (ULSI has millions of transistors
Main on a single microchip and Parallel processing method use two or more
electronic
component
microprocessors to run tasks simultaneously).

Language
Understand natural language (human language).

Size
Portable and small in size.

Trackpad (or touchpad), touchscreen, pen, speech input (recognize

Input / output
device
voice/speech), light scanner, printer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc.
Example of
fifth Desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.
generation

Von-Neumann Model
Von-Neumann proposed his computer architecture design in 1945 which was later known as Von-Neumann
Architecture. It consisted of a Control Unit, Arithmetic, and Logical Memory Unit (ALU), Registers and Inputs/Outputs.

Von Neumann architecture is based on the stored-program computer concept, where instruction data and program data
are stored in the same memory. This design is still used in most computers produced today.

A Von Neumann-based computer:

o​ Uses a single processor

 o​ Uses one memory for both instructions and data.
o​ Executes programs following the fetch-decode-execute cycle

Components of Von-Neumann Model:

o​ Central Processing Unit
o​ Buses
o​ Memory Unit

Central Processing Unit

The part of the Computer that performs the bulk of data processing operations is called the Central Processing Unit and
is referred to as the CPU.

The Central Processing Unit can also be defined as an electric circuit responsible for executing the instructions of a
computer program.

The CPU performs a variety of functions dictated by the type of instructions that are incorporated in the computer.

The major components of CPU are Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit (CU) and a variety of registers.

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) performs the required micro-operations for executing the instructions. In simple
words, ALU allows arithmetic (add, subtract, etc.) and logic (AND, OR, NOT, etc.) operations to be carried out.
Control Unit

The Control Unit of a computer system controls the operations of components like ALU, memory and input/output
devices.

The Control Unit consists of a program counter that contains the address of the instructions to be fetched and an
instruction register into which instructions are fetched from memory for execution.

Registers

Registers refer to high-speed storage areas in the CPU. The data processed by the CPU are fetched from the registers.

Following is the list of registers that plays a crucial role in data processing.

Registers Description

MAR (Memory Address This register holds the memory location of the data that needs to be
Register) accessed.

MDR (Memory Data Register) This register holds the data that is being transferred to or from memory.

AC (Accumulator) This register holds the intermediate arithmetic and logic results.

PC (Program Counter) This register contains the address of the next instruction to be executed.

CIR (Current Instruction This register contains the current instruction during processing
Register)

Buses
Buses are the means by which information is shared between the registers in a multiple-register configuration system.

A bus structure consists of a set of common lines, one for each bit of a register, through which binary information is
transferred one at a time. Control signals determine which register is selected by the bus during each particular register
transfer.

Von-Neumann Architecture comprised of three major bus systems for data transfer.

Bus Description

Address Address Bus carries the address of data (but not the data) between the processor and the
Bus memory.

Data Bus Data Bus carries data between the processor, the memory unit and the input/output devices.

Control Bus Control Bus carries signals/commands from the CPU.

Memory Unit
A memory unit is a collection of storage cells together with associated circuits needed to transfer information in and out
of the storage. The memory stores binary information in groups of bits called words. The internal structure of a memory
unit is specified by the number of words it contains and the number of bits in each word.

Two major types of memories are used in computer systems:

 1.​ RAM (Random Access Memory)
2.​ ROM (Read-Only Memory)

CPU Organization
A computer performs a task based on the instruction provided. Instruction in computers comprises groups
called fields. These fields contain different information as for computers everything is in 0 and 1 so each
field has different significance based on which a CPU decides what to perform. The most common fields
are:
●​ Operation field specifies the operation to be performed like addition.
●​ Address field which contains the location of the operand, i.e., register or memory location.
●​ Mode field which specifies how operand is to be founded.
Instruction is of variable length depending upon the number of addresses it contains. Generally, CPU
organization is of three types based on the number of address fields:
1.​ Single Accumulator organization
2.​ General register organization
3.​ Stack organization
In the first organization, the operation is done involving a special register called the accumulator. In
second on multiple registers are used for the computation purpose. In the third organization the work on
stack basis operation due to which it does not contain any address field. Only a single organization
doesn’t need to be applied, a blend of various organizations is mostly what we see generally.

●​ Single Accumulator organization

In this type of CPU organization, the accumulator register is used implicitly for processing all instructions
of a program and storing the results into the accumulator. The instruction format that is used by this CPU
Organisation is the One address field. Due to this, the CPU is known as One Address Machine.
The main points about Single Accumulator based CPU Organisation are:
1.​ In this CPU Organization, the first ALU operand is always stored into the Accumulator and the second
operand is present either in Registers or in the Memory.
2.​ Accumulator is the default address thus after data manipulation the results are stored into the
accumulator.
3.​ One address instruction is used in this type of organization.

The format of instruction is: Opcode + Address

Mode Opcode Oprand

Opcode indicates the type of operation to be performed.

Mainly two types of operation are performed in a single accumulator based CPU organization:
1. Data transfer operation – ​
In this type of operation, the data is transferred from a source to a destination.

For ex: LOAD X, STORE Y

Here LOAD is a memory read operation that is data is transferred from memory to accumulator and
STORE is a memory write operation that is data is transferred from the accumulator to memory.
2. ALU operation – ​
In this type of operation, arithmetic operations are performed on the data.

For ex: MULT X

where X is the address of the operand. The MULT instruction in this example performs the operation,
AC <-- AC * M[X]
AC is the Accumulator and M[X] is the memory word located at location X.
This type of CPU organization is first used in PDP-8 processors and is used for process control and
laboratory applications. It has been totally replaced by the introduction of the new general register-based
CPU.

General Register CPU Organization

When we are using multiple general-purpose registers, instead of a single accumulator register, in the
CPU Organization then this type of organization is known as General register-based CPU Organization.
In this type of organization, the computer uses two or three address fields in their instruction format. Each
address field may specify a general register or a memory word. If many CPU registers are available for
heavily used variables and intermediate results, we can avoid memory references much of the time, thus
vastly increasing program execution speed, and reducing program size.
For example:
MULT R1, R2, R3
This is an instruction of an arithmetic multiplication written in assembly language. It uses three address
fields R1, R2, and R3. The meaning of this instruction is:
R1 <-- R2 * R3
This instruction also can be written using only two address fields as:
MULT R1, R2
In this instruction, the destination register is the same as one of the source registers. This means the
operation
R1 <-- R1 * R2
The use of a large number of registers results in a short program with limited instructions.
Some examples of General register-based CPU Organizations are IBM 360 and PDP- 11.
Register
Registers are the smaller and the fastest accessible memory units in the central processing unit
(CPU). According to memory hierarchy, the registers in the processor, function a level
above the main memory and cache memory. The registers used by the central unit are also called
as processor registers.

A register can hold the instruction, address location, or operands. Sometimes, the instruction has
register as a part of itself.

Types of Registers
As we have discussed above, registers can be organized into two main categories i.e.
the User-Visible Registers and the Control and Status Registers. Although we can’t separate the
registers in the processors clearly among these two categories.
This is because in some processors, a register may be user-visible and in some, the same may not
be user-visible.

User-Visible Registers
These registers are visible to the assembly or machine language programmers and they use them
effectively to minimize the memory references in the instructions. Well, these registers can only
be referenced using the machine or assembly language.

The registers that fall in this category are discussed below:​

1. General Purpose Register

The general-purpose registers detain both the addresses or the data. Although we have
separate data registers and address registers. The general purpose register also accepts
the intermediate results in the course of program execution.

Well, the programmers can restrict some of the general-purpose registers to specific functions.
Like, some registers are specifically used for stack operations or for floating-point operations. The
general-purpose register can also be employed for the addressing functions.​

2. Data Register
The term itself describes that these registers are employed to hold the data. But the
programmers can’t use these registers for calculating operand address.​
3. Address Register
Now, the address registers contain the address of an operand or it can also act as
a general-purpose register. An address register may be dedicated to a certain addressing mode.
Let us understand this with the examples.

(a) Segment Pointer Register​

A memory divided in segments, requires a segment register to hold the base address of the
segment. There can be multiple segment registers. As one segment register can be employed to
hold the base address of the segment occupied by the operating system. The other segment register
can hold the base address of the segment allotted to the processor.

(b) Index Register​

The index register is employed for indexed addressing and it is initial value is 0. Generally, it used
for traversing the memory locations. After each reference, the index register is incremented or
decremented by 1, depending upon the nature of the operation.​
Sometime the index register may be auto indexed.

(c) Stack Pointer Register​

The stack register has the address that points the stack top.​

4. Condition Code

Condition codes are the flag bits which are the part of the control register. The condition codes are
set by the processor as a result of an operation and they are implicitly read through the machine
instruction.

The programmers are not allowed to alter the conditional codes. Generally, the condition codes are
tested during conditional branch operation.​

Control and Status Registers

The control and status register holds the address or data that is important to control the
processor’s operation. The most important thing is that these registers are not visible to the
users. Below we will discuss all the control and status registers are essential for the execution of
an instruction.

1. Program Counter
The program counter is a processor register that holds the address of the instruction that has to
be executed next. It is a processor which updates the program counter with the address of the next
instruction to be fetched for execution.​

2. Instruction Register
Instruction register has the instruction that is currently fetched. It helps in analysing the opcode
and operand present in the instruction.​

3. Memory Address Register (MAR)

Memory address register holds the address of a memory location.​

4. Memory Buffer Register (MBR)

The memory buffer register holds the data that has to be written to a memory location or it holds
the data that is recently been read.

The memory address registers (MAR) and memory buffer registers (MBR) are used to move the
data between processor and memory.

Register Organization
Register organization is the arrangement of the registers in the processor. The processor
designers decide the organization of the registers in a processor. Different processors may have
different register organization. Depending on the roles played by the registers they can be
categorized into two types, user-visible register and control and status register.

Various CPU Registers

 o​ Fetch: The fetch operation is utilized for taking the directions by the client. The instructions that are stored away
into the main memory for later processing are fetched by registers.
o​ Decode: This operation is utilized for deciphering the instructions implies the instructions are decoded the CPU
will discover which operation is to be performed on the instructions.
o​ Execute: The CPU performs this operation. Also, results delivered by the CPU are then stored in the memory,
and after that, they are shown on the client Screen.

Types of Register in Computer Organization

Here are the following types of registers in computer organization, such as:

S.NO NAME SYMBOL FUNCTIONING

1 Accumulator AC An accumulator is the most often utilized register, and it is used to

store information taken from memory.

2 Memory MAR Address location of memory is stored in this register to be

address accessed later. It is called by both MAR and MDR together
registers

3 Memory data MDR All the information that is supposed to be written or the
registers information that is supposed to be read from a certain memory
address is stored here

4 General-purpo GPR Consist of a series of registers generally starting from R0 and

se register running till Rn - 1. These registers tend to store any form of
temporary data that is sent to a register during any undertaking
process.​
More GPR enables the register to register addressing, which
increases processing speed.

5 Program PC These registers are utilized in keeping the record of a program

counter that is being executed or under execution. These registers consist
of the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched.​
PC points to the address of the next instruction to be fetched
from the main memory when the previous instruction has been
completed successfully. Program Counter (PC) also functions to
count the number of instructions.​
The incrementation of PC depends on the type of architecture
 being used. If we use a 32-bit architecture, the PC gets
incremented by 4 every time to fetch the next instruction.

6 Instructions IR Instruction registers hold the information about to be executed.

registers The immediate instructions received from the system are fetched
and stored in these registers.​
Once the instructions are stored in registers, the processor starts
executing the set instructions, and the PC will point to the next
instructions to be executed

7 Condition code These have different flags that depict the status of operations.
registers These registers set the flags accordingly if the result of operation
caused zero or negative

8 Temporary TR Holds temporary data

registers

9 Input registers INPR Carries input character

10 Output OUTR Carries output character

registers

11 Index registers BX We use this register to store values and numbers included in the
address information and transform them into effective addresses.
These are also called base registers.​
These are used to change operand address at the time of
execution, also stated as BX

12 Memory buffer MBR MBR - Memory buffer registers are used to store data content or
register memory commands used to write on the disk. The basic
functionality of these is to save called data from memory.​
MBR is very similar to MDR

13 Stack control SCR Stack is a set of location memory where data is stored and
registers retrieved in a certain order. Also called last in first out ( LIFO ), we
can only retrieve a stack at the second position only after
retrieving out the first one, and stack control registers are mainly
used to manage the stacks in the computer.​
SP - BP is stack control registers. Also, we can use DI, SI, SP, and
BP as 2 byte or 4-byte registers.​
EDI, ESI, ESP, and EBP are 4 - byte registers

14 Flag register FR Flag registers are used to indicate a particular condition. The size
of the registered flag is 1 - 2 bytes, and each registered flag is
furthermore compounded into 8 bits. Each registered flag defines
a condition or a flag.​
The data that is stored is split into 8 separate bits.​
Basic flag registers -​
Zero flags​
Carry flag​
Parity flag​
Sign flag​
Overflow flag.

15 Segment SR Hold address for memory

register

16 Data register DX Hold memory operand

 Register Transfer
The term Register Transfer refers to the availability of hardware logic circuits that can perform a given micro-operation
and transfer the result of the operation to the same or another register.

Most of the standard notations used for specifying operations on various registers are stated below.

o​ The memory address register is designated by MAR.

o​ Program Counter PC holds the next instruction's address.
o​ Instruction Register IR holds the instruction being executed.
o​ R1 (Processor Register).
o​ We can also indicate individual bits by placing them in parenthesis. For instance, PC (8-15), R2 (5), etc.
o​ Data Transfer from one register to another register is represented in symbolic form by means of replacement
operator. For instance, the following statement denotes a transfer of the data of register R1 into register R2.

1.​ R2 ← R1
o​ Typically, most of the users want the transfer to occur only in a predetermined control condition. This can be
shown by following if-then statement:​
If (P=1) then (R2 ← R1); Here P is a control signal generated in the control section.
o​ It is more convenient to specify a control function (P) by separating the control variables from the register
transfer operation. For instance, the following statement defines the data transfer operation under a specific
control function (P).

1.​ P: R2 ← R1
The following image shows the block diagram that depicts the transfer of data from R1 to R2.

Here, the letter 'n' indicates the number of bits for the register. The 'n' outputs of the register R1 are connected to the 'n'
inputs of register R2.

A load input is activated by the control variable 'P' which is transferred to the register R2.

Bus and Memory Transfers

A digital system composed of many registers, and paths must be provided to transfer information from one register to
another. The number of wires connecting all of the registers will be excessive if separate lines are used between each
register and all other registers in the system.
A bus structure, on the other hand, is more efficient for transferring information between registers in a multi-register
configuration system.

A bus consists of a set of common lines, one for each bit of register, through which binary information is transferred one
at a time. Control signals determine which register is selected by the bus during a particular register transfer.

The following block diagram shows a Bus system for four registers. It is constructed with the help of four 4 * 1
Multiplexers each having four data inputs (0 through 3) and two selection inputs (S1 and S2).

We have used labels to make it more convenient for you to understand the input-output configuration of a Bus system
for four registers. For instance, output 1 of register A is connected to input 0 of MUX1.

The two selection lines S1 and S2 are connected to the selection inputs of all four multiplexers. The selection lines choose
the four bits of one register and transfer them into the four-line common bus.

When both of the select lines are at low logic, i.e. S1S0 = 00, the 0 data inputs of all four multiplexers are selected and
applied to the outputs that forms the bus. This, in turn, causes the bus lines to receive the content of register A since the
outputs of this register are connected to the 0 data inputs of the multiplexers.

Similarly, when S1S0 = 01, register B is selected, and the bus lines will receive the content provided by register B.
 The following function table shows the register that is selected by the bus for each of the four possible binary values of
the Selection lines.

Memory Transfer
Most of the standard notations used for specifying operations on memory transfer are stated below.

o​ The transfer of information from a memory unit to the user end is called a Read operation.
o​ The transfer of new information to be stored in the memory is called a Write operation.
o​ A memory word is designated by the letter M.
o​ We must specify the address of memory word while writing the memory transfer operations.
o​ The address register is designated by AR and the data register by DR.
o​ Thus, a read operation can be stated as:

1.​ Read: DR ← M [AR]

o​ The Read statement causes a transfer of information into the data register (DR) from the memory word (M)
selected by the address register (AR).
o​ And the corresponding write operation can be stated as:

1.​ Write: M [AR] ← R1

o​ The Write statement causes a transfer of information from register R1 into the memory word (M) selected by
address register (AR).

Arithmetic, Logic and Shift micro-operations

Arithmetic Logic Shift Unit