Central Dvice of a multi chip Micro Computer System
Two basic architectures:
”von Neumann”-Architecture
Shared memory space between code and data
Shared memory busses between code and data
Example:Intel’s x86 Pentiun Processor family
“Harvard”-Architecture:
Two independent memory spaces for code and data
Two memory bus systems for code and data
A μP needs additional external devices to operate properly
Microprocessor block diagram
Microprocesser exectution flow
CPU of a microprocessor
CPU=Central Processing Unit
Consists of:
few internal memory cells (“Register“)for operands
calculation unit:”Arithmetic Logic Unit”(ALU)
instruction register(IR) and instruction decoder
address unit
Address unit:
- read data and instruction from memory
- write data into memory
Instruction:
- analyses current instruction and controls subsequent actions of other modules
Register:
- store data for instantaneous instruction and computation
Note:today’s microprocessors have a much finer granularity and sometimes parallel units.However,the basics are still the very same.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit of a microprocessor)
calculates arithmetical and / or logical function:
At least:
- arithmetical: Addition(ADD)
- logical: Negation(NEG) Conjunction(AND)