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In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binary representation of a computer program which is actually read and interpreted by the computer. A program in machine ...
The advantage over a hard-wired CPU is that internal CPU control becomes a specialized form of a computer program. Microcode thus transforms a complex electronic design challenge (the control of a CPU) into a less complex programming challenge. To take advantage of this, a CPU is divided into several parts:
The first documented computer architecture was in the correspondence between Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, describing the analytical engine.While building the computer Z1 in 1936, Konrad Zuse described in two patent applications for his future projects that machine instructions could be stored in the same storage used for data, i.e., the stored-program concept.
In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. [1] A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, such as a central processing unit (CPU), is called an implementation of that ISA.
In computing and computer science, a processor or processing unit is an electrical component (digital circuit) that performs operations on an external data source, usually memory or some other data stream. [1]
The control unit (CU) is a component of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) that directs the operation of the processor. A CU typically uses a binary decoder to convert coded instructions into timing and control signals that direct the operation of the other units (memory, arithmetic logic unit and input and output devices, etc.).
It may have its own internal control sequence unit (not to be confused with a CPU's main control unit), some registers, [2] and other internal units such as an arithmetic logic unit, [3] address generation unit, floating-point unit, load–store unit, branch execution unit [4] or other smaller and more specific components, and can be tailored ...
Example of a high-level systems architecture for a computer. A system architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and views of a system. [1] An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the structures and behaviors of the system.