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Introduction
CHAPTER 0
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Contents

 Why study
 Organization and Architecture
 Structural and Functional View
 A Multi-level machine
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Why study?
- Students read part 0.3 “why study computer organization &
architecture”

 Understanding a computer system’s functional components, their

characteristics, their performance, and their interactions.

 Understanding computer architecture in order to make best use of

the software tools and computer languages they use to create
programs.
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Why study?
 Understand the complex trade-offs between CPU clock speed,
cache size, bus organization, number of core processors,…

 What determines the performance of a program, and how can a

programmer improve the performance.

 Understand other areas of computing curriculum such as operating

system, passing parameter/pointers, stack frame in high-level
language,
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Organization and Architecture
- Students read part 1.1 “Organization and Architecture”

Computer organization:

 Deals with all physical components of computer systems that

interacts with each other to perform various functionalities.

 The lower level of computer organization is known as

microarchitecture.

 Examples of Organizational attributes include hardware details

transparent to the programmer such as circuits, pin of chips, control
signal and peripheral.
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Organization and Architecture
- Students read part 1.1 “Organization and Architecture”

Computer architecture:

 Refers as a set of attributes of a system as seen by programmer

 Examples of the Architectural attributes include the instruction set,

the no of bits used to represent the data types, Input Output
mechanism and the techniques for addressing memories.
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Structure and Function
 Structure: The way in which the components are interrelated.

 Function: The operation of each individual component as part of

the structure
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Structural Components
 Central processing unit (CPU) or simply Processor: the "brains" of the
computer controls the operation of the computer and performs its
data processing functions.

 Main memory: storage device that stores data.

 I/O: manages and performs the work associated with reading (or
writing) information that is added to (subtracted or copied from)
portions of the computer's memory, moves data between the
computer and its external environment.

 System interconnection: Some mechanism that provides for

communication among CPU, main memory, and I/O.
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Functional View

Function
Data
Movement  Data processing
Apparatus  Data storage
 Data movement
 Control

Control
Mechanism

Data Data
Storage Processing
Facilities Facilities
Computer Top-level structure

IO
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Computer

System
bus
Main
memory CPU Registers

CPU
Internal
Bus
Control
Unit ALU
Control
Unit

Control
unit
registers
Sequencing and Control
logic decoder Memory
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Computer Abstraction
Problem-oriented
Application language
Compiler

Assembly language

Assembler
Gap
Operating system

Partial intepretation
Instruction Set
Architecture (ISA)
Microprogram

Microarchitecture
Hardware

Physical devices Digital circuits

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Other abstract view

Applications

OS (Windows, linux, Mac

OS)
Software
Compiler

Assembler

Processor Memory I/O System

Hardware Datapath & Control

Digital design

Digital circuits
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Other Abstract View