Computer

Hardware

architecture
(Instruction set for a CPU & Embedded Systems)
Instructions set for a CPU
● Instructions are a set of operations which are decoded in a sequence.
● Each operation will instruct the ALU and Cu (which are part of the CPU).
● Instruction sets and programming codes are different.
● The instruction sets are a low level language instructions that instructs the CPU how
to carry out an operation.
● On the other hand a program code needs interpreters to convert the code into the
instruction set understood by the computer.
● Examples of an instruction set operation are ADD, JMP, and LDA.
● An operation is made up of an opcode and an operand.
Opcode
● An opcode (short for "operation code") is a fundamental component of computer
instruction sets.
● It represents a specific operation that the CPU can execute, such as arithmetic operations
(e.g., addition, subtraction), and logical operations (e.g., AND, OR).
● Overall the opcode informs the CPU what operations to be done.
● An instruction set is the limited number of opcodes that can be used.
● These sets of instructions are then converted to binary form.
● The Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle is the sequence of steps used by the CPU to process
each instruction in sequence.
● An example of an instruction set is the X86, a common CPU standard used in many
modern computers.
Operand
● An operand is a term used in computer science, particularly in the context of
programming and computing operations.
● It refers to a data value or variable on which an operation is performed by an
operator.
● In simpler terms, when you have an operation like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, or division, the values or variables involved in those operations
are the operands.

For example:

● In the expression 3+4, both 3 and 4 are operands, and + is the operator.
● In The expression 2*y, both 2 and y are operands and * is the operator.
Embedded Systems
● An embedded system is a combination of hardware and software which is
designed to carry out a specific set of functions.
● The systems can be programmable or have a fixed functionality.
● The hardware is electro-mechanical.
● While embedded systems are computing systems, they can range from
having no user interface (UI) for example, on devices designed to perform a
single task -- to complex graphical user interfaces (GUIs), such as in mobile
devices.
● When installed in a device, either an operator can input data manually.
● Depending on the device, embedded systems are either programmable or
non-programmable.
Embedded systems can be based on:

● Microcontrollers: this has a CPU in addition to some RAM and ROM and
other peripherals all embedded onto one single chip(together they carry
out a specific task)
● Microprocessor: integrated circuit which only has a CPU on the chip
(there is no RAM , ROM or peripherals - these need to be added)
● Systems on chips(SoC) - this may contain a microcontroller as one of its
components (they almost always will include CPU, memory input/output
(1/0) ports and secondary storage on simple on a single microchip.)