Midterms > Computer Architecture > Flashcards

Computer Architecture Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a computer?

A

A device that represents real-world information and performs computations.

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2
Q

How are hex numbers written?

A

Prefixed with 0x (e.g.; 0x1A).

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3
Q

What are examples of natural numbers?

A

0; 1; 2; 3; … Any full number that isn’t negative

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4
Q

What are integers?

A

Natural numbers plus negative numbers.

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5
Q

What are rational numbers?

A

Numbers that can be written as a fraction of two integers

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6
Q

What is fixed-point representation?

A

Numbers with a fixed number of digits before and after the decimal point (e.g.; 4.56).

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7
Q

What is a 1D array?

A

A sequence of values (vector).

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8
Q

What is a 2D array?

A

A collection of rows and columns (matrix).

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9
Q

How is text represented in computers?

A

By assigning numbers to characters.

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10
Q

What is a bit?

A

The smallest unit of data; either 0 or 1.

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11
Q

What is RAM (Random-Access Memory)?

A

Memory that allows reading (load) and writing (store) data at specific addresses.

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12
Q

What does computation theory say about machine simulation?

A

A machine can simulate any other machine if it can: 1. Perform arithmetic; 2. Make decisions and jumps; 3. Load/store from RAM

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13
Q

What are the three main components of high-level computer architecture?

A
  1. CPU (executes programs); 2. RAM (stores data); 3. Bus (connects CPU and RAM)
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14
Q

Why are registers important?

A

They temporarily hold data during execution.

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15
Q

How is the ALU structured?

A

As multiple simple machines; each performing a specific operation.

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16
Q

What does the Control Unit do?

A

Fetches and decodes instructions.

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17
Q

What happens during execution of load/store?

A

Data moves between RAM and CPU registers.

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18
Q

What energy problem exists in switching devices?

A

Output always has slightly less energy than input.

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19
Q

Which gate combinations are universal?

A

AND + NOT, OR + NOT, NAND alone, and NOR alone

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20
Q

Who unified logic and arithmetic?

A

George Boole.

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21
Q

What is the general process for simplifying circuits?

A
  1. Convert circuit to Boolean expression
  2. Apply Boolean laws
  3. Convert simplified expression back to circuit
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22
Q

What is a negator?

A

A circuit that flips all bits and adds 1 (Basically taking the inverse)

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23
Q

What is memory in digital systems?

A

Storage of data over time.

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24
Q

Why is feedback often considered problematic?

A

It can create instability or undefined behavior.

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25
What is sequential logic?
Logic that accounts for time and previous states.
26
Why is a clock necessary in sequential logic?
Without a clock; state changes can be unpredictable.
27
What is a sequencer?
A device that triggers other devices at specific times.
28
What is stored at each RAM address?
A group of bits called a word.
29
What does LDN, JRP, NUM do in The Baby?
Loads the negated contents into the accumulator, jumps forward by number stored, place data in a specific RAM address
30
Why are assemblers needed?
Machines only understand binary; assemblers translate assembly into binary.
31
What is an executable?
A file that can be directly executed by the CPU.
32
What are the Baby’s main internal components?
Registers, ALU, Control Unit.
33
What are registers?
Fast; word-length memory inside the CPU.
34
What word length was The Baby?
32-bit.
35
What happens during fetch
The next instruction is copied from RAM into the CPU.
36
What is RTL?
Register Transfer Language — notation describing data movement.
37
What are the key hardware components of a modern device?
CPU; RAM; Disk (storage); GPU; input devices; output devices; networking; and power source.
38
What does the CPU do?
Performs arithmetic; logical operations; control; load/store; and I/O coordination.
39
What is disk/flash storage?
Permanent long-term storage.
40
What enables networking?
WiFi and Bluetooth.
41
What powers mobile devices?
Lithium-ion batteries.
42
What does an LTE modem do?
Communicates over cellular radio networks.
43
What do accelerometers and gyroscopes detect?
Device movement and orientation.
44
What does an ambient light sensor do?
Adjusts screen brightness based on lighting.
45
What does a magnetometer do?
Acts as a digital compass.
46
What are security chips used for?
Secure authentication (e.g.; biometric storage).
47
What is NFC used for?
Short-range communication; often for payments.
48
What is a microprocessor?
A CPU implemented on a single chip with billions of transistors.
49
What does multi-core mean?
A processor containing multiple CPUs on one chip.
50
What is flash memory?
Solid-state long-term storage made from transistors.
51
What is LTE used for?
Long-range cellular networking.
52
What is a subroutine?
A self-contained piece of code that can be called multiple times from a main program (also called a procedure; function; or method).
53
What is the purpose of a return address?
It stores where execution should resume after a subroutine finishes.
54
What register holds the return address initially?
The Program Counter (PC).
55
What is an interrupt?
A signal that causes the CPU to temporarily stop normal execution and jump elsewhere.
56
What are hardware interrupts implemented as?
Physical wires plus instructions that specify where to jump.
57
Give examples of interrupts.
ALU exceptions; OS functions; data delivery; time sharing.
58
Who primarily targets Instruction Set Architecture design today?
Compilers and compiler writers.
59
What is the tradeoff in Instruction Set Architecture design?
Fast hardware implementation vs. clarity/usability.
60
What is an “operations unit”?
Grouping of ALU; logic units; and FPU.
61
Why do CPUs assume branches are taken?
Because most branches come from loops; and loops usually repeat.
62
What is operand forwarding?
Allowing later pipeline stages to access intermediate results early.
63
What is an operand?
the value or data an instruction uses.
64
Why is operand forwarding useful?
Reduces stalls and speeds up execution.
65
What is the downside of operand forwarding?
Adds design complexity and feedback loops.
66
What is an accumulator?
A special register that holds results of calculations.
67
What is accumulator architecture?
A CPU design where one main register (the accumulator) is used for most calculations.
68
What is the main limitation of accumulator architectures?
Data must constantly move in and out of the CPU; which is slow.
69
Why are accumulator architectures simple?
They lead to simple instruction sets.
70
What is the benefit of multiple registers?
Allows more data to stay in the CPU and enables simultaneous execution.
71
What is indirect addressing?
Operand contains the address of another address.
72
What is offset/index addressing?
Accessing memory relative to a base address plus an offset.
73
What is required for offset/index addressing?
An additional register.
74
Who is credited with inventing subroutines?
Maurice Wilkes (1950).
75
What is a stack overflow?
Running out of stack space.
76
What is a stack pointer?
A register that points to the top of the stack.
77
What is redoing work in pipelining?
Execute speculatively and discard results if wrong. Common in branching.
78
What is eager execution?
Execute all branch paths and discard the unused one.
79
What are some branch prediction strategies?
Always taken; programmer hints; dynamic runtime prediction, logging past behavior; probabilities; and hardware neural networks.
80
What is operand forwarding?
Directly routing results to dependent instructions.
81
What is hyperthreading?
Using one physical core to run multiple threads.
82
What is the benefit of hyperthreading?
Better utilization of idle CPU resources.
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