666 CHAPTER 13 / ALTERNATIVE SYNCHRONOUS FSM ARCHITECTURES
13.6.3 Perspective on System-Level Design in This Text
System-level designs can connote a different meaning to different designers. To some,
system-level design might refer strictly to a combinational system. Or to others, it might
mean the design of a microprocessor or computer. In the sense used in this text, a system-
level design will always imply the presence of a controller unit (CU) and a controlled
system called the data path unit (DPU). The CU will always be an FSM, which must not
be confused with the CPU or central processing unit of a microprocessor or computer.
Commonly, the CPU contains both a CU and a DPU; the DPU (or execution unit, EU)
typically consists of registers, shifters, ...