4.1 INTRODUCTION
Designing a computer nowadays is a job for a computer engineer with significant training. It is impossible to present everything necessary to design and build a working computer such as those we can buy today in an introductory textbook such as this one (and in an introductory course in computer orga-nization and architecture). However, in this chapter, we introduce the reader to computer design by first looking at a very simple computer called MARIE: a Machine Architecture that is Really Intuitive and Easy. We then provide brief overviews of Intel and MIPS machines, two popular architectures reflecting the CISC and RISC design philosophies. The objective of this chapter is to give you an understanding of how a computer functions. ...
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