CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter presented a simple architecture, MARIE, as a means to understand the basic fetch–decode–execute cycle and how computers actually operate. This simple architecture was combined with an ISA and an assembly language, with emphasis given to the relationship between these two, allowing us to write programs for MARIE.
The CPU is the principal component in any computer. It consists of a datapath (registers and an ALU connected by a bus) and a control unit that are responsible for sequencing the operations and data movement and creating the timing signals. All components use these timing signals to work in unison. The I/O subsystem accommodates getting data into the computer and back out to the user.
MARIE is a very simple ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access