Chapter III

Architecture of a Numeric Machine

By Eng. Ibrahim Jomaa
A Numeric Machine, or a Computer, executes orders, or
commands, given by a human and written in binary
form. These commands in general process Information
given by a human. The Information is read by the
Machine through an Input Unit. The information is then
stored in a Memory Unit before it is processed by a
Processing Unit. The result of the process is then placed
in the Memory Unit before being sent out of the
machine through an Output Unit. The Units are
connected together through networks of wires called:
Buses. Some Units can be used as Input and Output
Units at the same time.
An Input Unit allows the machine to read an
information from its outside via an Input Device.
The Input Device is connected to the internal buses of
the machine through an Input Interface, which is an
electronic circuit that allows the adaptation of the Input
Device to the internal circuitry of the machine and later
to exchange the information. The Keyboard and the
Mouse are the most commonly used Input Devices.

Input
Input Input
Device Interface
An Output Unit allows the machine to write an
information to its outside via an Output Device.
The Output Device is connected to the internal buses of
the machine through an Output Interface, which is an
electronic circuit that allows the adaptation of the
Output Device to the internal circuitry of the machine
and later to exchange the information. The most
commonly used Output Device is the Screen.

Output
Output Output
Device Interface
An Input/Output Unit allows the machine to read and
write an information from and to its outside via an
Input/Output Device.
The Input/Output Device is connected to the internal
buses of the machine through an Input/Output
Interface. The most commonly used Input/Output
Devices are the Modem (used for network traffic such as
internet) and the Touch Screen.

Input / In / Out Input /

Output Output
Device Interface
A memory in a numeric machine is a sequence of bytes,
generally a power of 2, intended to store the commands
to be executed, the information to process, and the
temporary and final results of the execution of the
process. Since bytes are arranged in a sequence, each
byte is located at a fixed location or position called
Address. A byte has an Address, the location or position
in memory, and a Content, the value stored inside that
Address.
L b b b b b b b b
L+1 b b b b b b b b
L+2 b b b b b b b b
... b b b b b b b b
The Memory Unit, or Main Memory, is composed of two
types of memories: ROM and RAM.
ROM: (Read Only Memory)
Is a permanent or non-volatile memory, i.e., its content cannot
be modified after the manufacture of the memory device. ROM
is useful for storing software that is rarely changed during the
lifetime of the system, also known as firmware or ROM BIOS.
It can usually store 4 to 8 MB of data.
RAM: (Random Access Memory)
It a volatile memory, i.e., it looses its content whenever the
power is cut. It allows data to be read from or written into in
almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical
location of the data inside the memory. It is typically used to
store the orders to be executed, or commands, and their data.
It can usually store several GB of data.
Due to the difference in memory capacities, the RAM is
commonly called Main Memory.
The BIOS firmware comes pre-installed on a computer's
system board. It may contain only elementary basic
functions of the device and may only provide runtime
services to higher-level software such as operating
systems and programs. It is the first software to run
when the machine is powered on. It performs hardware
initialization during the booting process (power-on
startup), i.e., it initializes and tests the system hardware
components, and loads a boot loader from a mass
memory device which then initializes an operating
system.
The Central Processing Unit (CPU), also called
processor, is the brain of the machine and is responsible
of controlling and managing all its physical components
to execute a command, or a sequence of commands
called program, by the means of units built inside its
circuitry.
The Control Unit (CU)
It manages the operation of the processor by ordering all
other physical components how to respond to the
instructions that have been sent to the processor.
The management is done by providing timing and control
signals and by controlling the flow of data between the
CPU and the other devices.
The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
As its name indicates, it is responsible of performing all
the arithmetic -addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division- and logic –comparison- operations inside the
machine.
Its inputs are stored in memory bytes or internal CPU
registers. The output, result of the operation, is ALWAYS
stored in a special CPU register called Accumulator, or
simply, register A.
CPU Registers
Processor registers consist of fast accessible storage
locations inside the CPU. They provide the fastest way to
access data.
 CPU
Control
In addition to the Accumulator Unit
register, we distinguish the following
special registers:
Arithmetic
- PC (Program Counter) and Logic
Unit
It is used by the CU, it contains the
address of the next instruction to be
executed. At the end of execution, it Registers
contains the address of the last A
executed instruction. F
- IR (Instruction Register) PC
It contains the instruction being IR
executed or decoded. B, C, D, H,
L, …
An instruction is a particular combination of bits known
as machine language opcode (operation code). An
instruction may involve transferring data from memory
to registers or vice versa, or even performing arithmetic
or logic operations between memory areas and/or
registers, or even deviating the execution of a program
by changing the value of the PC register.
The instruction set that a CPU can perform is hardwired
inside its circuitry by the manufacturer of this CPU. The
instruction set may differ from one CPU to another.
A program is hence a collection of machine language
instructions that the CPU executes.
The CPU can only execute instructions. The execution
cycle of an instruction is:
Fetch
Load into the IR register, the instruction
located at the address indicated by the PC Fetch
Register.
Increment
Increment the value of the PC register to Execute Increment
contain the address of the next
instruction.
Decode Decode
Decode the value of the IR register.
Execute
Directs the involved physical components
to fulfill the execution of the instruction.
Buses are electronic wires that interconnect ALL the
physical components in a computer. The buses are
controlled by the Control Unit inside the CPU. We
distinguish three buses:
The Control bus
Carries the command from the CPU to the involved
component and returns back the answer, if necessary.
The Address bus
Holds the address of the physical component with which
the CPU is communicating.
The Data bus
Holds the actual data being processed.
 Memory CPU

ROM Control
Unit
RAM

Arithmetic
and Logic
Input Unit
Input Input
Device Interface

Buses
Registers
Output A
Output Output
F
Device Interface
PC
IR
Input / In / Out Input /
B, C, D, H,
Output Output L, …
Device Interface
END