Register Transfer Language

A digital computer system exhibits an interconnection of digital modules such as

registers, decoders, arithmetic elements, and Control logic.

These digital modules are interconnected with some common data and control paths
to form a complete digital system.

Moreover, digital modules are best defined by the registers and the operations that
are performed on the data stored in them.

The operations performed on the data stored in registers are called Micro-
operations.

o The set of registers and the flow of data between them.

o The sequence of micro-operations performed on the data which are stored in
the registers.
o The control paths that initiates the sequence of micro-operation

The Register Transfer Language is the symbolic representation of notations used to

specify the sequence of micro-operations.

In a computer system, data transfer takes place between processor registers and
memory and between processor registers and input-output systems. These data
transfer can be represented by standard notations given below:

o Notations R0, R1, R2..., and so on represent processor registers.

o The addresses of memory locations are represented by names such as LOC,
PLACE, MEM, etc.
o Input-output registers are represented by names such as DATA IN, DATA OUT
and so on.
o The content of register or memory location is denoted by placing square
brackets around the name of the register or memory location.

Register Transfer
The term Register Transfer refers to the availability of hardware logic circuits that can
perform a given micro-operation and transfer the result of the operation to the same
or another register.
Most of the standard notations used for specifying operations on various registers
are stated below.

o The memory address register is designated by MAR.

o Program Counter PC holds the next instruction's address.

o Instruction Register IR holds the instruction being executed.

o R1 (Processor Register).

o We can also indicate individual bits by placing them in parenthesis. For instance, PC (8-15),
R2 (5), etc.

o Data Transfer from one register to another register is represented in symbolic form by
means of replacement operator. For instance, the following statement denotes a transfer of
the data of register R1 into register R2.

1. R2 ← R1

o Typically, most of the users want the transfer to occur only in a predetermined control
condition. This can be shown by following if-then statement:
If (P=1) then (R2 ← R1); Here P is a control signal generated in the control section.

o It is more convenient to specify a control function (P) by separating the control variables
from the register transfer operation. For instance, the following statement defines the data
transfer operation under a specific control function (P).

1. P: R2 ← R1

The following image shows the block diagram that depicts the transfer of data from R1 to R2.

Here, the letter 'n' indicates the number of bits for the register. The 'n' outputs of the register R1 are
connected to the 'n' inputs of register R2.
Bus and Memory Transfers
A digital system composed of many registers, and paths must be provided to transfer
information from one register to another. The number of wires connecting all of the
registers will be excessive if separate lines are used between each register and all
other registers in the system.

A bus structure, on the other hand, is more efficient for transferring information
between registers in a multi-register configuration system.

A bus consists of a set of common lines, one for each bit of register, through which
binary information is transferred one at a time. Control signals determine which
register is selected by the bus during a particular register transfer.

The following block diagram shows a Bus system for four registers. It is constructed
with the help of four 4 * 1 Multiplexers each having four data inputs (0 through 3)
and two selection inputs (S1 and S2).

We have used labels to make it more convenient for you to understand the input-output
configuration of a Bus system for four registers. For instance, output 1 of register A is connected to
input 0 of MUX1.
The two selection lines S1 and S2 are connected to the selection inputs of all four multiplexers. The
selection lines choose the four bits of one register and transfer them into the four-line common bus.

When both of the select lines are at low logic, i.e. S1S0 = 00, the 0 data inputs of all four multiplexers
are selected and applied to the outputs that forms the bus. This, in turn, causes the bus lines to
receive the content of register A since the outputs of this register are connected to the 0 data inputs
of the multiplexers.

Similarly, when S1S0 = 01, register B is selected, and the bus lines will receive the content provided
by register B.

The following function table shows the register that is selected by the bus for each of the four
possible binary values of the Selection lines.
Note: The number of multiplexers needed to construct the bus is equal to the number of bits in each
register. The size of each multiplexer must be 'k * 1' since it multiplexes 'k' data lines. For instance, a
common bus for eight registers of 16 bits each requires 16 multiplexers, one for each line in the bus.
Each multiplexer must have eight data input lines and three selection lines to multiplex one
significant bit in the eight registers.

A bus system can also be constructed using three-state gates instead of multiplexers.

The three state gates can be considered as a digital circuit that has three gates, two
of which are signals equivalent to logic 1 and 0 as in a conventional gate. However,
the third gate exhibits a high-impedance state.

The most commonly used three state gates in case of the bus system is a buffer
gate.

The graphical symbol of a three-state buffer gate can be represented as:

The following diagram demonstrates the construction of a bus system with three-
state buffers.
 o The outputs generated by the four buffers are connected to form a single bus line.
o Only one buffer can be in active state at a given point of time.
o The control inputs to the buffers determine which of the four normal inputs will
communicate with the bus line.
o A 2 * 4 decoder ensures that no more than one control input is active at any given
point of time.

Memory Transfer
Most of the standard notations used for specifying operations on memory transfer
are stated below.

o The transfer of information from a memory unit to the user end is called
a Read operation.
o The transfer of new information to be stored in the memory is called
a Write operation.
o A memory word is designated by the letter M.
 o We must specify the address of memory word while writing the memory transfer
operations.
o The address register is designated by AR and the data register by DR.
o Thus, a read operation can be stated as:

1. Read: DR ← M [AR]
o The Read statement causes a transfer of information into the data register (DR) from
the memory word (M) selected by the address register (AR).
o And the corresponding write operation can be stated as:

1. Write: M [AR] ← R1
o The Write statement causes a transfer of information from register R1 into the
memory word (M) selected by address register (AR).

Arithmetic Micro-operations

In general, the Arithmetic Micro-operations deals with the operations performed on numeric data
stored in the registers.

The basic Arithmetic Micro-operations are classified in the following categories:

1. Addition

2. Subtraction

3. Increment

4. Decrement

5. Shift

Some additional Arithmetic Micro-operations are classified as:

1. Add with carry

2. Subtract with borrow

3. Transfer/Load, etc.
The following table shows the symbolic representation of various Arithmetic Micro-operations.

Symbolic Representation Description

R3 ← R1 + R2 The contents of R1 plus R2 are transferred to R3.

R3 ← R1 - R2 The contents of R1 minus R2 are transferred to R3.

R2 ← R2' Complement the contents of R2 (1's complement)

R2 ← R2' + 1 2's complement the contents of R2 (negate)

R3 ← R1 + R2' + 1 R1 plus the 2's complement of R2 (subtraction)

R1 ← R1 + 1 Increment the contents of R1 by one

R1 ← R1 - 1 Decrement the contents of R1 by one

Binary Adder
The Add micro-operation requires registers that can hold the data and the digital
components that can perform the arithmetic addition.

A Binary Adder is a digital circuit that performs the arithmetic sum of two binary
numbers provided with any length.

A Binary Adder is constructed using full-adder circuits connected in series, with the
output carry from one full-adder connected to the input carry of the next full-adder.

The following block diagram shows the interconnections of four full-adder circuits to
provide a 4-bit binary adder.
 o The augend bits (A) and the addend bits (B) are designated by subscript
numbers from right to left, with subscript '0' denoting the low-order bit.
o The carry inputs starts from C0 to C3 connected in a chain through the full-
adders. C4 is the resultant output carry generated by the last full-adder circuit.
o The output carry from each full-adder is connected to the input carry of the
next-high-order full-adder.
o The sum outputs (S0 to S3) generates the required arithmetic sum of augend
and addend bits.
o The n data bits for the A and B inputs come from different source registers.
For instance, data bits for A input comes from source register R1 and data bits
for B input comes from source register R2.
o The arithmetic sum of the data inputs of A and B can be transferred to a third
register or to one of the source registers (R1 or R2).

Binary Adder-Subtractor
The Subtraction micro-operation can be done easily by taking the 2's compliment of
addend bits and adding it to the augend bits.

The Arithmetic micro-operations like addition and subtraction can be combined into one common
circuit by including an exclusive-OR gate with each full adder.

The block diagram for a 4-bit adder-subtractor circuit can be represented as:
 o When the mode input (M) is at a low logic, i.e. '0', the circuit act as an adder and when the
mode input is at a high logic, i.e. '1', the circuit act as a subtractor.

o The exclusive-OR gate connected in series receives input M and one of the inputs B.

o When M is at a low logic, we have B⊕ 0 = B.

The full-adders receive the value of B, the input carry is 0, and the circuit performs A plus B.

o When M is at a high logic, we have B⊕ 1 = B' and C0 = 1.

The B inputs are complemented, and a 1 is added through the input carry. The circuit
performs the operation A plus the 2's complement of B.

Binary Incrementer
The increment micro-operation adds one binary value to the value of binary variables
stored in a register. For instance, a 4-bit register has a binary value 0110, when
incremented by one the value becomes 0111.

The increment micro-operation is best implemented by a 4-bit combinational circuit

incrementer. A 4-bit combinational circuit incrementer can be represented by the
following block diagram.
 o A logic-1 is applied to one of the inputs of least significant half-adder, and the other input is
connected to the least significant bit of the number to be incremented.

o The output carry from one half-adder is connected to one of the inputs of the next-higher-
order half-adder.

o The binary incrementer circuit receives the four bits from A0 through A3, adds one to it, and
generates the incremented output in S0 through S3.

o The output carry C4 will be 1 only after incrementing binary 1111.

Arithmetic Micro-operations in Registers

We can perform arithmetic operations on the numeric data which is stored inside the registers.

Example :

R3 <- R1 + R2

The value in register R1 is added to the value in the register R2 and then the sum is transferred into
register R3. Similarly, other arithmetic micro-operations are performed on the registers.

 Addition –
In addition micro-operation, the value in register R1 is added to the value in the register R2
and then the sum is transferred into register R3.

 Subtraction –
In subtraction micro-operation, the contents of register R2 are subtracted from contents of
the register R1, and then the result is transferred into R3.
There is another way of doing the subtraction. In this, 2’s complement of R2 is added to R1, which is
equivalent to R1 – R2, and then the result is transferred into register R3.

 Increment –
In Increment micro-operation, the value inside the R1 register is increased by 1.

 Decrement –
In Decrement micro-operation, the value inside the R1 register is decreased by 1.

 1’s Complement –
In this micro-operation, the complement of the value inside the register R1 is taken.

 2’s Complement –
In this micro-operation, the complement of the value inside the register R2 is taken and then
1 is added to the value and then the final result is transferred into the register R2. This
process is also called Negation. It is equivalent to -R2.
Arithmetic micro-operations are the basic building blocks of arithmetic operations performed by a
computer’s central processing unit (CPU). These micro-operations are executed on the data stored in
registers, which are small, high-speed storage units within the CPU.

There are several types of arithmetic micro-operations that can be performed on register data,
including:

1. Addition: This micro-operation adds two values together and stores the result in a register.

2. Subtraction: This micro-operation subtracts one value from another and stores the result in
a register.

3. Increment: This micro-operation adds 1 to the value in a register.

4. Decrement: This micro-operation subtracts 1 from the value in a register.

5. Multiplication: This micro-operation multiplies two values together and stores the result in a
register.

6. Division: This micro-operation divides one value by another and stores the quotient and
remainder in separate registers.

7. Shift: This micro-operation shifts the bits in a register to the left or right, depending on the
direction specified.

These arithmetic micro-operations are used in combination with logical micro-operations, such as
AND, OR, and NOT, to perform more complex calculations and manipulate data within the CPU.

Arithmetic Logic Shift Unit in Computer Architecture

Arithmetic Logic Shift Unit (ALSU) is a member of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) in a computer
system. It is a digital circuit that performs logical, arithmetic, and shift operations. Rather than
having individual registers calculating the micro operations directly, the computer deploys a number
of storage registers which is connected to a common operational unit known as an arithmetic logic
unit or ALU.

Now, to implement the micro operation, the contents of specified registers are allocated in the
inputs of the common Arithmetic Logic Unit. The Arithmetic Logic Unit performs an operation that
leads as a result and gets transferred to a destination register. Arithmetic Logic Unit may be a
combinatory circuit in order that the complete register transfer operation from the supply registers
through the ALU and into the destination register is performed throughout one clock pulse amount.
Sometimes, the shift micro operations are performed in a separate unit, but sometimes it is made as
a part of full ALU.
One stage of ALSU

We can combine and make one ALU with common selection variables by adding arithmetic, logic,
and shift circuits. We can see the, One stage of an arithmetic logic shift unit in the diagram below.
Some particular micro operations are selected through the inputs S1 and S0.

4 x 1 multiplexer at the output chooses between associate arithmetic output between Ei and a logic
output in Hi. The data in the multiplexer are selected through inputs S3 and S2 and the other two
data inputs to the multiplexer obtain the inputs Ai – 1 for the shr operation and Ai + 1 for
the shl operation.

Note: The output carry Ci + 1 of a specified arithmetic stage must be attached to the input carry Ci of
the next stage in the sequence.

The circuit whose one stage is given in the below diagram provides 8 arithmetic operations, 4 logic
operations, and 2 shift operations, and Each operation is selected by the 5 variables S3, S2, S1, S0,
and Cin.

The below table shows the 14 operations perform by the Arithmetic Logic Unit:

1. The first 8 are arithmetic operations which are selected by S3 S2 = 00

2. The next 4 are logic operations which are selected by S3 S2 = 01

 3. The last two are shift operations which are selected by S3 S2 = 10 & 11

Function table of ALSU

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