INFT13-339

16-bit Intel Assembler

Administrative Details
History of microprocessors
Microprocessor evolution
 The application of information technology is
driven by the price-performance capability of
microprocessors.
 A microprocessor (µP) is a single integrated
component which implements all the
functions of a Central Processing Unit on a
single logic device—the silicon chip.
Microcomputers
 A microcomputer is a complete computer
system whose CPU is a microprocessor.
 The number of individual logic components
on a single chip has increased exponentially,
doubling every two years, over the last
decade and a half.
History of chip fabrication
 1964 Small-Scale Integration: 1­10
transistors/chip
 1968 Medium-Scale Integration: <100
transistors/chip
 1971 Large-Scale Integration using MOS (Metal-
Oxide on Silicon)
100­20,000 transistors/chip
 1980 Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI)
>50,000 transistors/chip
µP Architecture Overview
Microcomputer components
µP
Control
Unit

Input Output

ALU

Bus

Memory
Microcomputer components
 5 fundamental components:
1. Arithmetic-Logical Unit (ALU) for data
manipulation.
2. Control Unit to control and synchronize
operations and data flow within the ALU and
along the buses.
3. Memory to hold program instructions & data.
4. Input Module to transmit data from the
external world.
5. Output Module: send data to external world.
Buses
 A bus is a high-speed path for the
transmission of data and control information.
 A bus consists of a set of lines each capable
of transmitting a single, bi-state signal.
 There are three main types of bus:
• Data
• Address
• Control
Buses
Data Bus

Memory Microprocessor Input/output

Control Bus

Address Bus
Data Bus
A data bus
transmits data in
byte multiples
between ALU,
Input-Output and
Memory.
Address Bus
Address Bus carries
an address value to
select a memory
location or register
(usually consists of
between 16 and 32
lines) to address
between 65,536 (64K)
and 4,294,967,296
bytes of memory.
Control Bus
 Control Bus carries
control and status
signals to and from
the µP.
 At least 10 lines are
required for the
simplest µP.
 Typically between 25
and 50 control lines.
Memory: registers
 Memory exists in a number of forms:
 Internal registers to provide a small number
of very high speed data storage units within
the ALU.
 Typical access speeds are 100 nanoseconds
or better.
Memory: primary (RAM)
 Main Memory external to the µP chip holds
the bulk of the immediately accessible
program and data.
 Access time is from a few µs to several tens
of nanoseconds.
 Data flows between memory and the ALU
along the Data and Address buses.
Main Memory
 RAM Random Access Memory—Read/Write
memory, contents lost on power down, i.e.
volatile.
ROM
 ROM Read Only Memory—contents read-
only and not lost on power down, i.e. non-
volatile.
 PROM Programmable ROM— the
contents can be burned-in by the user using
special ROM burners which employ high
voltages.
Static RAM
 Stores a bit of information
within a flip-flop.
 Its contents are held as
long as power is available.
 The density of packing flip-
flops is relatively low,
leading to capacities of
about 256K bits per chip.
Speed of access is also
lower.
Dynamic RAM
 The great disadvantage is the the charge
lasts for only a few milliseconds and will be
lost unless continually refreshed.
 This consists of reading out the memory
contents and then writing it back. Thus extra
logic is required and the memory is
unavailable for 1%­5% of the time.
Register categories
 Instruction Register
holds the current instruction value.
 Data Registers
hold data operands and results. These are
typically 8, 16 or 32 bits in length.
 Address Registers
hold primary memory address values. These are
typically 16 or 32 bits in length.
Flags register
 This is a special 16-bit register which holds
processor flags; these indicate the status of
the CPU after recent operations
 9 bits are used; 7 undefined:
overflow zero
auxiliary carry parity
carry direction
interrupt trap
sign