Muhammad Anas Khan Jamati's video: CS101 - Introduction to Computing Lecture 07

Today we want to learn about the microprocessor, the key component, the brain, of a computer We’ll learn about the function of a microprocessor And its various sub-systems –Bus interface unit –Data & instruction cache memory –Instruction decoder –Arithmetic-Logic unit –Floating-point unit –Control unit A microprocessor (abbreviated as µP or uP) is a computer processor on a microchip. It's sometimes called a logic chip. A microprocessor is designed to perform arithmetic and logic operations that make use of small number-holding areas called registers. Typical microprocessor operations include adding, subtracting, comparing two numbers, and fetching numbers from one area to another. These operations are the result of a set of instructions that are part of the microprocessor design. When the computer is turned on, the microprocessor is designed to get the first instruction from the basic input/output system (BIOS) that comes with the computer as part of its memory. After that, either the BIOS, or the operating system that BIOS loads into computer memory, or an application program is "driving" the microprocessor, giving it instructions to perform. The number of transistors available has a huge effect on the performance of a processor. As seen earlier, a typical instruction in a processor like an 8088 took 15 clock cycles to execute. Because of the design of the multiplier, it took approximately 80 cycles just to do one 16-bit multiplication on the 8088. With more transistors, much more powerful multipliers capable of single-cycle speeds become possible. A microprocessor is made from miniaturized transistors and other circuit elements on a single semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) . These are made up oof semiconductor and silicon. tegrated circuit Commonly known as an IC or a chip A tiny piece of Silicon that has several electronic parts on it Most of the size of an IC comes form the pins and packaging; the actual Silicon occupies a very small piece of the volume The smallest components on an IC are much smaller than the thickness of a human hair those components are Devices Transistors Diodes Resistors Capacitors Wires And are made of the following materials Silicon - semiconductor Copper - conductor Silicon Dioxide - insulator A Microprocessor System Microprocessors are powerful pieces of hardware, but not much useful on their own Just as the human brain needs hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth to be useful; so does the microprocessor A microprocessor system is microprocessor plus all the components it requires to do a certain task A microcomputer is 1 example of a microprocessor system