Computer Eduation
Differenct parts of processor
Q 4: What is a CPU or a processor? Write in detail the different parts of a processor.
The Central Processing Unit/Processor:
A CPU is also called the processor and it is the main component of the computer. CPU is the brain of the computer and provides ability to computer for executing any given instruction and also tells the computer how to control the flow of instructions. In a computer system, all major calculations and comparisons are made inside the CPU and the CPU is also responsible for activating and controlling the operations of other units of a computer system. The quality of CPU inside a computer determines the quality of the computer.
Basic Parts of a processor:
A CPU has the following main parts:
ALU (Arithmetic and Logical unit):
This unit of the CPU is capable of performing arithmetic and logical operations. This unit of the CPU gets data from the computer memory and perform arithmetic and logical operations on it.
The arithmetic unit of ALU performs arithmetic operations like addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. The Logical unit of ALU performs logical operations such as comparison of two numbers. It tells us which number is greater and which is smaller. The common comparisons such as less than, equal to, or greater than are performed by the logical unit.
Memory Unit:
A processor has its own memory inside it in the shape of small cells. Each memory cell is called a “Register”. Registers are used to carry data temporarily for performing operations. There are total 13 registers in a processor. ALU gets data from registers and stores it in registers to perform arithmetic and logical operations. And data comes in registers from main memory of the computer.
Control Unit:
This unit of the processor controls all the activities of the processor and also controls the input and output devices of the computer. It acts just like a police inspector who controls the traffic on a road. The control unit controls the whole traffic of the computer. It tells the input device that it is now his turn to feed data in the computer and show result of data after execution on the output units. This unit also controls the flow of instructions, which are given to a computer. It obtains instructions from the program stored in main memory, interprets (translation of instructions into computer language) the instructions, and issues signals that cause other units of the computer to execute them.
