Book Image

Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

By : Jim Ledin
Book Image

Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

By: Jim Ledin

Overview of this book

Are you a software developer, systems designer, or computer architecture student looking for a methodical introduction to digital device architectures but overwhelmed by their complexity? This book will help you to learn how modern computer systems work, from the lowest level of transistor switching to the macro view of collaborating multiprocessor servers. You'll gain unique insights into the internal behavior of processors that execute the code developed in high-level languages and enable you to design more efficient and scalable software systems. The book will teach you the fundamentals of computer systems including transistors, logic gates, sequential logic, and instruction operations. You will learn details of modern processor architectures and instruction sets including x86, x64, ARM, and RISC-V. You will see how to implement a RISC-V processor in a low-cost FPGA board and how to write a quantum computing program and run it on an actual quantum computer. By the end of this book, you will have a thorough understanding of modern processor and computer architectures and the future directions these architectures are likely to take.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Section 1: Fundamentals of Computer Architecture
8
Section 2: Processor Architectures and Instruction Sets
14
Section 3: Applications of Computer Architecture

Flip-flops

A device that changes its output state only when a clock signal makes a specified transition (either low-to-high or high-to-low) is referred to as an edge-sensitive device. Flip-flops are similar to latches, with the key difference being that the output of a flip-flop changes in response to a signal edge rather than responding to the signal level.

The positive edge-triggered D flip-flop is a popular digital circuit component used in a variety of applications. The D flip-flop typically includes set and reset input signals that perform the same functions as in the SR latch. This flip-flop has a D input that functions just like the D input of the gated D latch. Instead of an enable input, the D flip-flop has a clock input that triggers the transfer of the D input to the Q output and, with inversion, to the Q output on the clock's rising edge. Other than within a very narrow time window surrounding the rising edge of the clock signal, the flip-flop does not respond to...