Microcomputer Systems
Outline:
• Components of microcomputer system
• Executing an instruction
• I/O devices
• Programming languages
Components of a Microcomputer System:
• Memory
• Information processed by the computer is stored in its memory
• The CPU
• In a microcomputer the CPU is a single chip processor known as microprocessor
• I/O Ports
• System board or mother board contains expansion slots which are connectors for additional
circuits boards called add in boards. I/O circuits are usually on these boards
Memory:
• A memory circuit element can store one bit of data
• Organized into groups that can store eight bits of data
• String of eight bits called a byte
• Each memory byte is identified by address
• The first memory byte has address 0
• The data stored in a memory byte called its contents or values
• The address of a memory byte is fixed and different from any other addresses whereas contents are
not fixed
• The contents of memory byte are always eight bits but address depends on the processor. For
example, some assign 20 bits address whereas some assign 24bit address.
• Bit Position
• The positions are numbered from right to left starting with 0
• Low byte comes from memory byte with lower address and high byte comes from memory
byte with higher address
• Operations
• Processor can perform two operations on memory: read(fetch) and write(store)
• In read processor gets a copy of data and the contents of that location is unchanged
whereas in write the data becomes the new content of the location
• RAM and ROM
• Two kinds of memory circuits: RAM(Random Access Memory) and ROM(Read Only Memory)
• RAM locations can be read and write but ROM locations only can be read
• Program instructions and data normally loaded into RAM
• System programs are stored in ROM
• RAM memory lost when the power is off but ROM circuits retain their values when the
power is off
• Buses
• Processor communicates with memory and I/O devices by using signals that travel along a
set of wires called buses
• Three kinds of buses: address bus, data bus and control bus
• Random-Access Memory (RAM)
• DRAM = Dynamic RAM
• 1-Transistor cell + trench capacitor
• Dense but slow, must be refreshed
• Typical choice for main memory
• SRAM: Static RAM
• 6-Transistor cell, faster but less dense than DRAM
• Typical choice for cache memory
• Read-Only-Memory(ROM)
• Many types: ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and FLASH memory can be erased electrically in blocks
• Cache
• A very fast type of RAM that is used to store information that is most frequently or recently
used by the computer
• Recent computers have 2-levels of cache; the first level is faster but smaller in size (usually
called internal cache), and the second level is slower but larger in size (external cache).
• Suppose a processor uses 20 bits for an address. How many memory bytes can be accessed?
• The number of memory bytes will be 220=1,048,576=1 MB
CPU:
• It controls computer by executing programs stored in the memory
• The instructions performed by a CPU is known as instruction set
• Instruction set for each CPU is unique
• 8086 microprocessor has two main components: Execution Unit and Bus Interface Unit
• EU and BIU is connected by an internal bus
• When EU is executing an instruction the BIU fetches up to six bytes of the next instruction and
places them in the instruction ` known as instruction prefetch
• Execution Unit
• Used to execute instructions
• Contains a circuit called Arithmetic and Logic Unit(ALU)
• The data for the operations are stored in circuits called registers
• Eight registers for storing data: AX, BX, CX, DX, SI, DI, BP and SP
• It also contains FLAGS register whose individual bits reflect the result of a computation
• Bus Interface Unit
• Facilitates communication between the EU and the memory or I/O circuits
• Transmits addresses, data and control signals on the buses
• Registers are CS, DS, ES, SS and IP holding address of memory locations
• IP contains the address of the next instruction to be executed by the EU
I/O Ports:
• I/O devices are connected to the computer through I/O circuits
• Each of these circuits contains several registers known as I/O ports
• I/O ports have addresses and connected to the bus system
• These addresses are known as I/O addresses and can only be used in input or output instructions
• Data to be input from an I/O device are sent to a port where they can be read by the CPU
• On output CPU writes data to an I/O port
• Two types of I/O ports: Serial and Parallel
• Serial port
• Transfers one bit at a time
• Used for slower transfer such as keyboard.
• Parallel port
• Transfers 8 or 16 bits at a time
• Requires more wiring connections
• Used for faster data transfer such as disk drives.
I/O Devices:
• Magnetic Disk
• Magnetic disks are used for permanent storage of programs and data.
• The device that reads and writes data on a disk is called disk drive.
• Floppy Disk:
• Light weight and portable
• Easy to put away for safekeeping and use it on different computers.
• Amount of data depends on type, ranging from 360KB-1.44MB (1KB).
• Hard Disk:
• Enclosed in a hermetically sealed container that is non removable from computer
called a fixed disk.
• Can store more data than floppy disk. Typically 20, 40 to over 100MB.
• A program can access information in a hard disk much faster than a floppy disk.
• Keyboard
• Allows the user to enter information in a computer.
• It has keys of typewriters and a number of control and function keys.
• Has own microprocessor that sends coded signal to computer when a key is pressed or
released.
• No direct contact between keyboard and display.
• Display Monitor
• Standard output device of the computer.
• Displayed information on the screen is generated by video adapter.
• Most adapters can generate both text characters and graphics images. Some even display in
color.
• Printers
• Printers are slower than monitors but provide more permanent output.
• Printer outputs are known as hardcopies.
• Daisey wheel:
• The output is similar to that of a typewriter.
• Dot matrix:
• Prints characters composed of dots.
• Some can generate near-letter-quality printing.
• Print characters with different fonts as well as graphics.
• Laser printers:
• Print characters composed of dots.
• The resolution is high (300 dots per inch)
• It is expensive
Instruction Execution:
• Machine instructions have two parts: an Opcode and Operands
• Opcode field which stands for operation code and it specifies the particular operation that is to be
performed. Each operation has its unique opcode.
• Operands fields which specify where to get the source and destination operands for the operation
specified by the opcode. The source/destination of operands can be a constant, the memory or one
of the general-purpose registers.
• The steps of executing an instruction(the fetch-execution cycle) are:
• Fetch
1. Fetch an instruction from memory
2. Decode the instruction to determine the operation
3. Fetch data from memory if necessary
• Execution
1. Perform the operation on the data
2. Store the result in memory if needed
Programming Languages:
• Machine language
• A CPU can only execute machine language instructions
• Instructions consist of binary code: 1s and 0s
• Assembly language
• A programming language that uses symbolic names to represent operations, registers and
memory locations.
• Readability of instructions is better than machine language
• One-to-one correspondence with machine language instructions to machine code
• Assemblers translates assembly code to machine code
• High Level Language
• Compilers translate high-level programs to machine code directly or indirectly via an
assembler
Advantages of High-Level Languages and Assembly Language:
• High Level Language
• Program development is faster as it is closer to natural language
• Program maintenance is easier
• Programs are portable as it can be used with little or no modifications on different machines
• Assembly Language
• Assembly Language is close to machine language
• It helps one to understand how the computer thinks
Mapping Between Assembly Language and High Level Language:
• Translating High Level Language programs to machine language programs is not a
one-to-one mapping
• A High Level Language instruction (usually called a statement) will be translated to
one or more machine language instructions
Why Learn Assembly Language?
• Accessibility to system hardware
• Assembly Language is useful for implementing system software
• Also useful for small embedded system applications
• Space and Time efficiency
• Understanding sources of program inefficiency
• Tuning program performance
• Writing compact code
• Writing assembly programs gives the computer designer the needed deep understanding of the
instruction set and how to design one
• To be able to write compilers for High Level Languages, we need to be expert with the machine
language. Assembly programming provides this experience
Representation of Numbers and Characters
• Number systems
• Conversion between number systems
• Addition and subtraction
• Integer representation in computer
• Character representation
Number Systems
• Decimal Number System
• There are ten basic symbols(digits): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
• The base ten is represented in decimal as 10
• 3932=3 × 103+ 9 ×102 +3 ×101 +2 ×100
• Binary Number System
• There are two digits: 0 and 1
• The base 2 is represented in binary as 10
• 11010=1× 24 +1× 23 +0 ×22 +1× 21+ 0 ×20
• Hexadecimal Number System
• There are fifteen digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F
• The base is sixteen is represented in hex by 10
• 1 A=1 ×161 +10 ×16 0
Converting Binary and Hex to Decimal
• Hex Number, 8 A 2 Dh=8× 163 + A ×16 2+2 ×16 1+ D × 160
3 2 1 0
¿ 8 ×16 +10 × 16 +2× 16 +13 ×16
¿ 35373 d
• Binary Number, 1101 b=1 ×23 +1 ×22 +0 ×21 +1 ×20
¿ 13 d
Converting Decimal to Binary and Hex
• Decimal Number, 11172 d
11172=698 ×16 +4
698=43 ×16+ 10 ( A )
43=2 ×16+11 ( B )
2=0× 16+2
¿ 2 BA 4 h
• Decimal Number, 95 d
95=47 × 2+ 1
47=23 ×2+1
23=11× 2+ 1
11=5 × 2+1
5=2× 2+ 1
2=1 ×2+ 0
1=0× 2+1
¿ 1011111 b
Conversion Between Hex and Binary
Subtraction
Integer Representation:
• Unsigned Integers
• Represents a magnitude so it is never negative
• Largest unsigned integer stored in a byte is 11111111b = FFh =255d
• Biggest unsigned integer stored in a word is 1111111111111111b = FFFFh = 65535d
• If least significant bit is 0 then number is even otherwise number is odd
• Example: Addresses of memory locations, ASCII character codes
• Signed Integers
• It can either be positive or negative
• Most significant bit is reserved for sign: 0 for positive and 1 for negative
• Negative integers are stored in a computer as two’s complement
Decimal Interpretations:
• Unsigned Decimal Interpretation
• Binary to decimal conversion
• Signed Decimal Interpretation
• If MSB is 0 then signed decimal is same as unsigned decimal
• If MSB is 1 take two’s complement and convert it to decimal
Decimal Interpretation:
• Most significant bit of a positive signed integer is 0. So the leading hex digit of a positive signed
integer is 0-7h. Integers beginning with 8-Fh have 1 in their sign bit so they are negative
• For a word largest positive signed integer is 7FFFh=32767 and smallest negative signed integer is
8000h=-32768
• For a byte largest positive signed integer is 7Fh=127 and smallest negative signed integer is 80h=--
128
• For 0000h-7FFFh and 00h-7Fh, signed decimal=unsigned decimal
• For 8000h-FFFFh, signed decimal =unsigned decimal-65536
• For 80h-FFh,signed decimal =unsigned decimal-256
Character Representation
• ASCII Code
• Most popular encoding scheme for characters
• Uses seven bits to code each character so there are total of 128 ASCII codes
• Only 95 ASCII codes from 32-126 are considered to be printable
• Others are used for communication control purposes
• Keyboard
• Identifies a key by generating an ASCII code when the key is pressed
• For IBM-PC each key is assigned an unique number called scan code
