Article Outline
Central Processing Unit (CPU), in computer science, microscopic circuitry that serves as the main information processor in a computer. A CPU is generally a single microprocessor made from a wafer of semiconducting material, usually silicon, with millions of electrical components on its surface. On a higher level, the CPU is actually a number of interconnected processing units that are each responsible for one aspect of the CPU’s function. Standard CPUs contain processing units that interpret and implement software instructions, perform calculations and comparisons, make logical decisions (determining if a statement is true or false based on the rules of Boolean algebra), temporarily store information for use by another of the CPU’s processing units, keep track of the current step in the execution of the program, and allow the CPU to communicate with the rest of the computer.
A CPU is similar to a calculator, only much more powerful. The main function of the CPU is to perform arithmetic and logical operations on data taken from memory or on information entered through some device, such as a keyboard, scanner, or joystick. The CPU is controlled by a list of software instructions, called a computer program. Software instructions entering the CPU originate in some form of memory storage device such as a hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, or magnetic tape. These instructions then pass into the computer’s main random access memory (RAM), where each instruction is given a unique address, or memory location. The CPU can access specific pieces of data in RAM by specifying the address of the data that it wants.
As a program is executed, data flow from RAM through an interface unit of wires called the bus, which connects the CPU to RAM. The data are then decoded by a processing unit called the instruction decoder that interprets and implements software instructions. From the instruction decoder the data pass to the arithmetic/logic unit (ALU), which performs calculations and comparisons. Data may be stored by the ALU in temporary memory locations called registers where it may be retrieved quickly. The ALU performs specific operations such as addition, multiplication, and conditional tests on the data in its registers, sending the resulting data back to RAM or storing it in another register for further use. During this process, a unit called the program counter keeps track of each successive instruction to make sure that the program instructions are followed by the CPU in the correct order.
The program counter in the CPU usually advances sequentially through the instructions. However, special instructions called branch or jump instructions allow the CPU to abruptly shift to an instruction location out of sequence. These branches are either unconditional or conditional. An unconditional branch always jumps to a new, out of order instruction stream. A conditional branch tests the result of a previous operation to see if the branch should be taken. For example, a branch might be taken only if the result of a previous subtraction produced a negative result. Data that are tested for conditional branching are stored in special locations in the CPU called flags.
The CPU is driven by one or more repetitive clock circuits that send a constant stream of pulses throughout the CPU’s circuitry. The CPU uses these clock pulses to synchronize its operations. The smallest increments of CPU work are completed between sequential clock pulses. More complex tasks take several clock periods to complete. Clock pulses are measured in Hertz, or number of pulses per second. For instance, a 2-gigahertz (2-GHz) processor has 2 billion clock pulses passing through it per second. Clock pulses are a measure of the speed of a processor.
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