Different types of instruction set of computer

Two basic computer design philosophies predominant in the market today are the complex instruction set and the reduced instruction set. Immediately, one might be lead to believe by their names that the size of the instruction sets is what distinguishes the two, but the differences extend much further. These philosophies differ in their instruction lengths, addressing modes, number of registers, and the number of clock cycles needed to execute an instruction.

CISC (Complex instructions set computer)

Complex instructions came about in order to maximize the performance of early computers. At that time, computers executed instructions sequentially. The first instruction had to complete the execution cycle before the next instruction could begin. Designers combined sequences of instructions into single instructions. This reduced the amount of time spent retrieving instructions from memory, although these instructions did require multiple clocks cycles to execute.

Characteristics of CISC -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) It uses microcode or microinstruction to simplify the computer's architecture. In a microprogrammed system, the ROM contains a group of microcode instructions that correspond with each machine-language instruction. When a machine-language instruction arrives at the processor, it executes the corresponding series of microcode instructions. b) It have variable-length instruction format. Variable-length instructions were used to limit the amount of wasted space, although they do require special decoding. c) It has huge variety of addressing modes. Typically from 5 to 20 different modes. complex instruction set computer, has the following modes: to/from a register, to/from a specific location in memory, to/from an address pointed to by a register, to/from an address pointed to by a memory location, to/from an address offset from a base address in a register, to/from an address offset from a base address in memory, etc. d) It has small number of internal general-purpose registers, typically about 8 registers. This is a result of having instructions, which can operate directly on memory. e) Different instructions take different amount of time to execute due to their variable-length. f) Have floating point unit.

Advantages of -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CISC

a) Less expensive due to the use of microcode; no need to hardwire a control unit. b) Upwardly compatible because a new computer would contain a superset of the instructions of the earlier computers. c) Fewer instructions could be used to implement a given task, allowing for more efficient use of memory. d) Simplified compiler, because the micro-program instruction sets could be written to match the constructs of high-level languages. e) More instructions can fit into the cache, since the instructions are not a fixed size.

Disadvantages of CISC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) Instruction sets and chip hardware became more complex with each generation of computers, since earlier generations of a processor family were contained as a subset in every new version. b) Different instructions take different amount of time to execute due to their variable-length. c) Many instructions are not used frequently; approximately 20% of the available instructions are used in a typical program. d) Hardware design becomes a complex task to implement Pipelining of instruction.

Examples: VAX, Motorola 68000 family, IBM 370 and Intel's 80x86 line of computers.

RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)

In the mid 1970s, developments in technology made RISC attractive to computer designers. Some of these developments were great increases in memory size with corresponding decreases in cost, high-speed caches, advanced compilers, and better pipelining. Due to these developments, IBM designed the first reduced instruction set computer.

Characteristics of RISC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) It has small set of simplified instructions. These instructions consist mostly of register-to-register operations. Almost all instructions make use of register addressing; only load and store instructions access memory. b) It has a large number of general-purpose registers. c) It has a hardwired control unit. d) It has few addressing modes. e) It has most instructions complete execution in one machine cycle this improve performance. f) Pipelining was a key technique in achieving this. Pipelining allows the next instruction to enter the execution cycle while the previous instruction is still processing. g) It uses the technique prefetching coupled with speculative execution. If the processor has fetched a branch instruction, it does not wait to see if the condition has been met. It "guesses" whether or not the condition will be met, and begins execution of the corresponding code. If the processor guessed correctly, it has gained time. If the processor has guessed incorrectly, the results are discarded and there is no loss. h) Use same length instructions so that the instructions are aligned on word boundaries and may be fetched in a single operation. Typically, a reduced instruction set computer stores its instruction in 32 bits. i) RISC microprocessors have floating-point units (FPUs) built in.

Advantages of RISC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) b)

c) d)

Faster. Simpler hardware. Shorter design cycle due to simpler hardware. Lower cost since more parts can be placed on a single chip.

Disadvantages of RISC -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) Programmer must pay close attention to instruction scheduling so that the processor does not

spend a large amount of time waiting for an instruction to execute. b) Debugging can be difficult due to the instruction scheduling. c) Require very fast memory systems to feed them instructions. Examples of RISC: PowerPC, SPARC, MIPS and the Alpha.

Advantage of microprgramed control unit This also improved performance, since instructions could be retrieved up to ten times faster from ROM than from main memory. Other advantages of using microcode included fewer transistors, easier implementation of new chips, and a micro-programmed design can be easily modified to handle new instruct ions sets [APPL].