ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a key component of a computer’s central processor unit. The ALU performs
all arithmetic and logic operations that must be performed on instruction words. The ALU is split into two parts
in some microprocessor architectures: the AU and the LU.
Table of Contents

 What is ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)?

 Uses of ALU
 Operations Performed by ALU
 ALU Signals
 ALU Configurations
 Pros of ALU
 Cons of ALU
 Practice Problems on ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

What is ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)?

ALU conducts arithmetic and logic operations. It is a major component of the CPU in a computer system. An
integer unit (IU) is just an integrated circuit within a GPU or GPU that performs the last calculations in the
processor.
It can execute all arithmetic and logic operations, including Boolean comparisons, such as subtraction, addition,
and shifting (XOR, OR, AND, and NOT operations). Binary numbers can also perform bitwise and
mathematical operations. AU (arithmetic unit) and LU (logic unit) are two types of arithmetic logic units. The
ALU’s operands and code instruct it on which operations to perform based on the incoming data. When the
ALU has finished processing the data, it sends the result to the computer memory.

Uses of ALU
ALUs, in addition to doing addition and subtraction calculations, also handle the process of multiplication of
two integers because they are designed to perform integer calculations; thus, the result is likewise an integer.
Division operations, on the other hand, are frequently not done by ALU since division operations can result in a
floating-point value. Instead, division operations are normally handled by the floating-point unit (FPU), which
may also execute other non-integer calculations.
Engineers can also design the ALU to do any operation they choose. However, as the operations become more
sophisticated, ALU becomes more expensive since it generates more heat as well as takes up more space on the
CPU. Therefore, engineers create powerful ALUs, ensuring that the CPU is both quick and powerful.
The ALU performs the computations required by the CPU; most of the operations are logical in nature. If the
CPU is built more powerful, it will be designed on the basis of the ALU. Then it generates more heat and
consumes more energy or power. As a result, there must be a balance between how intricate and strong ALU is
and how much it costs. The primary reason why faster CPUs are more expensive is that they consume more
power and generate more heat due to their ALUs. The ALU’s major functions are arithmetic and logic
operations, as well as bit-shifting operations.

Operations Performed by ALU

Although the ALU is a critical component of the CPU, the design and function of the ALU may vary amongst
processors. Some ALUs, for example, are designed solely to conduct integer calculations, whereas others are
built to perform floating-point computations. Some processors have a single arithmetic logic unit that performs
operations, whereas others have many ALUs that conduct calculations. ALU’s operations are as follows:
1. Arithmetic Operators: It refers to bit subtraction and addition, despite the fact that it does multiplication
and division. Multiplication and division processes, on the other hand, are more expensive to do. Addition can
be used in place of multiplication, while subtraction can be used in place of division.
2. Bit-Shifting Operators: It is responsible for a multiplication operation, which involves shifting the locations
of a bit to the right or left by a particular number of places.
3. Logical Operations: These consist of NOR, AND, NOT, NAND, XOR, OR, and more.

ALU Signals
The ALU contains a variety of electrical input and output connections, which result in the digital signals being
cast between the ALU and the external electronics. External circuits send signals to the ALU input, and the
ALU sends signals to the external electronics.
Opcode: The operation selection code specifies whether the ALU will conduct arithmetic or a logic operation
when it performs the operation.
Data: The ALU contains three parallel buses, each with two input and output operands. These three buses are in
charge of the same amount of signals.

Status
Input: Once ALU has completed the operation, then the status inputs allow the ALU to obtain more
information needed to complete the process successfully. A single “carry-in” is used, which is a stored carry-out
from the prior ALU operation.
Output: The status outputs, which are numerous signals, offer the results of an ALU operation in the form of
extra data. Overflow, carry out, zero, negative, and other status signals are usually handled by general ALUs.
The status output signals were stored in the external registers after the ALU completed each operation. These
signals are saved in external registers, which allows them to be used in future ALU operations.
ALU Configurations
The following is a description of how the ALU interacts with the processor. These configurations are included
in every arithmetic logic unit:

 Accumulator
 Instruction Set Architecture
 Stack
 Register Stack
 Register to Register
 Register Memory

Pros of ALU
The following are some of the benefits of ALU:

 It supports high-performance parallel architecture and applications.

 It can provide the desired output at the same time and combine integers and floating-point variables.
 It has the ability to carry out instructions on a large number of items and has a high level of precision.
 The ALU can combine two arithmetic operations in the same code, such as multiplication and addition
or subtraction and addition, or any two operands. A+B*C is an example.
 They remain consistent throughout the presentation, and they’re spaced in such a way that they do not
interrupt any of the segments.
 It is, in general, highly rapid, and as a result, it produces results swiftly.
 With ALU, there are no sensitivity difficulties or memory wastage.
 They are less costly and reduce the number of logic gates required.

Cons of ALU
The following are some of ALU’s drawbacks:

 Floating variables have higher delays with the ALU, and the intended controller is difficult to grasp.
 If memory space were fixed, bugs would appear in the results.
  Amateurs are tough to understand since their circuits are complex, and the principle of pipelining is also
difficult to grasp.
 The inconsistencies in latencies are a known drawback of ALU.
 Another flaw is rounding off, which reduces precision.

he architecture of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) operates the capacity to function from “Instruction Set
Architecture” to where it was designed. The architectural design of the CPU is Reduced instruction set
computing (RISC) and Complex instruction set computing (CISC). CISC has the capacity to perform multi-step
operations or addressing modes within one instruction set. It is the CPU design where one instruction works
several low-level acts. For instance, memory storage, loading from memory, and an arithmetic operation.

Reduced instruction set computing is a Central Processing Unit design strategy based on the vision that a basic
instruction set gives great performance when combined with a microprocessor architecture. This architecture
has the capacity to perform the instructions by using some microprocessor cycles per instruction. This article
discusses the RISC and CISC architecture with appropriate diagrams. The hardware part of the Intel is named as
Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC), and Apple hardware is Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC).

What is RISC and CISC Architectures?

A complex instruction set computer is a computer where single instructions can perform numerous low-level
operations like a load from memory, an arithmetic operation, and a memory store or are accomplished by multi-
step processes or addressing modes in single instructions, as its name proposes “Complex Instruction Set ”.

A reduced instruction set computer is a computer that only uses simple commands that can be divided into
several instructions which achieve low-level operation within a single CLK cycle, as its name proposes
“Reduced Instruction Set ”

RISC Architecture

The term RISC stands for ‘’Reduced Instruction Set Computer’’. It is a CPU design plan based on simple orders
and acts fast.

This is a small or reduced set of instructions. Here, every instruction is expected to attain very small jobs. In this
machine, the instruction sets are modest and simple, which help in comprising more complex commands. Each
instruction is about a similar length; these are wound together to get compound tasks done in a single operation.
Most commands are completed in one machine cycle. This pipelining is a crucial technique used to speed up
RISC machines.
 RISC Architecture

Reduced Instruction Set Computer is a microprocessor that is designed to carry out few instructions at a similar
time. Based on small commands, these chips need fewer transistors, which makes the transistors inexpensive to
design and produce. The features of RISC include the following.

Please refer to this link to know more about Pipelining in Computer Architecture MCQs

 The demand for decoding is less

 Few data types in hardware
 General-purpose register Identical
 Uniform instruction set
 Simple addressing nodes

Also, while writing a program, RISC makes it easier by letting the computer programmer eliminate needless
codes and stops wasting cycles.

Characteristics

The characteristics of RISC architecture include the following.

 Simple Instructions are used in RISC architecture.

 RISC helps and supports few simple data types and synthesizes complex data types.
 RISC utilizes simple addressing modes and fixed-length instructions for pipelining.
 RISC permits any register to use in any context.
 One Cycle Execution Time
 The amount of work that a computer can perform is reduced by separating “LOAD” and “STORE”
instructions.
 RISC contains a Large Number of Registers to prevent various interactions with memory.
 In RISC, Pipelining is easy as the execution of all instructions will be done in a uniform interval of time
i.e. one click.
 In RISC, more RAM is required to store assembly-level instructions.
 Reduced instructions need a less number of transistors in RISC.
 RISC uses the Harvard memory model means it is Harvard Architecture.
 A compiler is used to perform the conversion operation means converting a high-level language
statement into the code of its form.
CISC Architecture

The term CISC stands for ‘’Complex Instruction Set Computer’’. It is a CPU design plan based on single
commands, which are skilled in executing multi-step operations.

CISC computers have small programs. It has a huge number of compound instructions, which take a long time
to perform. Here, a single set of instructions is protected in several steps; each instruction set has an additional
than 300 separate instructions. Maximum instructions are finished in two to ten machine cycles. In CISC,
instruction pipelining is not easily implemented.

CISC Architecture

The CISC machines have good acts, based on the overview of program compilers; as the range of innovative
instructions are simply obtainable in one instruction set. They design compound instructions in a single, simple
set of instructions.

They achieve low-level processes, which makes it easier to have huge addressing nodes and additional data
types in the hardware of a machine. But, CISC is considered less efficient than RISC, because of its
incompetence to eliminate codes which leads to wasting of cycles. Also, microprocessor chips are difficult to
understand and program for, because of the complexity of the hardware.

 Instruction Set Architecture is a medium to permit communication between the programmer and the
hardware. Data execution part, copying of data, deleting, or editing is the user commands used in the
microprocessor, and with this microprocessor, the Instruction set architecture is operated.
 The main keywords used in the above Instruction Set Architecture are as below

Instruction Set: Group of instructions given to execute the program and they direct the computer by
manipulating the data. Instructions are in the form – Opcode (operational code) and Operand. Where, the
opcode is the instruction applied to load and store data, etc. The operand is a memory register where instruction
is applied.
Addressing Modes: Addressing modes are how the data is accessed. Depending upon the type of instruction
applied, addressing modes are of various types such as a direct mode where straight data is accessed or indirect
mode where the location of the data is accessed. Processors having identical ISA may be very different in the
organization. Processors with identical ISA and nearly identical organization is still not nearly identical.

CPU performance is given by the fundamental law

Thus, CPU performance is dependent upon Instruction Count, CPI (Cycles per instruction), and Clock cycle
time. And all three are affected by the instruction set architecture.

Instruction Count of the CPU

This underlines the importance of the instruction set architecture. There are two prevalent instruction set
architectures

Examples of CISC Processors

IBM 370/168 – It was introduced in the year 1970. CISC design is a 32-bit processor and four 64-bit floating
point registers.
VAX 11/780 – CISC design is a 32-bit processor and it supports many numbers of addressing modes and
machine instructions which is from Digital Equipment Corporation.
Intel 80486 – It was launched in the year 1989 and it is a CISC processor, which has instructions varying
lengths from 1 to 11 and it will have 235 instructions.

Characteristics

The characteristics of CISC architecture include the following.

 Instruction-decoding logic will be Complex.

 One instruction is required to support multiple addressing modes.
 Less chip space is enough for general purpose registers for the instructions that are 0operated directly on
memory.
 Various CISC designs are set up with two special registers for the stack pointer, handling interrupts, etc.
 MUL is referred to as a “complex instruction
Comparison Between RISC and CISC

RISC stands for ‘Reduced Instruction Set Computer Whereas, CISC stands for Complex Instruction Set
Computer. The RISC processors have a smaller set of instructions with few addressing nodes. The CISC
processors have a larger set of instructions with many addressing nodes.

RISC vs CISC

Memory Unit

RISC has no memory unit and uses separate hardware to implement instructions. CISC has a memory unit to
implement complex instructions

Program

RISC has a hard-wired unit of programming. CISC has a microprogramming unit

Design

RISC is a complex compiler design. CISC is an easy compiler design

Calculations

RISC calculations are faster and more precise. CISC calculations are slow and precise

Decoding

RISC decoding of instructions is simple. CISC decoding of instructions is complex

Time

Execution time is very less in RISC. Execution time is very high in CISC.

External memory
RISC does not require external memory for calculations. CISC requires external memory for calculations.

Pipelining

RISC Pipelining does function correctly. CISC Pipelining does not function correctly.

Stalling

RISC stalling is mostly reduced in processors. CISC processors often stall.

Code Expansion

Code expansion can be a problem in RISC whereas, in CISC, Code expansion is not a problem.

Disc space

Space is saved in RISC whereas in CISC space is wasted. The best examples of CISC instruction set
architecture include VAX, PDP-11, Motorola 68k, And your desktop PCs on Intel’s x86 architecture, whereas
the best examples of RISC architecture include DEC Alpha, ARC, AMD 29k, Atmel AVR, Intel i860, Blackfin,
i960, Motorola 88000, MIPS, PA-RISC, Power, SPARC, SuperH, and ARM too.

SEMANTIC GAP

Both RISC and CISC architectures have been developed as an attempt to cover the semantic gap.

Semantic Gap

To improve the efficiency of software development, several powerful programming languages have come up,
viz., Ada, C, C++, Java, etc. They provide a high level of abstraction, conciseness, and power. By this
evolution, the semantic gap grows. To enable efficient compilation of high-level language programs, CISC and
RISC designs are the two options.

CISC designs involve very complex architectures, including a large number of instructions and addressing
modes, whereas RISC designs involve a simplified instruction set and adapt it to the real requirements of user
programs.
 CISC and RISC Design
Multiplication of two Numbers in Memory

If the main memory is divided into areas that are numbered from row1:column 1 to row 5: column 4. The data
is loaded into one of four registers (A, B, C, or D). To find multiplication of two numbers- One stored in
location 1:3 and other stored in location 4:2 and store back result in 1:3.

Multiplication of Two Numbers

Applications of RISC and CISC

RISC is used in high-end applications like video processing, telecommunications, and image processing. CISC
is used in low-end applications such as security systems, home automation, etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of RISC architecture include the following.

  RISC(Reduced instruction set computing)architecture has a set of instructions, so high-level language
compilers can produce more efficient code
 It allows freedom of using the space on microprocessors because of its simplicity.
 Many RISC processors use the registers for passing arguments and holding the local variables.
 RISC functions use only a few parameters, and the RISC processors cannot use the call instructions, and
therefore, use a fixed-length instruction that is easy to pipeline.
 The speed of the operation can be maximized and the execution time can be minimized.
A very less number of instructional formats, a few numbers of instructions, and a few addressing modes
are needed.

The disadvantages of RISC architecture include the following.

 Mostly, the performance of the RISC processors depends on the programmer or compiler as the
knowledge of the compiler plays a vital role while changing the CISC code to a RISC code
 While rearranging the CISC code to a RISC code, termed as a code expansion, will increase the size.
And, the quality of this code expansion will again depend on the compiler, and also on the machine’s
instruction set.
 The first level cache of the RISC processors is also a disadvantage of the RISC, in which these
processors have large memory caches on the chip itself. For feeding the instructions, they require very
fast memory systems.

The advantages of CISC architecture include the following.

 Microprogramming is an easy assembly language to implement, and less expensive than hard-wiring a
control unit.
 The ease of microcoding new instructions allowed designers to make CISC machines upwardly
compatible:
 As each instruction became more accomplished, fewer instructions could be used to implement a given
task.

The disadvantages of CISC architecture include the following.

 The performance of the machine slows down due to the amount of clock time taken by different
instructions will be dissimilar
 Only 20% of the existing instructions are used in a typical programming event, even though there are
various specialized instructions in reality that are not even used frequently.
 The conditional codes are set by the CISC instructions as a side effect of each instruction which takes
time for this setting – and, as the subsequent instruction changes the condition code bits – so, the
compiler has to examine the condition code bits before this happens.

Microcontrollers Types & Their Applications

A microcontroller is a single chip and it is denoted with μC or uC. The fabrication technology used for its
controller is VLSI. An alternate name of the microcontroller is the embedded controller. At present, there are
different microcontrollers types that are existing in the market like 4-bit, 8-bit, 64-bit & 128-bit. It is a
compressed microcomputer used to control the embedded system functions in robots, office machines, motor
vehicles, home appliances & other electronic gadgets. The different components used in a microcontroller are a
processor, peripherals, & memory. These are basically used in different electronic devices that require an