Stallings Cumulative Ch 1-7, 9-16 - Computer Organization and Assembly Language Final Exam - CS330 (possible test questions)

C

1. ________ is used in scalar RISC processors to improve the performance of instructions that require multiple cycles. A. In-order completion B. In-order issue C. Out-of-order completion D. Out-of-order issue

A

1. ________ refers to the process of initiating instruction execution in the processor's functional units. A. Instruction issue B. In-order issue C. Out-of-order issue D. Procedural issue

A

1. _________ is determined by the number of instructions that can be fetched and executed at the same time and by the speed and sophistication of the mechanisms that the processor uses to find independent instructions. A. Machine parallelism B. Instruction-level parallelism C. Output dependency D. Procedural dependency

B

1. __________ exists when instructions in a sequence are independent and thus can be executed in parallel by overlapping. A. Flow dependency B. Instruction-level parallelism C. Machine parallelism D. Instruction issue

hierarchical

A __________ system is a set of interrelated subsystems. A. secondary B. hierarchical C. complex D. functional

C

1. Instead of the first instruction producing a value that the second instruction uses, with ___________ the second instruction destroys a value that the first instruction uses. A. in-order issue B. resource conflict C. antidependency D. out-of-order completion

B

1. The ________ introduced a full-blown superscalar design with out-of-order execution. A. Pentium B. Pentium Pro C. 386 D. 486

C

1. The essence of the ________ approach is the ability to execute instructions independently and concurrently in different pipelines. A. scalar B. branch C. superscalar D. flow dependency

B

1. The instructions following a branch have a _________ on the branch and cannot be executed until the branch is executed. A. resource dependency B. procedural dependency C. output dependency D. true data dependency

A

1. The situation where the second instruction needs data produced by the first instruction to execute is referred to as __________. A. true data dependency B. output dependency C. procedural dependency D. antidependency

D

1. The superscalar approach can be used on __________ architecture. A. RISC B. CISC C. neither RISC nor CISC D. both RISC and CISC

C

1. Utilizing a branch target buffer (BTB), the _________ uses a dynamic branch prediction strategy based on the history of recent executions of branch instructions. A. 486 B. Pentium C. Intel Core D. Pentium Pro

D

1. Which of the following is a fundamental limitation to parallelism with which the system must cope? A. procedural dependency B. resource conflicts C. antidependency D. all of the above

D

1. Which of the following is a hardware technique that can be used in a superscalar processor to enhance performance? A. duplication of resources B. out-of-order issue C. renaming D. all of the above

A

1. ________ indicates whether this micro-op is scheduled for execution, has been dispatched for execution, or has completed execution and is ready for retirement. A. State B. Memory address C. Micro-op D. Alias register

D

1. ________ is a protocol used to issue instructions. A. Micro-ops B. Scalar C. SIMD D. Instruction issue policy

superscalar

A ________ implementation of a processor architecture is one in which common instructions can be initiated simultaneously and executed independently.

resource conflict

A _________ is a competition of two or more instructions for the same resource at the same time.

system interconnection

A _________ is a mechanism that provides for communication among CPU, main memory, and I/O. A. system interconnection B. CPU interconnection C. peripheral D. processor

microprogrammed

A __________ control unit operates by executing micro-instructions that define the functionality of the control unit.

system bus

A common example of system interconnection is by means of a ________, consisting of a number of conducting wires to which all the other components attach.

system bus

A common example of system interconnection is by means of a __________. A. register B. system bus C. data transport D. control device

True

A computer is a complex system.

True

A computer must be able to process, store, move, and control data.

False

A computer organization does not need to be designed to implement a particular architectural specification.

False

A microcomputer architecture and organization relationship is not very close.

F

A nibble is a grouping of four decimal digits.

F

A number cannot be converted from binary notation to decimal notation.

T

A number with both an integer and fractional part has digits raised to both positive and negative powers of 10.

True

A particular architecture may span many years and encompass a number of different computer models, its organization changing with changing technology.

F

ARM architecture has yet to implement superscalar techniques in the instruction pipeline.

T

Although convenient for computers, the binary system is exceedingly cumbersome for human beings.

peripheral

An I/O device is referred to as a __________. A. CPU B. control device C. peripheral D. register

register renaming

An alternative to _________ is a scoreboarding.

I/O mechanisms

Architectural attributes include __________ . A. I/O mechanisms B. control signals C. interfaces D. memory technology used

True

Both the structure and functioning of a computer are, in essence, simple.

False

Changes in computer technology are finally slowing down.

True

Changes in technology not only influence organization but also result in the introduction of more powerful and more complex architectures.

retiring

Committing or _________ the instruction is when instructions are conceptually put back into sequential order and their results are recorded.

architecture

Computer _________ refers to those attributes that have a direct impact on the logical execution of a program. A. organization B. specifics C. design D. architecture

False

Computer organization refers to attributes of a system visible to the programmer.

rapid

Computer technology is changing at a __________ pace. A. slow B. slow to medium C. rapid D. non-existent

Organizational

Control signals, interfaces between the computer and peripherals, and the memory technology used are all examples of _________ attributes.

F

Hexadecimal notation is only used for representing integers.

False

Historically the distinction between architecture and organization has not been an important one.

T

In a traditional scalar organization there is a single pipelined functional unit for integer operations and one for floating-point operations.

F

In any number, the rightmost digit is referred to as the most significant digit.

T

In effect, the Intel Core architecture implements a CISC instruction set architecture on a RISC microarchitecture.

micro-operations (or micro-ops)

In the operation of the Intel Core each instruction is translated into one or more fixed-length RISC instructions known as _________.

F

In the scalar organization there are multiple functional units, each of which is implemented as a pipeline and provides a degree of parallelism by virtue of its pipelined structure.

F

In-order completion requires more complex instruction issue logic than out-of-order completion.

operation latency

Instruction-level parallelism is also determined by __________, which is the time until the result of an instruction is available for use as an operand in a subsequent instruction.

True

Interfaces between the computer and peripherals is an example of an organizational attribute.

architectural

It is a(n) _________ design issue whether a computer will have a multiply instruction. A. architectural B. memory C. elementary D. organizational

organizational

It is a(n) _________ issue whether the multiply instruction will be implemented by a special multiply unit or by a mechanism that makes repeated use of the add unit of the system. A. architectural B. memory C. mechanical D. organizational

ALU

The __________ performs the computer's data processing functions. A. Register B. CPU interconnection C. ALU D. system bus

F

Machine parallelism exists when instructions in a sequence are independent and thus can be executed in parallel by overlapping.

T

Negative powers of 10 are used to represent the positions of the numbers for decimal fractions.

CPU

Often referred to as processor the ________ controls the operation of the computer and performs its data processing functions.

F

Our primary counting system is based on binary digits to represent numbers.

T

Register renaming eliminates antidependencies and output dependencies.

T

Resources include: memories, caches, buses, and register-file ports.

in-order issue without out of order completion

Superscalar instruction issue policies are grouped into the following categories: in-order issue with in-order completion, out-of-order issue with out-of-order completion, and ____________.

T

The Cortex-A8 targets a wide variety of mobile and consumer applications including mobile phones, set-top boxes, gaming consoles and automotives navigation/entertainment systems.

instruction window

The ________ is a buffer used to decouple the decode and execute stages of the pipeline to allow out-of-order issue.

memory protection unit

The ________ protects critical data used by the operating system from user applications, separating processing tasks by disallowing access to each other's data, disabling access to memory regions, allowing memory regions to be defined as read-only, and detecting unexpected memory accesses that could potentially break the system.

control unit

The _________ controls the operation of the CPU and hence the computer.

instruction fetch unit

The _________ predicts the instruction stream, fetches instructions from the L1 instruction cache, and places the fetched instructions into a buffer for consumption by the decode pipeline.

main memory

The _________ stores data. A. system bus B. I/O C. main memory D. control unit

System/370

The __________ architecture is the architecture of IBM's mainframe product line.

I/O

The __________ moves data between the computer and its external environment. A. data transport B. I/O C. register D. CPU interconnection

Data storage

The basic functions that a computer can perform are: data processing, data movement, control, and _________.

F

The decimal system has a radix of 100.

T

The decimal system is a special case of a positional number system with radix 10 and with digits in the range 0 through 9.

CPU

The four main structural components of the computer are: main memory, I/O, system interconnection, and __________.

True

The hierarchical nature of complex systems is essential to both their design and their description.

Architectural

The instruction set, the number of bits used to represent various data types, I/O mechanisms and techniques for addressing memory are all examples of _________ attributes.

ALU

The major structural components of the CPU are: control unit, register, CPU interconnection, and __________.

True

The number of bits used to represent various data types is an example of an architectural attribute.

T

The reorder buffer is temporary storage for results completed out of order that are then committed to the register file in program order.

T

The schedulers are responsible for retrieving micro-ops from the micro-op queues and dispatching these for execution.

T

The simplest instruction issue policy is to issue instructions in the exact order that would be achieved by sequential execution (in-order issue) and to write results in that same order (in-order completion).

T

The superscalar approach depends on the ability to execute multiple instructions in parallel.

T

The superscalar approach has now become the standard method for implementing high-performance microprocessors.

superscalar

The term ________ refers to a machine that is designed to improve the performance of the execution of scalar instructions.

instruction level

The term _________ parallelism refers to the degree to which, on average, the instructions of a program can be executed in parallel.

T

There are 50 tens in the number 509.

T

True data dependency is also called flow dependency or read after write (RAW) dependency.

data communications

When data are moved over longer distances, to or from a remote device, the process is known as __________. A. data communications B. registering C. structuring D. data transport

False

When data are moved over longer distances, to or from a remote device, the process is known as data transport.

I/O

When data are received from or delivered to a device that is directly connected to the computer, the process is known as __________.

out of order completion

With ____________ any number of instructions may be in the execution stage at any one time, up to the maximum degree of machine parallelism across all functional units.

Super pipelining

________ exploits the fact that many pipeline stages perform tasks that require less than half a clock cycle.

Organizational

_________ attributes include hardware details transparent to the programmer. A. Interface B. Organizational C. Memory D. Architectural

Machine parallelism

_________ is a measure of the ability of the processor to take advantage of instruction-level parallelism.

Function

_________ is the operation of each individual component as part of the structure.

Structure

_________ is the way in which the components are interrelated.

registers

_________ provide storage internal to the CPU. A. Control units B. ALUs C. Main memory D. Registers

Computer Organization

_________ refers to the operational units and their interconnections that realize the architectural specifications.

Computer Architecture

__________ refers to those attributes of a system visible to a programmer.