6. A Computing Machine
This chapter under major construction.
Overview.
Architecture refers both to the art of designing computers and to the process of building them. Our coverage of this topic is centered around an imaginary machine that is similar to real computers. We specify the machine in full detail, consider machine-language programs for familiar tasks, and present a Java simulator for the machine.- 6.1 Representing Information describes how data is stored on a digital computer, including binary, hex, two's complement notation, and floating-point numbers.
- 6.2 TOY Machine describes the basic components of a simple von Neumann machine known as TOY. There are 16 different instruction types.
- 6.3 Machine-Language Programming provides several example TOY programs, including variables, assignment statements, conditionals and loops, and arrays.
- 6.4 TOY Virtual Machine develops a Java program to simulate the behavior of a TOY machine.
Resources.
- Here is the TOY reference card.
- Here is a link to the Visual X-TOY Simulator.