Computer architecture and instruction set design

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to present a set of ideas on the design of machine architecture and its implementation from a practical point of view. The paper deals with this topic from two directions. The first is that of designing an optimal architecture for a specific application (e.g. component design, CAI, or just general-purpose computing), and the second is that of compromising this design in consideration of the hardware on which it must be implemented. The paper discusses the various trade-offs in choosing design aspects of the system; the discussion covers such topics as special-purpose instructions, program-oriented design (as in the Burroughs family), ease of compiling high-level languages for the system, and ultimately, how to design architectures with organization and efficiency in mind. (Modified author abstract)