Computer Org. & Architecture (CS-404) - Important Questions

Explain the concept of bus structure and how it aids CPU and memory communication.

Explain the fetch-execute cycle, including the sequence of fetch and execute steps and the roles of the program counter, instruction register and memory registers.

Explain stack-based CPU organization with block diagram.

Write a program to evaluate arithmetic expression $X= (A-B)*(((C-D*E)/F)/G)$ using stack-organized computer with 0-address instructions.

How does the control word help in micro-operation execution? Illustrate with an example.

Draw and explain the architecture / basic structure of a computer system with a block diagram.

Differentiate between accumulator, index, stack and general-purpose registers in terms of functions and usage.

Explain the role and significance of registers in a CPU's general register organization.

Explain register transfer language and representation of instructions in register transfer language with suitable examples.

Explain the addressing modes with suitable examples.

Explain the instruction formats for computer system.

Explain the basic principles of computer architecture.

Differentiate between hardwired and micro-programmed control units and explain each component of hardwired control unit organization.

Differentiate between hardwired control unit and microprogrammed control unit.

Explain how microinstructions are organized in control memory and their role in instruction execution

Write a short note on any two of the following:

Explain the micro-program sequencer

What is the format of Micro Instruction in Computer Architecture explain?

Draw flowchart/flow diagram for Booth's algorithm and apply it to an example such as $(-13)*(8)$

Draw the flowchart for restoring division and perform binary division using non-restoring division method.

Explain signal addition and subtraction and the design/operation of a 4-bit adder/subtractor circuit

Explain the design of the arithmetic unit and its required components with a neat sketch.

Explain 1's complement and 2's complement representation for negative numbers with examples.

Describe Booth's algorithm for multiplication and illustrate with a 4-bit example

Compare fixed-point and floating-point arithmetic operations with examples.

Discuss Booth's algorithm for multiplication of signed numbers in detail

Explain floating-point representation and the basic floating-point arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) with suitable examples.

Draw the flowchart for Booth's algorithm for multiplication of signed 2's complement numbers and explain with an example

Explain two's complement representation of negative numbers and performing subtraction as addition using complement.

Discuss how binary division is performed and the steps involved in dividing one binary number by another with flowchart.

Explain the working of PCI bus and other I/O interfaces such as SCSI bus and USB bus and how they improve I/O performance

Explain what Direct Memory Access (DMA) is and how DMA operation / DMA controller works with block diagram.

Explain the working principle of the PCI Bus and how it improves communication / I/O performance between peripherals and processor

Explain asynchronous data transfer and its strobe control and handshaking methods.

Explain the architecture and working of the SCSI Bus with diagram

Explain direct memory access (DMA) and its operation with block diagram of DMA controller.

Write a short note on Direct Memory Access as a choice among other memory topics.

Compare USB and SCSI buses in terms of speed, cost and application.

Write a comparative note on different types of I/O interfaces

Differentiate between serial and parallel data transfer in terms of transmission, speed and implementation complexity.

Explain why an interface is needed for input-output devices and how it is connected to I/O devices with a neat sketch

Describe strobe control and handshaking methods in asynchronous data transfer.

Compare and differentiate RISC vs CISC architectures, including definitions, characteristics, and examples.

What is a multiprocessor and explain inter-processor communication, synchronization and arbitration in detail.

Compare magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD) and optical storage in terms of access time, reliability, cost and advantages/disadvantages.

Explain how cache memory improves CPU/system performance, including cache design principles and locality (temporal and spatial) and cache effectiveness.

Explain the concept of pipelining and how it improves instruction execution throughput and system performance.

What is cache mapping? Explain the different cache mapping techniques with examples.

Explain the concept of vector processing and its advantages over scalar processing.

Explain the architecture of Intel multicore processors with suitable diagrams.

Explain the concept of instruction pipelining and describe the stages / layout of a pipelined instruction and their functions.

Calculate page faults for a given reference string using LRU, FIFO and Optimal page replacement algorithms.

Write short notes on any two of: auxiliary memory, virtual memory, ROM.

Differentiate RISC vs CISC and horizontal vs vertical micro-programmed control unit.

Differentiate between vectored and non-vectored interrupts.