b) Machine cycle defines a loop process with four major components. Explain why machine cycle is important? If the components of machine cycle are inter-swapped, would that cause any problems?Can we add another module to rectify the problem caused by inter-swapping?
Answers
Answer:
Machine cycle is also known as the processor cycle. The Central processing unit (CPU) is the main component for the execution of the machine cycle as it is the main component of the computer system. The main components of the machine cycle are the central processing unit and memory unit. The machine cycle is considered a sequence of four different processes that run in a repetitive manner for the execution of an instruction. The four processes include are, a) fetch b) decode c) execute d) store. In the first process fetch, the control unit asks in main memory for the first instruction for executing which is store in the memory as some specific address which can be easily identified by a program counter (control unit). After getting the instruction the next step is to decode the incoming instruction. The CPU contains the control unit which is used for decoding the instruction in the instruction register. The register is the small component of memory that perform the operations and speed up the processing of the operation. The registers store the instruction which is fetched from the main memory of CPU. The decoding of instruction includes the breaking of the operand field in small components on the basis of instructions opcode. The opcode is part of machine language instructions which gives information about what operation needs to be performed on the instruction. After that, the instruction is executed by the computer processor. The program counter is used for tracking the instruction sequence and track the instruction address as the instruction is executed and the next instruction in the queue for the execution. As the execution of an instruction is completed the output is stored in the memory for later use so that if there is a requirement then the result can be fetched easily.
1
Importance of Machine Cycle
The machine cycle is important for the execution of machine instruction by the computer processor as the device performance is based on the machine cycle. If the instruction is not performed properly the performance can be degraded by the processor. The processing speed and the performance of the device are calculated by the number of instructions that it can execute in the given time span.
Conclusion
The machine cycle has four processes i.e. fetch process, decode process, execute process and store process. All these processes are necessary for the instruction execution by the processor. By the machine cycle, the performance of the processor can be calculated and the device can be selected.