Computer Architecture
November 16, 1998

• At the core of any computer is the central processing unit (CPU).
• The CPU executes a series of instructions that compose a program.
• The instructions and data are stored in the memory.
• The CPU has a program counter that points to an address in memory which contains the current instruction.
• An instruction specifies the operation to be performed and the operands.
• The actual processing is performed by the arithmetic logic unit (ALU).

  

Figure 3.17: A simple computer.