Processor Architecture

Chip multiprocessors - also called multi-core microprocessors or CMPs for short - are now the only way to build high-performance microprocessors, for a variety of reasons. Large uniprocessors are no longer scaling in performance, because it is only possible to extract a limited amount of parallelism from a typical instruction stream using conventional superscalar instruction issue techniques.

The future of the computer and communications industries is converging on mobile information appliances - phones, PDAs, laptops and other devices. The ARM is at the heart of this trend, leading the way in system-on-chip (SoC) development and becoming the processor core of choice for many embedded applications. System-on-chip technology is changing the way we use computers, but it also sets designers the very challenging problem of getting a complex SoC design right first time. ARM System-on-Chip Architecture introduces the concepts and methodologies employed in designing a system-on-chip based around a microprocessor core, and in designing the core itself. Extensive illustrations, based on the ARM, give practical substance to the design principles set out in the book, reinforcing the reader's understanding of how and why SoCs and microprocessors are designed as they are.

This book blends traditional teaching approaches with the use of mathematics, together with the use of a hardware description language and a concrete processor as vehicles for "hands-on" modelling and experimenting with digital logic and processor design. This unique approach encourages readers to derive their own conclusions via experimentation, enabling them to discover for themselves the fundamental and exciting topics of computer architecture. Features: includes a wide-ranging introductory chapter; outlines basic methods for evaluating processors; investigates advanced topics in processor design; presents a detailed description of a development tool-chain; provides a stand-alone tutorial on using SPIM; focuses on aspects of compilers which are closely tied to the processor; examines the concept of efficient programming; concludes every chapter with a set of example problems. This practical, reader-friendly textbook has been written with undergraduates in mind, and is suitable for self-study.