Binary Floating-Point Numbers
Floating-point numbers allow you to use the very large, and very small, numbers commonly found in scientific calculations. A binary floating-point number consists of three parts, the sign bit, the mantissa and the exponent. More ...
Operating System Process Scheduling Queues
The objective of multiprogramming is to have some process running at all times, to maximize CPU utilization. To meet these objectives, the process scheduler selects a process from a queue for execution on the CPU. More ...
Microprocessor Counter, Clock, Timer Circuits
All the circuitry in the microprocessor, in fact all the circuitry on the motherboard require a clock signal for operation. The clock signal is the heartbeat of the system. Without a clock signal, the microprocessor and the computer are dead. More ...
Load Balancing Multiple CPUs in Symmetric Multiprocessing
On Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) systems it is important to keep the workload balanced among all processors. There are two approaches to accomplish this, push migration and pull migration. More ...
CPU Process Memory Address Binding
For a program to run on a CPU it must be brought from files in long-term, non-volatile storage to main memory. Addresses in the source program must be mapped to addresses in main memory. More ...
Multilevel Queue CPU Scheduling Algorithm
With many CPU scheduling algorithms, all processes are placed in a single queue, and the scheduler selects the process to run. In practice, it is often easier to have separate queues for each priority, and the scheduler simply selects the process in the highest-priority queue. More ...
Basic Computer Architecture
Basic computer architecture refers to the structure of a computer system and comprises its hardware, firmware, and software. Hardware consists of the physical components in computer architecture. The main hardware components of the computer architecture include the CPU, memory, and bus. More ...
CPU Process Scheduling
CPU scheduling is the basis of multiprogrammed operating systems. By switching the CPU among processes, the operating system can make the computer more productive. More ...
Dynamic Loading of Program Routines and Dynamically linked libraries (DLLs)
In order to execute, it is not necessary for an entire program to be in physical memory. With dynamic loading, a routine is not loaded until it is called. More ...
Using The I2C Bus
The I2C bus is used for communications between individual integrated circuits located on the same PCB. The I2C protocol supports multi-master, multi-slave communication, which means you can add a lot of functionality to your design. More ...
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor
The Athlon 64 X2 is the first dual-core CPU manufactured by AMD.
It is essentially two Athlon 64 cores on one die joined together with additional control logic. The cores share one dual-channel memory controller. The benefit of dual-core processors is their ability to process more software threads at the same time. However, many programs are written with only one thread. More ...
Operating System Services
An operating system provides an environment for the execution of programs. It provides certain services to programs and to the users of those programs. These operating system services are provided for the convenience of the programmer, to make the programming task easier. More ...