The von Neumann architecture
The prototype computer is often called a stored program von Neumann machine. It has a program in memory that is executed instruction by instruction sequentially. Moreover, the program is stored in the same memory as the data that the computer operates on. This structure is named in honor of one of the pioneers of computing, John von Neumann. Once you understand the von Neumann machine, you understand all computers.
Figure 3.1 illustrates a simplified von Neumann machine that contains three basic elements:
- A memory that holds the program and any data used by the program
- A set of registers that each holds one word of data (in Figure 3.1, there is one register,
r0) - An arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) that performs all data processing
Figure 3.1 – The von Neumann architecture
The memory contains instructions to be executed. Both data and instructions are stored in binary form, although we will often...
