18 lines
1 KiB
Markdown
18 lines
1 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
|
categories:
|
||
|
|
- Computer Architecture
|
||
|
|
tags: [CPU]
|
||
|
|
---
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
# Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The ALU is the centerpiece or core of the [CPU](/Computer_Architecture/CPU/CPU_architecture.md) architecture, where the binary calculations occur. It comprises [logic gates](/Electronics_and_Hardware/Digital_circuits/Logic_gates.md) that execute the instructions passed from memory and where the data stored by the registers is acted upon.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
It can execute arithmetic and logical operations on binary numbers. This is where you will find operations conducted by [full-adders and half adders](/Electronics_and_Hardware/Digital_circuits/Half_adder_and_full_adder.md) etc.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This is the heart of the CPU; all the other components on the CPU chip are appendanges to the execution that occures within the ALU. It is also what is meant by the **core** processor that is referred to in hardware specs of computers, for instance _dual-core_, _quad core_ etc.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Below is a schematic of a series of logical circuits within the CPU core:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|