Control Unit - 2 - Free MCQ Practice Test with solutions, GATE CSE (CSE)

Data can be assumed as a raw material which, in turns after processing gives the desired output in the form of instructions. Further, a set of ordered and meaningful instructions is known as a program.

The control unit manages and coordinates the operations of a computer system. The ALU is responsible for performing all the arithmetic and bitwise operations . Therefore, both these units combine to form the brain of the computer ,which is the central processing unit.

MAR is a type of register which is responsible for the fetch operation. MAR is connected to the address bus and it specifies the address for the read and write operations.

There are 3 ways of implementing hardwired control unit:
A state table is the simplest method in which a number of circuits are designed based on the cells in the table.
A delay element method consists of a flowchart drawn for the circuit. A D-flip flop is used as a delay element.
A sequence counter method used k-modulo counter as a replacement for k delay elements.

The Computer system has no I.Q. of its own. It does only what it is programmed to do. It cannot take decisions of its own.
A computer is diligent because it can work continuously for hours without getting any errors or without getting grumbled.
The accuracy of a computer is consistently high and its level of accuracy depends on its design. A computer can perform any task if, it can be broken down into a series of logical steps. Therefore, a computer is versatile.

A processor is a part of the computer which does all the data manipulation and decision making. A processor comprises of:
A data path which contains the hardware necessary to perform all the operations. A controller tells the data path what needs to be done.
The registers act as intermediate storage for the data.

The main task of a control unit is to generate control signals. There are two main types of control units:
A hardwired control unit generates control signals by using combinational logic circuits and the Micro programmed control unit generates control signals by using some softwares.

For every micro-operation, a set of microinstructions are written which indicate the control signals to be activated. A set of microinstructions is a micro program. The address of the next microinstruction is given by a Micro-program counter.

There are two types of microinstructions: Horizontal and Vertical.
In a horizontal microinstruction, each bit represents a signal to be activated whereas, in case of vertical microinstruction bits are decoded and, the decoder then produces signals.