Concept explainers
- a. In what way are general-purpose registers and main memory cells similar?
- b. In what way do general-purpose registers and main memory cells differ?
a.
General-Purpose Registers:
General-Purpose registers are used to store the temporary data or memory location address. It holds the data for some time, but it does not store the data permanently. It holds the address or data till the next instruction is being executed.
Main memory:
Main memory is that physical memory where data and programs are stored when they are also being used by the processor. All the data and executed programs are copied from a storage device into main memory by the computer.
Explanation of Solution
Similarity between general-purpose registers and main memory:
General-Purpose registers are basically used to store the data and addresses. It holds the data for short duration.
Similarly, data is stored in main memory cells. The main memory is also used as storage device.
b.
General-Purpose Registers:
General-Purpose registers are used to store the temporary data or memory location address. It holds the data for some time, but it does not store the data permanently. It holds the address or data till the next instruction is being executed.
Main memory:
Main memory is that physical memory where data and programs are stored when they are also being used by the processor. All the data and executed programs are copied from a storage device into main memory by the computer.
Explanation of Solution
Difference between general-purpose registers and main memory:
General purpose register | Main memory |
These registers hold the data till the next instruction is being executed. | Main memory stores the data and instruction that is required in CPU for currently executing programs. |
It is used for temporary storage device. | It is used for permanent storage of data in the device. |
Register can hold data of 32-bits to 64-bits. | Main memory can store large amount of data from GB to TB. |
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