61

General-purpose processors
Programmable device used in a variety of
applications Controller Datapath
– Also known as “microprocessor” Control Register
Features logic and file
State register
– Program memory
– General datapath with large register file and General
IR PC ALU
general ALU
User benefits Program Data
– Low time-to-market and NRE costs memory memory
– High flexibility Assembly code
for:
“Pentium” the most well-known, but
there are hundreds of others total = 0
for i =1 to …

Slide credit Vahid/Givargis, Embedded Systems Design: A Unified Hardware/Software Introduction, 2000

Introduction to Embedded Systems

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Single-purpose processors
Digital circuit designed to execute exactly
one program Controller Datapath
– a.k.a. coprocessor, accelerator or peripheral Control index
logic
Features total
State
– Contains only the components needed to register +
execute a single program
– No program memory Data
memory
Benefits
– Fast
– Low power
– Small size

Slide credit Vahid/Givargis, Embedded Systems Design: A Unified Hardware/Software Introduction, 2000

Introduction to Embedded Systems

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Application-specific processors
Programmable processor optimized for a particular
Controller Datapath
class of applications having common
characteristics Control Registers
logic and
– Compromise between general-purpose and single- State register
purpose processors Custom
Features ALU
IR PC
– Program memory
Data
– Optimized datapath Program memory
– Special functional units memory

Benefits Assembly code

for:
– Some flexibility, good performance, size and power
total = 0
DSP for i =1 to …

Slide credit Vahid/Givargis, Embedded Systems Design: A Unified Hardware/Software Introduction, 2000

Introduction to Embedded Systems