The assignment will be graded out of 100 points. Create a text document entitled
answers.xxx (where you replace xxx with whatever extension is appropriate, depending
on the file format you use). Acceptable file formats are plain text, Word document,
OpenOffice document, and PDF. Put your name and UTA ID on the first line of the document. Submit this document to Blackboard before the deadline. You will be able to revise your answers until the deadline with no penalty.
Task 1 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 1 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Explain each of the following terms in your own words:
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Virtual machine
Task 2 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 2 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Is it conceivable for a compiler to generate output for the micro architecture level instead of for the ISA level? Discuss the pros and cons of this proposal.
Task 3 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 3 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Can you imagine any multilevel computer in which the device level and digital logic levels were not the lowest level? Explain.
Task 4 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 4 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Consider a multilevel computer in which all the levels are different.
- Each level has instructions that are m times as powerful as those of the level below it, that is, one instruction at level r can do the work of m instructions at level r-1.
- Assume that n instructions of level r are required to interpret a single instruction at level r+1.
If a level 1 program requires k seconds to run, how long would equivalent programs take at levels 2, 3 and 4?
Task 5 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 5 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Some instructions at the operating system machine level are identical to ISA language instructions. These instructions are carried out directly by the micro program rather than by the operating system. In light of your answer to the preceding problem, why do you think this is the case?
Task 6 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 7 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
In what sense are hardware and software equivalent? Not equivalent?
Task 7 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 10 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
The performance ratio of the 360 model 75 was 50 times
that of the 360 model 30,yet the
cycle time was only five times as fast. How do you account for this discrepancy?
Task 8 (10 pts.)
(This is Problem 12 from Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Suppose that each of the 300 million people in the US fully consumes two packages of
goods a day bearing RFID tags. How many RFID tags have to be produced annually to
meet that demand? At a penny a tag, what is the total cost of the tags? Given the size of
the United States GDP, is this amount of money going to be an obstacle to their use on every package offered
for sale?
Task 9 (10 pts.)
For some quantum mechanics simulation, a research team needs a machine, which we will call FUTURE_MACHINE, with the following specs:
- The FUTURE_MACHINE CPU should execute 64 billion instructions per second.
- FUTURE_MACHINE should have 512 GB of memory.
- FUTURE_MACHINE should have 512 TB of hard drive space.
At this time, the best machine that this team can obtain (given their budget) is called CURRENT_MACHINE, and has these specs:
- The CURRENT_MACHINE CPU executes 16 billion instructions per second.
- CURRENT_MACHINE system has 32 GB of memory.
- CURRENT_MACHINE has 32 TB of hard drive space.
Based on their own version of Moore's law (which may not agree with the textbook or other sources), the team assumes that, for the same budget, performance is supposed to increase as follows in the future:
- CPU performance (number of instructions/second) doubles every 24 months.
- Memory capacity doubles every 18 months.
- Hard drive capacity doubles every 12 months.
Based on these assumptions, how long does this research team have to wait until they get FUTURE_MACHINE, for the same amount of money that CURRENT_MACHINE costs now? Show both your answer, and the steps that you used to derive your answer.
Task 10 (10 pts.)
In 1959, an IBM 7090 had a memory of 128KB, could execute 500,000 instructions/sec, and could be bought for three million dollars. In 2012, one particular desktop PC model has 16GB of memory, has an Intel Core i7 3630QM processor that can execute 113 billion instructions/sec, and could be bought for $2,000.
Using these two computers as references, formulate your own versions of Moore's law for instructions per second, memory, and price. In particular, specify:
- How often should the rate of instructions per second double, to be consistent with the observed improvement in performance from 1959 to 2012?
- How often should memory capacity double, to be consistent with the observed improvement in performance from 1959 to 2012?
- How often should computer prices get halved, to be consistent with the observed drop in price from 1959 to 2012?
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