How does the word length of the processor is decided?

[srutisahoo]

1:=How does the word length of the processor is decided???
whether by the width of the processor or the wordlength of the processor or both..
or any other factor is taken into consideration.

2:- if there are 64no of total opcodes for a particular microprocessor than what is the wordlength of the processor????

 

[Kral]

Re: Microprocessor....

srutisahoo,
Word length is the number of bits in the internal data path of a processor. An interesting example is that of the 8088 microprossor used in the first IBM PC. It is a 16 bit processor, since the internal data path width is 16 bits. However, it communicated with the outside word via an 8 bit (1Byte) path. The 8086 is identical internally, but it has a 16 bit wide external data path (bus).
.
There is no relationship between the number of op codes and the word length.
Regards,
Kral

 

[A.Anand Srinivasan]

Re: Microprocessor....

dont confuse yourself with wordlength and opcode.... the opcode is just a set of 0's and 1's used to generate internal control signals.... so opcode and wordlength of a microprocessor depend purely on the internal architecture of the microprocessor and nothing else at all......

 

[srutisahoo]

Re: Microprocessor....

1:=How does the word length of the processor is decided???
whether by the width of the processor or the wordlength of the processor or both..
or any other factor is taken into consideration.

Any other factors like Program counter,Instruction Registor.

2:- if there are 64no of total opcodes for a particular microprocessor than what is the wordlength of the processor????

No Actually i want to tell u that in 8085 dere are 256 opcodes which is 2^8...but 74 instructions.
So if dere will be 64 opcodes then it must be 6-bit Microprocessor.. whether i m right or not i don't know this question was asked in an interview to me.i hv given this answer.whether i am right or not???i don't know.. plz help me

 

[sonal]

Microprocessor....

The first multi-chip 16-bit microprocessor was the National Semiconductor IMP-16, introduced in early 1973. An 8-bit version of the chipset was introduced in 1974 as the IMP-8. During the same year, National introduced the first 16-bit single-chip microprocessor, the National Semiconductor PACE, which was later followed by an NMOS version, the INS8900.

Other early multi-chip 16-bit microprocessors include one used by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the LSI-11 OEM board set and the packaged PDP 11/03 minicomputer, and the Fairchild Semiconductor MicroFlame 9440, both of which were introduced in the 1975 to 1976 timeframe.

The first single-chip 16-bit microprocessor was TI's TMS 9900, which was also compatible with their TI-990 line of minicomputers. The 9900 was used in the TI 990/4 minicomputer, the TI-99/4A home computer, and the TM990 line of OEM microcomputer boards. The chip was packaged in a large ceramic 64-pin DIP package package, while most 8-bit microprocessors such as the Intel 8080 used the more common, smaller, and less expensive plastic 40-pin DIP. A follow-on chip, the TMS 9980, was designed to compete with the Intel 8080, had the full TI 990 16-bit instruction set, used a plastic 40-pin package, moved data 8 bits at a time, but could only address 16KB. A third chip, the TMS 9995, was a new design. The family later expanded to include the 99105 and 99110.

The Western Design Center, Inc. (WDC) introduced the CMOS 65816 16-bit upgrade of the WDC CMOS 65C02 in 1984. The 65816 16-bit microprocessor was the core of the Apple IIgs and later the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, making it one of the most popular 16-bit designs of all time.

Intel followed a different path, having no minicomputers to emulate, and instead "upsized" their 8080 design into the 16-bit Intel 8086, the first member of the x86 family which powers most modern PC type computers. Intel introduced the 8086 as a cost effective way of porting software from the 8080 lines, and succeeded in winning much business on that premise. The 8088, a version of the 8086 that used an external 8-bit data bus, was the microprocessor in the first IBM PC, the model 5150. Following up their 8086 and 8088, Intel released the 80186, 80286 and, in 1985, the 32-bit 80386, cementing their PC market dominance with the processor family's backwards compatibility.

The integrated microprocessor memory management unit (MMU) was developed by Childs et al. of Intel, and awarded US patent number 4,442,484.