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0.3 / WHY STUDY COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE? 3

the computers: processor, I/O, memory, peripheral devices. Part Two examines
these components and looks in some detail at each component except the proces-
sor.This approach allows us to see the external functional requirements that drive
the processor design, setting the stage for Part Three. In Part Three, we examine
the processor in great detail. Because we have the context provided by Part Two,
we are able, in Part Three, to see the design decisions that must be made so that
the processor supports the overall function of the computer system. Next, in Part
Four, we look at the control unit, which is at the heart of the processor. Again, the
design of the control unit can best be explained in the context of the function it
performs within the context of the processor. Finally, Part Five examines systems
with multiple processors, including clusters, multiprocessor computers, and multi-
core computers.

0.3 WHY STUDY COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
AND ARCHITECTURE?

The IEEE/ACM Computer Curricula 2001, prepared by the Joint Task Force on
Computing Curricula of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Computer Society and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), lists computer
architecture as one of the core subjects that should be in the curriculum of all stu-
dents in computer science and computer engineering. The report says the following:

The computer lies at the heart of computing. Without it most of
the computing disciplines today would be a branch of theoretical
mathematics. To be a professional in any field of computing today,
one should not regard the computer as just a black box that exe-
cutes programs by magic.All students of computing should acquire
some understanding and appreciation of a computer system’s func-
tional components, their characteristics, their performance, and
their interactions.There are practical implications as well. Students
need to understand computer architecture in order to structure a
program so that it runs more efficiently on a real machine. In se-
lecting a system to use, they should be able to understand the
tradeoff among various components, such as CPU clock speed vs.
memory size.

A more recent publication of the task force, Computer Engineering 2004
Curriculum Guidelines, emphasized the importance of Computer Architecture and
Organization as follows:

Computer architecture is a key component of computer engineer-
ing and the practicing computer engineer should have a practical
understanding of this topic. It is concerned with all aspects of the
design and organization of the central processing unit and the inte-
gration of the CPU into the computer system itself. Architecture
extends upward into computer software because a processor’s