Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

This book enables software developers, computer engineers, system designers, and others to understand how modern computer systems work from the low level of transistor switching to the macro view of collaborating multiprocessor servers. With the information in this book, software developers can achieve unique insight into the internal behavior of processors executing the code they develop in high-level languages. By understanding these details, such as the size of and interactions among the various caches within modern processors, developers can create more efficient and scalable software systems. The book begins with an introduction to key components such as transistors, logic gates, sequential circuits, and instruction sets. You'll see how these components are combined to produce the elements of a processor. You will learn the techniques employed in virtual machine implementations. You will also learn details of modern processor architectures and instruction sets including x86, x64, ARM, and RISC-V. You will even see how to implement a RISC-V processor in a low-cost FPGA board. By the end of this book, you will have a thorough understanding of modern processor and computer architectures.