COD Chapter 1 — Foundations

Computer architecture vs organization, abstraction, Moore’s Law, the C translation hierarchy, and RISC vs CISC.

Sections

Quick summary

MOORE'S LAW (1965, Gordon Moore): number of TRANSISTORS on a chip
         DOUBLES ~every 2 years.
  Consequences:  cost of logic/memory FALLS · shorter path ⇒ FASTER
                 computers become SMALLER & more convenient.

TRANSLATION HIERARCHY (C → runs):
  C program →[Compiler]→ Assembly →[Assembler]→ Object module
           →[Linker + library routines]→ Executable →[Loader]→ Memory

ABSTRACTION: hide lower-level detail behind a simpler interface
  (High-level language → Assembly → Machine code → Hardware).

ISA:  RISC  = simple, FIXED-length instrs (ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, RISC-V)
      CISC  = complex, VARIABLE-length instrs (Intel x86, IBM 360)

ARCHITECTURE = what the programmer sees (ISA, instruction set, registers).
ORGANIZATION = how it is built (control signals, buses, memory tech).