How does a processor work? Easily explained
Everyone knows it, but many don't know what it does and how it actually works: a processor. We explain in simple terms what is the heart of every computer and many other devices.
What does a processor actually do?
The processor, also called the CPU (Central Processing Unit), is at the heart of all hardware, without it nothing works.
- Each command to the processor is sent in a combination of the two numbers 0 and 1. These commands are processed one after the other by the CPU.
- The CPU processes processes in the binary machine language: put simply, the "0" stands for "no" and the "1" for "yes"
- In addition to the work commands, the processor also responds to unforeseen results. These are sent to the CPU using interrupts. The processor then interrupts its current work, saves the values and processes the unforeseen event first. Then he goes back to his original command.
This is how a processor works
A processor processes instructions in four steps, which John von Neumann described in 1945: Fetch, Decode, Fetch Operands and Execute.
- Fetch: First the address of the next command is read from the command line register in the working memory and loaded into the command memory.
- Decode: The command decoder decrypts the command and activates all circuits which are necessary for the execution of the command.
- Fetch Operands: Now all values and parameters of the command are loaded into the registers that are to be changed. The processor finds these values on the hard disk, in the cache or in the working memory.
- Execute: The process is being executed. This can be, for example, the control of a peripheral device such as a printer or an operation in the arithmetic unit.
- After the execution has been completed, the cycle can start again, so the next command can be processed.
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