Decoder - Instruction Decoder

Instruction Decoder

In CPU design, the instruction decoder is the part of the CPU that converts the bits stored in the instruction register -- or, in CPUs that have microcode, the microinstruction -- into the control signals that control the other parts of the CPU.

A simple CPU with 8 registers may use 3-to-8 logic decoders inside the instruction decoder to select two source registers of the register file to feed into the ALU as well as the destination register to accept the output of the ALU. A typical CPU instruction decoder also includes several other things.

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Famous quotes containing the word instruction:

    Everything from airplanes to kitchen blenders—and even chopsticks—comes with an instruction manual. Children, despite all their complexity, do not.
    Lawrence Kutner (20th century)