Implementation
Each microinstruction in a microprogram provides the bits which control the functional elements that internally compose a CPU. The advantage over a hard-wired CPU is that internal CPU control becomes a specialized form of a computer program. Microcode thus transforms a complex electronic design challenge (the control of a CPU) into a less-complex programming challenge.
To take advantage of this, computers were divided into several parts:
A microsequencer picked the next word of the control store. A sequencer is mostly a counter, but usually also has some way to jump to a different part of the control store depending on some data, usually data from the instruction register and always some part of the control store. The simplest sequencer is just a register loaded from a few bits of the control store.
A register set is a fast memory containing the data of the central processing unit. It may include the program counter, stack pointer, and other numbers that are not easily accessible to the application programmer. Often the register set is a triple-ported register file, that is, two registers can be read, and a third written at the same time.
An arithmetic and logic unit performs calculations, usually addition, logical negation, a right shift, and logical AND. It often performs other functions, as well.
There may also be a memory address register and a memory data register, used to access the main computer storage.
Together, these elements form an "execution unit". Most modern CPUs have several execution units. Even simple computers usually have one unit to read and write memory, and another to execute user code.
These elements could often be brought together as a single chip. This chip came in a fixed width which would form a 'slice' through the execution unit. These were known as 'bit slice' chips. The AMD Am2900 family is one of the best known examples of bit slice elements.
The parts of the execution units, and the execution units themselves are interconnected by a bundle of wires called a bus.
Programmers develop microprograms. The basic tools are software: A microassembler allows a programmer to define the table of bits symbolically. A simulator program executes the bits in the same way as the electronics (hopefully), and allows much more freedom to debug the microprogram.
After the microprogram is finalized, and extensively tested, it is sometimes used as the input to a computer program that constructs logic to produce the same data. This program is similar to those used to optimize a programmable logic array. No known computer program can produce optimal logic, but even pretty good logic can vastly reduce the number of transistors from the number required for a ROM control store. This reduces the cost and power used by a CPU.
Microcode can be characterized as horizontal or vertical. This refers primarily to whether each microinstruction directly controls CPU elements (horizontal microcode), or requires subsequent decoding by combinatorial logic before doing so (vertical microcode). Consequently each horizontal microinstruction is wider (contains more bits) and occupies more storage space than a vertical microinstruction.
Read more about this topic: Microcode