Question

Which of the following design levels of a computer are widely used in computer design?

1) Gate level

2) Processor level

3) Register level

4) User level

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 and 4 only
3. 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : 1, 2 and 3 only

The design of a complex system such as a computer carried at several levels of abstraction. Generally, three such levels are recognized in computer design. We are naming each level for a key component treated as primitive or indivisible at that level of abstraction.

• The processor level (also called the architecture, behavior, or system level) corresponds to a user’s or manager’s view of a computer.
• The register level also called the register-transfer level (RTL) is approximately the level of detail seen by the programmer.
• The gate-level also called the logic level is primarily concern with hardware designers.

 

These three design levels also correspond roughly to the major subdivisions of integrated circuit technology into VLSI, MSI and SSI components.

Level	Example compo-nents	IC density	Inform ation units	Time units
Gate	Logic gates, flip flops	SSI	Bits	10-12 to 10-9 s
Register	Registers, counters, combin-ational circuits, small sequential circuits	MSI	Words	10-9 to 10-6 s
Proce-ssor	CPUs, memories, IO devices	VLSI	Blocks of words	10-3 to 103 s