Computer Architecture on my Mind..I am currently working on my CompArch project..I really find this one really really interesting..It is all about predicting outcomes and increasing the speed..Isn't this human tendency?? I would really like to know my future before it actually comes and off course I want to do everything as fast as I can..The only difference is in the computer architecture course we are talking about microprocessors and here about life!!
Lets start with a simple example, I am leaving office..My mind is filled with calculations and prediction for the time I will reach home..Then I start considering parameters like speed limits, traffic, lights, roads etc etc etc and predict the destination time! How on earth am I going to enjoy the drive back home??
Similarly in computer architecture, we study how to increase the speed of computations and how to predict the outcome of operations without actually doing them..
I wish the predictions were easy and most importantly accurate!! There are different types of predictors(Now I am back to microprocessors..I wish I was talking about life.:):) ) For people who do not know much about this subject(including myself) lets try and make it simple..Lets stick to only branch predictors..These are the methods for deciding whether a branch will be taken or not..In simple terms it will decide whether I will or will not be doing a certain thing..
Lets start with the basic ones, "Static Predictors"..These are pretty dumb..They decide the direction of the branch even before the program starts executing!!These are like our attitudes, some of us start working on a project/goal by deciding they will/wont be able to complete it..We call them pessimists or optimists..
Then come the "Dynamic Predictors"..They predict the behavior by taking into account the last prediction of the same branch and all other branches..This is like the example we discussed about leaving office..We predict the time by considering all the situations we had been into..Generally we call them the "practical people"..A person who analyses the situation and then decides his/her course of action without getting emotionally attached to them..
There are five more types, but for now these two are good enough!!I hope someday we will achieve 98% efficiency in predicting life..:):). .Just kidding..Hope that doesn't ever happen..Otherwise the word "surprise" will no longer be in the dictionary!!
Lets start with a simple example, I am leaving office..My mind is filled with calculations and prediction for the time I will reach home..Then I start considering parameters like speed limits, traffic, lights, roads etc etc etc and predict the destination time! How on earth am I going to enjoy the drive back home??
Similarly in computer architecture, we study how to increase the speed of computations and how to predict the outcome of operations without actually doing them..
I wish the predictions were easy and most importantly accurate!! There are different types of predictors(Now I am back to microprocessors..I wish I was talking about life.:):) ) For people who do not know much about this subject(including myself) lets try and make it simple..Lets stick to only branch predictors..These are the methods for deciding whether a branch will be taken or not..In simple terms it will decide whether I will or will not be doing a certain thing..
Lets start with the basic ones, "Static Predictors"..These are pretty dumb..They decide the direction of the branch even before the program starts executing!!These are like our attitudes, some of us start working on a project/goal by deciding they will/wont be able to complete it..We call them pessimists or optimists..
Then come the "Dynamic Predictors"..They predict the behavior by taking into account the last prediction of the same branch and all other branches..This is like the example we discussed about leaving office..We predict the time by considering all the situations we had been into..Generally we call them the "practical people"..A person who analyses the situation and then decides his/her course of action without getting emotionally attached to them..
There are five more types, but for now these two are good enough!!I hope someday we will achieve 98% efficiency in predicting life..:):). .Just kidding..Hope that doesn't ever happen..Otherwise the word "surprise" will no longer be in the dictionary!!
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