The ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) architecture is based on the principles of Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC), which prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and high performance.
Notable design characteristics include:
Load/Store Architecture: Interactions with memory and registers occur exclusively through load and store operations, keeping computation separate from memory access.
Uniform Register Set: The use of a consistent set of general-purpose registers (R0-R15) and a Current Program Status Register (CPSR) streamlines processing and reduces system complexity.
Conditional Execution: A majority of instructions can be executed based on the status flags, reducing the need for branching and minimizing overhead.
Pipelining: ARM’s pipeline allows instructions to pass through stages such as fetch, decode, and execute, improving processing speed and throughput.
Scalable Bit Sizes: ARM supports both 32-bit (ARMv7) and 64-bit (ARMv8) configurations, providing flexibility for a wide range of applications.
These elements combine to make ARM a fundamental component in contemporary computing.