The ALU Process

This web page is associated with a book called called The Animated Computer

The book can be bought at: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Dr_Jerome_Heath_THE_EBOOK_ON_COMPUTER_DESIGN?id=WxOTBQAAQBAJ

The book gives excellent explanations for the animated images on this web site. This web page shows the animation of the computer designs in action. The book gives explanations of what the animations are about. Combining the books explanations with the animation provides a well rounded understanding of the animated computer.

The ALU cycle is shown in the pictures below. We first show a picture of the registers with the ALU and Shifter. The second diagram shows the data from the two registers being put onto the two down buses, A and B. Each bit of the register data goes on one line of the bus. Then the data passes through the ALU and Shifter. As the command directs the ALU or Shifter, the data may be added, compared, or the combined result may be shifted. Then the data continues up the C bus to be loaded on the register specified in the command.

ALU in Action

The Start Condition: Specific registers must have the data needed.

The Down Buses: The Data is sent from specific registers to the ALU and Shifter.

Processing: Processing is done in the ALU and Shifter per the command.

The Up Bus: The resulting data is moved to a particular register.

A faster version (still not nearly as fast as the computer does it):

Higher Speed Version of ALU process

Some functions of the ALU and Shifter:

The Animated Computer

Dr. Jerome Heath