Sage-Tips

Can computers represent real numbers?

Representing real numbers in a computer always involves an approximation and a potential loss of significant digits. Also, if the natural representation of the machine does not use that number of bits and repre- sentation, arithmetic, etc. will be slower as it must be externally specified, i.e. off the chip.

What is a real register?

real-estate register in British English (ˈriːlɪˌsteɪt ˈrɛdʒɪstə) (in the United States) an annual directory that lists available properties and provides contact details for real estate companies.

Do registers hold values or addresses?

General-purpose registers (GPRs) can store both data and addresses, i.e., they are combined data/address registers; in some architectures, the register file is unified so that the GPRs can store floating-point numbers as well.

Can a computer represent every number on the real line accurately?

Since your computer can only consider finite set of digits (decimal or binary), only some numbers can be exactly represented in your computer… And as said Jon, 3 is a prime number which isn’t a factor of 10, so 1/3 cannot be represented with a finite number of elements in base 10.

Why can’t computers represent every possible number?

Squeezing infinitely many real numbers into a finite number of bits requires an approximate representation. Therefore the result of a floating-point calculation must often be rounded in order to fit back into its finite representation. This rounding error is the characteristic feature of floating-point computation.

What is the purpose of the registers in the CPU?

Registers. Registers are small amounts of high-speed memory contained within the CPU. They are used by the processor to store small amounts of data that are needed during processing, such as: the address of the next instruction to be executed.

Why do we need CPU registers?

Registers are a type of computer memory used to quickly accept, store, and transfer data and instructions that are being used immediately by the CPU. The computer needs processor registers for manipulating data and a register for holding a memory address.

Why are registers used in the CPU?

Can binary represent all numbers?

Yes, every real number has a binary representation, just like every real number has a decimal (and an octal, and hexadecimal, and similar for any other base) representation, though only if you allow an infinite number of digits.

Are there any HW registers outside of the CPU?

There are many HW registers outside the CPU. Probably the most famous, or notorious, depending on your POV, is the Multimedia Timer, which in most systems is actually part of the motherboard. It may be problematic because it is a very fast timer that many programs may contend for simultaneously.

What is the purpose of a register in a CPU?

So, for this purpose, there are several different classes of CPU registers which works in coordination with the computer memory to run operations efficiently. The sole purpose of having register is fast retrieval of data for processing by CPU.

What is the IRR Register in a CPU?

The IRR specifies which interrupts are pending acknowledgement, and is typically a symbolic re There are many HW registers outside the CPU. Probably the most famous, or notorious, depending on your POV, is the Multimedia Timer, which in most systems is actually part of the motherboard.

What are the different types of registers in computer architecture?

1 Accumulator: This is the most frequently used register used to store data taken from memory. 2 Memory Address Registers (MAR): It holds the address of the location to be accessed from memory. 3 Memory Data Registers (MDR): It contains data to be written into or to be read out from the addressed location.