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07 May 2011

What's really going on at the deepest level of your digital computer

The old farts and farteusses on the Yahoo List "Ionizing Radiation Affacianados" just had a stroll down Memory Lane about their first home computers, crazy whack things like the MITS Altair, the SOL (whatever that was), and mine, the IMSAI 8080.
My IMSAI (enshrined down in my basement) is immortalized as the teenage hacker's bedroom computer (he uses it to hack into his high school computer and improve his grades) in the movie "War Games."

An unknown chip maker named Intel had developed a complete digital computer on one single chip, the 8008, which quickly evolved into the somewhat more sophisticated 8080.

The problem was, nobody in industry or government wanted it or had a use for it.

But a tiny startup called MITS decided to sell a home computer KIT designed around this unwanted, orphaned chip, and announced their home computer via ads and a big series of Do-It-Yourself articles in Popular Electronics magazine.

This astonishing and wholly unexpected migration of digital computing from Giant Industry & Big Government to the humble cottage spare bedroom happened in 1975. The first home computers, in kit form, were horribly primitive compared to the Dells and Macs you can buy today, and cost about as much as a brand new refrigerator.

For most owners and users of modern computers, what goes on at the deepest level of the computer's guts -- how, exactly, the computer does the jobs we want it to do -- might as well be Magic or Alchemy or Astrology or Witchcraft.

Even those of us who can program a computer in a High-Level Language, like BASIC or FORTRAN or PYTHON or COBOL, are pretty much speaking to the computer in a pretty comprehensible dialect of English. These languages were designed to make programming Human-Friendly.

But the way a computer actually "thinks" and performs tasks is extremely Human-Hostile. At its "core," a digital computer can only manipulate enormously long strings of zeroes and ones, executing operations which are entirely based on Binary Arithmetic and Boolean Algebra.

This is what "thinking" really looks like inside a computer's CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip:

00010110010011001100010101110010011111010100010100100000101010101010 ...

Pathetically, most CPU's can't do any mathematics beyond simple addition of two binary numbers:

..00101011
+ 10010010
----------

..10111101

But there are all sorts of clever, nifty tricks to use simple addition to get the results of subtraction, multiplication, division, root extraction, and from there, any mathematical operation in the most advanced math textbook.

Then, beyond math tasks, digital computer CPUs can also manipulate big strings of 0's and 1's and interpret them as language text -- i.e., store and access and do all sort of tricks with Shakespeare's plays or "Histoire d'O" (1955 winner, Prix des Deux Magots).

Here is the Instruction Set of one of the earliest computer CPU chips, the Intel 8080. (The Z80 uses the same Instruction Set, it's just souped-up for faster speed.)

Here are two fairly simple, straightforward instructions. "Increment" just means to add one to whatever number resides in register C, and "decrement" subtracts one from the number in register C.

Machine   Assembly
Language  Language   
Code      Mnemonic    Instruction  
==========================================
OC        INR C       Increment register C
OD        DCR C       Decrement register C


OC and OD are the hexadecimal (base 16) notation of the instruction. It's a compressed notation for human convenience, but easily translated into binary, the only notation the CPU understands and can manipulate:

hex  binary
=============
0C = 00001100
0D = 00001101


INR and DCR are Assembly Language mnemonics for each instruction. Assembly Language is one step friendlier for human programmers than Machine Language.

(In practice, it's really impossible for humans to work with or make sense of just 000101100100110011000101 ...)

My favorite instruction is

00  NOP  No Operation

... an instruction that does absolutely nothing.

But it's an instruction, and when the CPU encounters it in a program, it must execute it, exactly as it must execute 0C or 0D.

But doing absolutely nothing takes time -- a very short but specific amount of time -- to execute. And sometimes a time delay is exactly what the programmer needs. So if at a particular point in a program, you want the computer to just sit there and twiddle its thumbs for 0.721 seconds, you might write something the CPU would execute as

DO THE NEXT INSTRUCTION 123 TIMES
NOP


I have suspicions that there are a few mistakes in this (filched) 8080 Instruction Set, but you'll get the idea. Just don't rely on it to program an automobile's engine, fuel or braking electronics, or to run the in-flight systems of an Airbus airliner, or an important system -- like Life Support -- on a rocket ship to Mars. Call Intel, get their documentation, use their authorized 8080 Instruction Set.

Here it is, here's everything the Intel 8080 Central Processing Unit chip knows how to do.

======================================

8080 Instruction Set
   
Add Instructions

    80  ADD   B      Add register B
    81  ADD   C      Add register C
    82  ADD   D      Add register D
    83  ADD   E      Add register E
    84  ADD   H      Add register H
    85  ADD   L      Add register L
    86  ADD   M      Add memory
    87  ADD   A      Add register A
    88  ADC   B      Add register B with carry
    89  ADC   C      Add register C with carry
    8A  ADC   D      Add register D with carry
    8B  ADC   E      Add register E with carry
    8C  ADC   H      Add register H with carry
    8D  ADC   L      Add register L with carry
    8E  ADC   M      Add memory with carry
    8F  ADC   A      Add register A with carry
    C6  ADI   Imm    Add immediate
    CE  ACI   Imm    Add immediate with carry
    19  DAD   D      Add register pair DE to HL
    29  DAD   H      Add register pair HL to HL
    39  DAD   SP     Add register SP to HL
    09  DAD   B      Add register pair BC to HL

And Instructions

    A0  ANA   B      And register B
    A1  ANA   C      And register C
    A2  ANA   D      And register D
    A3  ANA   E      And register E
    A4  ANA   H      And register H
    A5  ANA   L      And register L
    A6  ANA   M      And memory
    A7  ANA   A      And register A
    E6  ANI   Imm    And immediate

Call Instructions

    C4  CNZ   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Not Zero Flag)
    CC  CZ    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Zero Flag)
    CD  CALL  Addr   Subroutine Call
    D4  CNC   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Not Carry Flag)
    DC  CC    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Carry Flag)
    E4  CPO   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Parity Odd, Not Parity Flag)
    EC  CPE   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Parity Even, Parity Flag)
    F4  CP    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Positive, Not Sign Flag)
    FC  CM    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Call (Minus, Sign Flag)

Compare Instructions

    B8  CMP   B      Compare register B
    B9  CMP   C      Compare register C
    BA  CMP   D      Compare register D
    BB  CMP   E      Compare register E
    BC  CMP   H      Compare register H
    BD  CMP   L      Compare register L
    BE  CMP   M      Compare memory
    BF  CMP   A      Compare register A
    FE  CPI   Imm    Compare immediate

Decrement Instructions

    0B  DCX   B      Decrement register pair BC to HL
    0C  INR   B      Increment register C
    0D  DCR   B      Decrement register C
    13  INX   D      Increment register pair DE
    14  INR   D      Increment register D
    15  DCR   D      Decrement register D
    1B  DCX   D      Decrement register pair DE to HL
    1C  INR   E      Increment register E
    1D  DCR   E      Decrement register E
    03  INX   B      Increment register pair BC
    23  INX   H      Increment register pair HL
    24  INR   H      Increment register H
    25  DCR   H      Decrement register H
    04  INR   B      Increment register B
    2B  DCX   H      Decrement register pair HL to HL
    2C  INR   L      Increment register L
    2D  DCR   L      Decrement register L
    05  DCR   B      Decrement register B
    33  INX   SP     Increment register SP
    34  INR   M      Increment memory (HL)
    35  DCR   M      Decrement memory (HL)
    3B  DCX   SP     Decrement register SP to HL
    3C  INR   M      Increment register A
    3D  DCR   M      Decrement register A

Exclusive Or Instructions

    A8  XRA   B      Exclusive Or register B
    A9  XRA   C      Exclusive Or register C
    AA  XRA   D      Exclusive Or register D
    AB  XRA   E      Exclusive Or register E
    AC  XRA   H      Exclusive Or register H
    AD  XRA   L      Exclusive Or register L
    AE  XRA   M      Exclusive Or memory
    AF  XRA   A      Exclusive Or register A
    EE  XRI   Imm    Exclusive Or immediate

Interrupt Instructions

    F3  DI           Disable Interrupt
    FB  EI           Enable Interrupt

Jump Instructions

    C2  JNZ   Addr   Conditional Jump (Not Zero Flag)
    C3  JMP   Addr   Jump to Direct Address
    CA  JZ    Addr   Conditional Jump (Zero Flag)
    D2  JNC   Addr   Conditional Jump (Not Carry Flag)
    DA  JC    Addr   Conditional Jump (Carry Flag)
    E2  JPO   Addr   Conditional Jump (Parity Odd, Not Parity Flag)
    E9  PCHL         Jump Indirect HL
    EA  JPE   Addr   Conditional Jump (Parity Even, Parity Flag)
    F2  JP    Addr   Conditional Jump (Positive, Not Sign Flag)
    FA  JM    Addr   Conditional Jump (Minus, Sign Flag)


Load Instructions

    01  LXI   B      Load Immediate register pair BC
    0A  LDAX  B    
    0E  MVI   B      Move Immediate register C
    11  LXI   D      Load Immediate register pair DE
    16  MVI   D      Move Immediate register D
    1A  LDAX  D    
    1E  MVI   E      Move Immediate register E
    21  LXI   H      Load Immediate register pair HL
    26  MVI   H      Move Immediate register H
    2A  LHLD  Addr 
    2E  MVI   L      Move Immediate register L
    31  LXI   SP     Load Immediate register SP
    3A  LDA   Addr   Load Direct
    06  MVI   B      Move Immediate register B
    3E  MVI   M      Move Immediate register A

Move Instructions

    F9  SPHL        

Or Instructions

    B0  ORA   B      Or register B
    B1  ORA   C      Or register C
    B2  ORA   D      Or register D
    B3  ORA   E      Or register E
    B4  ORA   H      Or register H
    B5  ORA   L      Or register L
    B6  ORA   M      Or memory
    B7  ORA   A      Or register A
    F6  ORI   Imm    Or immediate

Other Instructions

    00  NOP          No Operation
    76  HLT          Halt
    D3  OUT   Port   Output from Port Direct
    DB  IN    Port   Input from Port Direct
    E3  XTHL       
    EB  XCHG       
    27  DAA          Decimal Adjust
    2F  CMA          Complement Accumulator
    37  STC          Set Carry Flag
    3F  CMC          Complement Carry Flag

Reset Instructions

    C7  RST   0      Reset 0
    CF  RST   4      Reset 4
    D7  RST   1      Reset 1
    DF  RST   5      Reset 5
    E7  RST   2      Reset 2
    EF  RST   6      Reset 6
    F7  RST   3      Reset 3
    FF  RST   7      Reset 7

Return Instructions

    C0  RNZ   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Not Zero Flag)
    C8  RZ    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Zero Flag)
    C9  RET   Addr   Subroutine Return
    D0  RNC   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Not Carry Flag)
    D8  RC    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Carry Flag)
    E0  RPO   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Parity Odd, Not Parity Flag)
    E8  RPE   Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Parity Even, Parity Flag)
    F0  RP    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Positive, Not Sign Flag)
    F8  RM    Addr   Conditional Subroutine Return (Minus, Sign Flag)

Rotate Instructions

    0F  RRC          Rotate Right
    17  RAL          Rotate Left with Carry
    1F  RAR          Rotate Right with Carry
    07  RLC          Rotate Left

Stack Instructions

    C1  POP   B      Pop register pair BC
    C5  PUSH  B      Push register pair BC
    D1  POP   D      Pop register pair DE
    D5  PUSH  D      Push register pair DE
    E1  POP   H      Pop register pair HL
    E5  PUSH  H      Push register pair HL
    F1  POP   SP     Pop register pair PSW & A
    F5  PUSH  SP     Push register pair PSW & A

Store Instructions

    70  MOV   M,B    Store register B
    71  MOV   M,C    Store register C
    72  MOV   M,D    Store register D
    73  MOV   M,E    Store register E
    74  MOV   M,H    Store register H
    75  MOV   M,L    Store register L
    77  MOV   M,A    Store register A
    12  STAX  D    
    02  STAX  B    
    22  SHLD  Addr 
    36  MVI   M      Move Immediate memory (HL)
    3A  LDA   Addr   Load Direct

Store Instructions

    70  MOV   M,B    Store register B
    71  MOV   M,C    Store register C
    72  MOV   M,D    Store register D
    73  MOV   M,E    Store register E
    74  MOV   M,H    Store register H
    75  MOV   M,L    Store register L
    77  MOV   M,A    Store register A
    12  STAX  D    
    02  STAX  B    
    22  SHLD  Addr 
    36  MVI   M      Move Immediate memory (HL)
    3A  LDA   Addr   Load Direct

Subtraction Instructions

    90  SUB   B      Subtract register B
    91  SUB   C      Subtract register C
    92  SUB   D      Subtract register D
    93  SUB   E      Subtract register E
    94  SUB   H      Subtract register H
    95  SUB   L      Subtract register L
    96  SUB   M      Subtract memory
    97  SUB   A      Subtract register A
    98  SBB   B      Subtract register B with borrow
    99  SBB   C      Subtract register C with borrow
    9A  SBB   D      Subtract register D with borrow
    9B  SBB   E      Subtract register E with borrow
    9C  SBB   H      Subtract register H with borrow
    9D  SBB   L      Subtract register L with borrow
    9E  SBB   M      Subtract memory with borrow
    9F  SBB   A      Subtract register A with borrow
    D6  SUI   Imm    Subtract immediate
    DE  SBI   Imm    Subtract immediate with borrow

9 comments:

patfromch said...

Now dig this: The 8080 was waaaaay before my time. It ran on 2 mHz and had a capacity of 6000 transistors. The latest Sandy Bridge models from intel run on ca. 2.5 GHz (but can apparently be overclocked up to 3,5) and host billions of transistors. Think of it this way: Take the population of Greater London (about 2 million) and multiply that around 200 times, all that on the size of a fingertip.
And here is the kicker: Moore’s Law, which states that the capacity of a chip doubles every 18months or so will soon come to its phsical limits. Experts still disupte when that will happen, either this decade or before 2030, the claims vary. Moore himself said it will be around 2017, other experts are more optimistic.
Then things will be verrry interesting. Might well be that nanaotechnology will be adapted, possibly fiberoptics, there is even talk of putting our knowledge of quantum mechanics to use. In any case this will be one of the most interesting transitions in scientific and engineering history !

Vleeptron Dude said...

What made my IMSAI primitive wasn't its 8080 chip. In 1977, the IMSAI used audio cassettes (or punched paper tape) as off-line digital storage. For a monitor, I had to modify a little black-and-white Hitachi TV set. Later I bought one of the first alphanumeric keyboards for input.

But for brainpower alone, my guess is my IMSAI and its 8080 was equivalent to all the digital computing power of all the combatants of World War II.

patfromch said...

Ah, yes, reminds me of those happy days we had with the Commodore 64. The games were copied on audio tapes. I remember one time we wanted to play Olympic Games Los Angeles and we were all excited because this was new. And in color ! sometimes you were lucky and a game would run in about 5 minutes and not crash. We had to wait 20 minutes and the game crashed after 2 minutes. Now try to tell that to a kid with a more sophisticated game on his bloody cellphone !
I also have fond memories of the first Laptop i was able to use. It was a Compaq which looked very similar to an Osborne I. One heavy monochrome mother running on DOS with 7.5 " diskettes. i still remember being hunched over that keyboard looking into that tiny screen playing Sokoban. Happy, innocent days. Back then the idea of being on the brink to quantum computing was still SF. These days it is very likely I will see one of these machines in my lifetime.

Oh btw the Z1 from Konrad Zuse built in 1937 or so ran on 1 mHz. Einac also from around that time had a total weight of 27 tons.. And the first chess machine based on ideas of Samuel Babbage was built in the 1890s. Waaaay to go !

Vleeptron Dude said...

In 173 BC, I went to one of the first home/personal computer conventions ever, in New York City, and there was Adan Osborne, who wrote The Bible of home computing. I got his autograph! He died in 2003 ... here's his obit:

http://naturalscience.com/ns/news/news44.html

patfromch said...

Now THAT is class, having Osborne's autograph ! There is a computer museum where I live and they got an Osborne 1. Must go there once on a rainy day.
There is also a business rule called Osborne's Law which states that you should never announce a newproduct in development while your previous model has just been shipped. It is named after Osborne who did just that and basically committed financial suicide by announcing the Osborne 2 just after the release of the Osborne 1. Poor bugger.

Vleeptron Dude said...

It was always pretty clear that Osborne had lots of amazing talents -- but being a smart businessman (like Bill G.) was not one of them.

I was just reading about my IMSAI, and its creator -- who had a big commercial success with his computers -- forced his entire work force to take EST -- Erhardt Seminar Training. At that time it was a hugely popular Self-Actualization cult.

The big cheese of the massive energy fraud company Enron pushed all his top executives into getting Lasik surgery for their eyes -- oh, please don't ask me why. Some of these business geniuses are loooooooooooooony.

patfromch said...

Oh yeah, like this horrible Napoleon Hill stuff. Bleh !

You want to have a look at the future ? Since Moore's Law must come to its physical limitations one day, quantum computing might be the answer:http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/25/researchers-show-off-scalable-architecture-for-quantum-computing/

Chances are good that you and I will see this happen. And before someone asks about Artificial Intelligence, forget that. Too complex for various reasons, including hardware. We are not even close, not even with quantum technology. But I digress.

Vleeptron Dude said...

AI is gonna make its advances not smoothly, not universally ... but one achievement at a time. Like chess, which once seemed the pinnacle of human intelligence. Now a digital box can knock the shit out of a human world chess champion (and the box doesn't even know it's playing chess).

One indication of the progress of AI is the growing number of Life-And-Death functions we are increasingly willing to entrust entirely to software. I'm thinking specifically of aviation and medicine.

patfromch said...

Question: Don't these conclusions come from Game Theory ?
At present and to my knowledge science is not even sure how to define the term consciousness and neurology has a hard time actually showing where a thought originates within the brain, wether it is a single event or a swarm. That knowledge will be vital in developing AI.
At present that chess box, Asimo and that thingy what was on Jeopardy are only toys, let us see what the future holds
I doubt that I will see AI in my lifetime, but it will be most interesting to follow these graduating steps indeed. I just read an interesting book by Michio Kaku which covers many of these subjects. More info as I read on.