Advantages of structured hardware
Harold W. Lawson, Bengt Magnhagen · ACM SIGARCH Computer Architecture News · 1974
The proper structuring of the implementation levels in a digital computer system is an important attribute for all aspects of the product. That is to say, the design, development, testing, production and maintenance of the product are facilitated by a well-structured design of the software and hardware components. This paper discusses digital computer system structuring in general, followed by descriptions of the logical and physical architecture of the DATASAAB FCPU (Flexible Central Processing Unit). The implementation of a vector arithmetic instruction is presented to provide a more thorough insight into the operational aspects of the FCPU. Finally, the benefits derived from the structuring of this hardware product are presented.