Itanium® Architecture for Programmers: Understanding 64-Bit Processors and EPIC Principles

1.1. Analogy: Piano Architecture

Architecture applies to buildings, landscapes, computers, and even pianos. Let us briefly consider the architecture of pianos. Piano architecture can be defined by the specification of the keyboard, as shown in Figure 1-1a. The keyboard is the player (user) interface to this musical instrument. It consists of 88 keys: 36 black keys and 52 white keys. Striking a key causes a note of specified frequency to sound. As the size and the arrangement of the keys are identical for all modern piano keyboards, anyone who can play the piano can play any piano.

Figure 1-1. Architecture and implementation of the piano

Many implementations ...