What is Instruction set?
An '''instruction set,''' or '''instruction set architecture''' (ISA), is a list of all the commands ([[Instruction (computer science)|instructions]]), with all their variations, that a processor can execute. Instructions include: * [[Arithmetic]] such as '''add''' and '''subtract''' * [[Logic]] instructions such as '''and''', '''or''', and '''not''' * [[Data]] instructions such as '''move''', '''input''', '''output''', '''load''', and '''store''' * Control flow instructions such as '''goto''', '''if ... goto''', '''call''', and '''return'''. '''Instruction set architecture''' is distinguished from '''[[microarchitecture]]'''. Microarchitecture is the detailed description of the system that is enough for completely describing the operation of all parts of the computing system, as well as how they are inter-connected and inter-operate to implement the ISA. An '''instruction set''' is the part of the [[computer architecture]] related to [[programming]]. An ISA includes a specification set of [[Opcode|opcodes]] ([[machine language]]), which are the native commands implemented in a particular [[central processing unit]] design. There are 2 variations of the instruction set, [[Complex instruction set computer|CISC]] and [[RISC]]. Computers with different [[Microarchitecture|microarchitectures]] can share a common instruction set. For example, the [[Intel]] [[Pentium]] and the [[AMD]] Athlon implement nearly identical versions of the [[x86]] instruction set, but they are very different in internal designs. ==Related pages== * [[Complex instruction set computer|CISC]] * [[RISC]] * [[VLIW]] * [[Minimal instruction set computer|MISC]] * [[digital signal processor]] * [[graphics processing unit]] * [[central processing unit]] * [[microcontroller]] * [[microprocessor]] * [[Computer architecture]] ==Other websites== *[http://www.cs.clemson.edu/~mark/hist.html Mark Smotherman's Historical Computer Designs Page] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509121855/http://vmoc.museophile.org/cards/ Microprocessor Instruction