Answer to Question #153301 in Programming & Computer Science for Harri

Question

Describe what is meant by Von Neumann Architecture.

State two main features of the Von Neumann Architecture

Answer 1

Von Neumann Architecture is a computer design architecture mainly consisting of a processing unit which can perform arithmetic operations (ALU) and has registers, a control unit which stores both instruction register (IR) and program counter, I/O, and memory that stores data and instructions simultaneously. 

Unlike Harvard Architecture, there is no distinction between data and memory instructions in memory, which makes this architecture susceptible to bottlenecks.

Main features:

1) Shared memory for both programs and data that allows uniform access for both instructions and data, but can also cause additional problems as it allows programmers to (unintentionally) tamper with instructions.

2) Sequential processing of instructions in a fetch-execute cycle due to having a single bus between memory, arithmetic unit, and control unit.