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instruction set architecture
Sign in to saveAlso known as ISA, CPU architecture, processor architecture
set of abstract symbols (called instructions) which identify and describe operations in a computer program to a computer processor
~29 min read
Encyclopedic overview
An instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that defines the programmable interface of the CPU of a computer, defining how software interacts with hardware. A device (i.e. CPU) that interprets instructions described by an ISA is an implementation of that ISA. Generally, the same ISA is used for a family of related CPU devices.
In general, an ISA defines the instructions, data types, registers, and the programming interface for managing main memory such as addressing modes, virtual memory, and memory consistency mechanisms. The ISA also includes the input/output model of the programmable interface.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “instruction set architecture” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.