CPU Architecture & Portability

Module 1 – CPU Architecture & Portability · 1

Page 1 of 3 · About 15 minutes per lesson, including practice.

Source, machine code, and ISA

15-minute session: read for 3 minutes, trace for 3, experiment for 7, and complete the check for 2. Spend longer whenever you need.

A CPU executes instructions from its instruction-set architecture (ISA). Source text needs a compiler or interpreter. The same Python source may work on x86-64 and Arm64 when each has a compatible interpreter; a compiled x86-64 executable is a different artifact. Print the lab machine’s architecture, then write a table separating source language, ISA, operating system, and runtime. An emulator implements another machine’s behavior and is not the same as recompilation.

import platform
print(platform.machine())

Practice and evidence

Keep three notes: your prediction, the actual result, and why they match or differ. The completion check grades understanding; the practice task builds skill.

Language reference: www.intel.com

Language reference: developer.arm.com

Language reference: docs.riscv.org

Example code on Agila Forge ↗