instruktionuppsättning

An instruktionsuppsättning, often abbreviated as ISA, is a fundamental concept in computer architecture. It defines the set of basic commands that a computer processor can understand and execute. Think of it as the vocabulary and grammar that the CPU uses to communicate with software. The ISA dictates the types of operations a processor can perform, such as arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction), data movement between memory and registers, and control flow instructions (jumps, branches). It also specifies how these operations are represented in binary code, the format of instructions, and the addressing modes available for accessing data. Different processor families, like x86 used in most personal computers and ARM used in many mobile devices, have distinct instruction sets. This difference means that software compiled for one ISA will not run directly on a processor with a different ISA without some form of translation or emulation. The design of an ISA has a significant impact on a processor's performance, power consumption, and cost.