ALU - Arithmetic & Logic UnitThe ALU is a very important fundamental building block of the CPU. It is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations. All of the other elements of the computer system are there to bring data into the ALU for it to process and then take the result back. Even the simplest microprocessors contain one ALU for purposes such as maintaining timers. The processors found inside modern CPUs and GPUs accommodate very powerful and very complex ALUs; a single component may contain a number of ALUs.
An ALU can handle both integers and floating-point numbers. For the electronics associated with an ALU go to the Cyberphysics Page on ALUs |
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