Some Generic Questions

Posted by invin on
URL: http://nand2tetris-questions-and-answers-forum.52.s1.nabble.com/Some-Generic-Questions-tp4032480.html

I am not very clear about the details of some of the concepts explained in the chapters. I would appreciate a not too lengthy explanation for the following questions:

1) What code/programs scans Keyboard and Screen? Where do they run i.e. on Hack computer or are they Java programs that directly run on my computer or is it some other controller that controls them? Please explain.

2) How does a program terminate on a generic CPU? Does a compiler (generic) insert infinite loop instructions at the end of each program/application?

3) If a CPU is 64 bits, does it mean that everything in the CPU is 64 bits i.e instruction sets, addressable words, buses, registers? The reason I ask this question is that the x86 Intel CPU has different length instructions, registers and memory is byte addressable?

4) In a Von Neumann architecture, there is only one main memory. Is there an actual partition inside these memories for separating the data and instructions? What makes the instruction "read-only" in the instruction area (because it would be a security risk otherwise)?

5) What loads a program into the Main Memory of a generic computer? Is it the operating system?