A program counter is a register in a computer processor that contains the address of the instruction being executed at the current time. The program counter is incremented by the processor after each instruction is executed, so that it contains the address of the next instruction to be executed. What is example of program counter? The program counter is a special register in a computer that holds the address of the instruction being executed at the current time.
Where is program counter used?
The program counter (PC) is a register that holds the address of the instruction currently being executed. When the CPU fetches an instruction from memory, it stores the address of that instruction in the PC. The instruction is then executed, and the PC is incremented to point to the next instruction in memory.
This process continues until the program reaches an exit condition, such as an "end" instruction or an error. What is program counter size? The program counter size is the number of bits in the program counter. This is usually determined by the CPU architecture. For example, a 32-bit CPU would have a program counter size of 32 bits. Is program counter in the control unit? No, the program counter is not in the control unit. The control unit is responsible for fetching instructions from memory and decoding them, but the program counter is responsible for tracking the address of the next instruction to be fetched.
What is the difference between program counter and stack pointer?
The stack pointer (SP) is a register that contains the address of the top of the stack. The program counter (PC) is a register that contains the address of the next instruction to be executed.
The stack is a data structure that stores information in a last-in, first-out (LIFO) manner. When a function is called, the address of the instruction following the call instruction is pushed onto the stack. This is known as the return address. When the function returns, the top item on the stack (the return address) is popped off and execution resumes at that address.
The program counter is incremented each time an instruction is executed. When a function is called, the current value of the program counter is pushed onto the stack as the return address. When the function returns, the program counter is popped off the stack and execution resumes at that address.