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Answer:

No. Both processors have the same range of logical addresses, but there need not be actual RAM behind each address.


Architecture vs. Implementation

The architecture of a computer is a logical description of its components and its basic operations.

The MIPS family of computers all have the same assembly-level architecture. This means that all MIPS machines can be programmed using the same assembly language. The actual electronics that implement the architecture may differ greatly between versions of the chip.

This is analogous to "car architecture". Two Jaguars may appear the same to a driver (same styling, same user controls, same operation) but have different components under the hood. The architecture is the same, but the implementation (and performance) is different. Keep this in mind as you visit the used car lots in Silicon Valley.

The architecture of a MIPS is different from the architecture of a Pentium. Both are Von Neumann machines, so they look the same in general, but the details of operation are completely different. They have different machine languages, and hence different assembly languages.


QUESTION 11:

(Hard Thought Question:) Must a machine language program be run on an actual processor chip (i.e., on hardware)? Hint: Think about Java.


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