Execution unit

<p>In <a href="/facts/Computer_engineering/5x1TRKGo">computer engineering</a>, an execution unit (E-unit or EU) is a part of a <a href="/facts/Processor_(computing)/z3wPljrI">processing unit</a> that performs the operations and calculations forwarded from the <a href="/facts/Instruction_unit/g9A4MCUT">instruction unit</a>. It may have its own internal control sequence unit (not to be confused with a <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">CPU</a>'s main <a href="/facts/Control_unit/8QRX3lwf">control unit</a>), some <a href="/facts/Processor_register/32RvbUdz">registers</a>, and other internal units such as an <a href="/facts/Arithmetic_logic_unit/SgIjPzSc">arithmetic logic unit</a>, <a href="/facts/Address_generation_unit/KC7YYg8n">address generation unit</a>, <a href="/facts/Floating-point_unit/XWTW2AbF">floating-point unit</a>, <a href="/facts/Load%25E2%2580%2593store_unit/8QEBxzRl">load–store unit</a>, branch execution unit or other smaller and more specific components, and can be tailored to support a certain <a href="/facts/Data_type/fcx5hgVL">datatype</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Integer/PUwwrawx">integers</a> or <a href="/facts/Floating-point_arithmetic/eIckahxe">floating-points</a>.
</p><p>It is common for modern processing units to have multiple parallel functional units within its execution units, which is referred to as <a href="/facts/Superscalar_processor/gPxRAb25">superscalar</a> design. The simplest arrangement is to use a single bus manager unit to manage the memory interface and the others to perform calculations. Additionally, modern execution units are usually <a href="/facts/Instruction_pipelining/3zy6CcX1">pipelined</a>.
</p>

Execution unit open-in-new

Execution unit