Sub: 8086 VIVA QUESTIONS

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Give examples for 8 / 16 / 32 bit Microprocessor? - 8-bit Processor - 8085 / Z80 / 6800; 16-bit Processor - 8086 / 68000 / Z8000; 32-bit Processor - 80386 / 80486. What is 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th generation processor? - The processor made of PMOS / NMOS / HMOS / HCMOS technology is called 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th generation processor, and it is made up of 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 bits. What is the difference between microprocessor and microcontroller? - In Microprocessor more op-codes, few bit handling instructions. But in Microcontroller: fewer op-codes, more bit handling Instructions, and also it is defined as a device that includes micro processor, memory, & input / output signal lines on a single chip. What is meant by LATCH? - Latch is a D- type flip-flop used as a temporary storage device controlled by a timing signal, which can store 0 or 1. The primary function of a Latch is data storage. It is used in output devices such as LED, to hold the data for display. What is the difference between primary & secondary storage device? - In primary storage device the storage capacity is limited. It has a volatile memory. In secondary storage device the storage capacity is larger. It is a nonvolatile memory. Primary devices are: RAM / ROM. Secondary devices are: Floppy disc / Hard disk. Difference between static and dynamic RAM? - Static RAM: No refreshing, 6 to 8 MOS transistors are required to form one memory cell, Information stored as voltage level in a flip flop. Dynamic RAM: Refreshed periodically, 3 to 4 transistors are required to form one memory cell, Information is stored as a charge in the gate to substrate capacitance. What is interrupt? - Interrupt is a signal send by external device to the processor so as to request the processor to perform a particular work. What is cache memory? - Cache memory is a small high-speed memory. It is used for temporary storage of data & information between the main memory and the CPU (center processing unit). The cache memory is only in RAM. What is called Scratch pad of computer? - Cache Memory is scratch pad of computer. Differentiate between RAM and ROM? - RAM: Read / Write memory, High Speed, Volatile Memory. ROM: Read only memory, Low Speed, Non-Volatile Memory. What is a compiler? - Compiler is used to translate the high-level language program into machine code at a time. It doesnt require special instruction to store in a memory, it stores automatically. The Execution time is less compared to Interpreter. Which processor structure is pipelined? - All x86 processors have pipelined structure. What is flag? - Flag is a flip-flop used to store the information about the status of processor and the status of the instruction executed most recently What is stack? - Stack is a portion of RAM used for saving the content of Program Counter and general purpose registers. Can ROM be used as stack? - ROM cannot be used as stack because it is not possible to write to ROM. What is NV-RAM? - Nonvolatile Read Write Memory, also called Flash memory. It is also know as shadow RAM.

Compiled by: L. Krishnananda, Assistant Professor, REVA Institute of Technology, Bangalore

Sub: 8086 VIVA QUESTIONS

17. What are the flags in 8086? - In 8086 Carry flag, Parity flag, Auxiliary carry flag, Zero flag, Overflow flag, Trace flag, Interrupt flag, Direction flag, and Sign flag. 18. What are the various interrupts in 8086? - Maskable interrupts, Non-Maskable interrupts. 19. What is meant by Maskable interrupts? - An interrupt that can be turned off by the programmer is known as Maskable interrupt. 20. What is Non-Maskable interrupts? - An interrupt which can be never be turned off (i.e., disabled) is known as Non-Maskable interrupt. 21. Which interrupts are generally used for critical events? - Non-Maskable interrupts are used in critical events. Such as Power failure, Emergency, Shut off etc., 22. What are the various segment registers in 8086? - Code, Data, Stack, Extra Segment registers in 8086. 23. what is the position of the Stack Pointer after the PUSH instruction? - The address line is 02 less than the earlier value. 24. What is the position of the Stack Pointer after the POP instruction? - The address line is 02 greater than the earlier value. 25. Logic calculations are done in which type of registers? - Accumulator is the register in which Arithmetic and Logic calculations are done. 26. What are the different functional units in 8086? - Bus Interface Unit and Execution unit, are the two different functional units in 8086. 27. Give examples for Micro controller? - Z80, Intel 8051, 8031, 8096, PIC are the best examples of Microcontroller. 28. Which Segment is used to store interrupt and subroutine return address registers? Stack Segment is used to store interrupt and subroutine return address registers. 29. Which Flags can be set or reset by the programmer and also used to control the operation of the processor? - Trace Flag, Interrupt Flag, Direction Flag. 30. What does EU do? - Execution Unit receives program instruction codes and data from BIU, executes these instructions and store the result in general registers. 31. Which microprocessor accepts the program written for 8086 without any changes? 8088 is that processor. 32. What is the difference between 8086 and 8088? - The BIU in 8088 is 8-bit data bus & 16- bit in 8086.Instruction queue is 4 byte long in 8088 and 6 byte in 8086. 33. What is interrupt? - Interrupt is a signal send by external device to the processor so as to request the processor to perform a particular work. 34. What is cache memory? - Cache memory is a small high-speed memory. It is used for temporary storage of data & information between the main memory and the CPU (center processing unit). The cache memory is RAM. 35. Which flags are available in 8086? - In 8086 Carry flag, Parity flag, Auxiliary carry flag, Zero flag, Overflow flag, Trace flag, Interrupt flag, Direction flag, and Sign flag. 36. What is the position of the Stack Pointer after the PUSH instruction? - The address is 02 less than the earlier value. 37. What is the position of the Stack Pointer after the POP instruction? - The address is 02 greater than the earlier value. 38. Logic calculations are done in which type of registers? - Accumulator is the register in which Arithmetic and Logic calculations are done.
Compiled by: L. Krishnananda, Assistant Professor, REVA Institute of Technology, Bangalore

Sub: 8086 VIVA QUESTIONS

39. What are the different functional units in 8086? - Bus Interface Unit and Execution unit, are the two different functional units in 8086. 40. What does EU do? - Execution Unit receives program instruction codes and data from BIU, executes these instructions and store the result in general registers. 41. Name the general purpose registers available in 8086? AX, BX, CX, DX, SI, DI, SP, BP 42. Name the special registers available in 8086? IP, CS, DS, SS, ES 43. Name the flags available in 8086? Control flags Direction, Interrupt, Trap ; Condition flags CY, AC, S, Z, P, OV 44. What is meant by segmentation? Why is it necessary? 45. Explain how to generate the physical address w.r.t a) code segment and b) any other segment 46. Explain the functions of BIU and EU. 47. What is the need for maximum mode operation? How do you differentiate minimum and maximum modes. 48. Mention the pins available exclusively in minimum mode. 49. Mention the pins available exclusively in maximum mode. 50. What are the functions of following pins of 8086? READY, BHE*, S5, S6, S7, TEST*, ALE. 51. Explain the instruction format of 8086 for data transfer instructions. 52. What are the different addressing modes of 8086? Give examples for each. 53. Name the data transfer instructions that operate on segment registers directly. 54. Illustrate the difference between LEA and MOV instructions with example. 55. What is Stack? Briefly explain stack operation w.r.t SS and SP registers. 56. Illustrate with examples, the instructions PUSH and POP. 57. Is it possible to save the flag register? If yes, how? 58. Name the arithmetic instructions which wont affect CY flag. 59. Give the syntax of MUL and DIV instructions. 60. Explain the use of AAA and AAM instructions. 61. What is the use of CBW and CWD instructions? 62. What is meant by segment override prefix ? 63. Which segments can you override? 64. Name the different assembly language development tools required. 65. What are assembler directives? 66. Classify the assembler directives available in 8086. 67. Classify the interrupts available in 8086. 68. What is the necessity of interrupt vector table? 69. Explain the use of INT 0 thro INT 4. 70. Describe the steps required in the execution of an assembly language program. 71. Explain the use of EXTRN and PUBLIC directives with an example. 72. Explain the memory structure in a general purpose desktop computer
Compiled by: L. Krishnananda, Assistant Professor, REVA Institute of Technology, Bangalore

Sub: 8086 VIVA QUESTIONS

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Illustrate the use of following assembler directives: DD, DW, EVEN, GROUP, ORG, ASSUME, ENDP, PTR, OFFSET Discuss how even and odd memory banks are accessed using control signals. Discuss the use of following instructions: REP, LOCK, ESC, CLD, CLI, LOOP, CALL, AAM, SCASB, LAHF, PUSH, ROL, SHR, IDIV Distinguish between hardware, software and firmware Give classification and hierarchy of memory w.r.t speed, cost and size. Mention different types of Read-only memories. What are the uses of DOS and BIOS functions? List some functions of INT 21H. List some functions of BIOS interrupt INT 10H. Why 2-passes are required for an assembler? Give comparison of 8086, 286, 386, 486 and Pentium processors w.r.t clock speed, data bus width, memory addressing capacity. Explain the salient features of Pentium processor Differentiate between intra segment and inter segment operations w.r.t. branch instructions. Differentiate between intra segment and inter segment operations w.r.t. Call instructions. Briefly describe how direct and indirect Jumps take place in 8086. What is modular programming? What are its advantages? Discuss the syntax of procedure w.r.t assembler and w.r.t processor. Discuss the syntax of macro. Differentiate between procedure and macro Give practical applications where macro can be used? What are plug-and-play devices? Name different types of buses in a microcomputer system. Discuss the use of following interrupts: INT0, INT1, INT2, INT3 Bring out the differences between 8086 and 8088. Give a comparison between CISC and RISC processors. RISC processors use pipelining principle. If true, why? Discuss about TPA area of system memory What is meant by bootstrap loader?

Compiled by: L. Krishnananda, Assistant Professor, REVA Institute of Technology, Bangalore