Project 1: Critique of the ARM Instruction Set

The goal of this project is to have students take a critical look at the design of an instruction set. This project is worth 10% of your grade in this class and is due at the start of class on Friday, March 9. You should turn in a printed copy or email a postscript or pdf version of your critique.

You are to write a paper that presents a critique of the ARM instruction set. This critique should be written up as a report, including an abstract, sections (with titles) and a (brief) list of references.

As a minimum, you should consider how well the ARM instruction set adheres to the design principles presented in the readings. You may also identify other principles and discuss how well the ARM instruction set adheres to these principles.

Your critique should be comprehensive (i.e., make sure you consider the entire instruction set) and should cite specific examples from the instruction set (either as examples illustrating adherence to the principles or violations of the principles) when appropriate. You may, if appropriate, contrast ARM instructions with those from other architectures.

This report is expected to be 5 to 10 single-spaced, typeset pages.