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CU – control unit

Vangie Beal
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Short for control unit, it is a typical component of the CPU that implements the microprocessor instruction set. It extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, and sends the necessary signals to the ALU to perform the operation needed. Control Units are either hardwired (instruction register is hardwired to rest of the microprocessor) or micro-programmed.

Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal is a freelance business and technology writer covering Internet technologies and online business since the late '90s.

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