57-я научная конференция аспирантов, магистрантов и студентов БГУИР, 2021 г

BENEFITS OF RISC MICROPROCESSOR ARCHITECTURE

Shestakov I.M.
Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Sinkevich L. E. – Senior Lecturer
Annotation. This basic information about CISC and RISC microprocessor architectures is presented in the paper. The main
advantages of the RISC architecture over the CISC design are described in the article.

Keywords. Microprocessor, instruction set, CISC, RISC, CPI, RAM, register, instruction pipeline, rule “80/20”, transistor, ARM

An integral part of any computer technology is a microprocessor. A microprocessor is an electronic

unit or integrated circuit that executes machine instructions. The microprocessor consists of three main
units: the ALU, multiple registers and the control unit. To transfer data between these units a
microprocessor uses an internal data bus. The main characteristics of microprocessors are clock speed,
bus speed, word size, instruction set, and number of cores.
One of the important parameters of a processor is its architecture. Today, the processor market is
dominated by two architectures CISC and RISC. Each architecture has its advantages and disadvantages.
In this article, I would like to mention the advantages of RISC architecture versus CISC design.
First, we should answer the question: “What is RISC and CISC?” To answer this question we need
to figure out what the instruction set of a microprocessor is. An instruction set is a limited set of activities,
such as addition, subtraction, counting and comparisons. CISC means a complex instruction set computer,
while RISC is a reduced instruction set computer.
CISC. A complex instruction set computer is a computer in which single instructions can execute
several low-level operations such as a memory load, an arithmetic operation, and a memory storage or are
capable of multi-step operations or addressing modes within single instructions. Examples of CISC
architecture include complex mainframe computers to simplistic microcontrollers where memory loading
and storage operations are not separated from arithmetic instructions.
A reduced instruction set computer is a computer with a small, highly optimized set of instructions,
rather than more specialized set, often found in other types of architecture, such as in a complex instruction
set computer (CISC). The main distinguishing feature of RISC architecture is that the instruction set is
optimized with a large number of registers and a frequently used instruction pipeline, allowing a low number
of clock cycles per instruction (CPI).
RISC architecture has many advantages over CISC design. Data processing is performed only on
the contents of the internal registers of the microprocessor without RAM access. A typical example of RISC
technology is the principle of pipelined data processing: when each operation is divided into the same type
simple steps that are performed in parallel. The instruction set of a RISC processor is reduced to 70-100
instructions instead of several hundred for CISC microprocessors. Instructions have a simple, well-defined
format. The rarely used instructions are excluded from the instruction set, as well as commands that do not
fit into the accepted format. Microprocessors that are based on RISC architecture have lower cost of
hardware parts than microprocessors based on CISC technology [1].
What is also worth mentioning is “80/20” rule: the execution of 20% of the commands, included in
the command system, takes 80% of a program execution time. Therefore, regarding microprocessor
performance, it is only a fifth part of all commands that plays the main role, while other commands are rare
enough [2].
As current experience shows, the RISC architecture has better performance than CISC design. Also,
RISC architecture has greatly reduced the power consumption of the processor by reducing the number of
transistors. Currently, many processor architectures are RISC-like, such as ARM, DEC Alpha, SPARC,
AVR, MIPS, POWER, and PowerPC. The most widely used of them is ARM. This architecture is used in
the microcontrollers of such IT giants as Apple, Samsung and Qualcomm. The most widely used x86
processors in desktop computers were formerly CISC processors, but new processors, starting with the
Intel Pentium Pro (1995), are CISC processors with a RISC core. They transform the CISC instructions of
x86 processors into a simpler set of internal RISC instructions just before execution [3].
To sum up: RISC architecture is one of the most widespread in the world now, with more than 40%
of the world market. Thus, the evolution of RISC processors has made a giant leap forward and the reserve
of their development potential is still very, very large.

References:
1. RISC vs. CISC Still Matters / Paul Demone - February 13, 2000.
2. Computer architecture. 6th ed. - St. Petersburg 2013 / Tanenbaum E

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 57-я научная конференция аспирантов, магистрантов и студентов БГУИР, 2021 г
3. RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) / National Library named after N.E.Bauman – June 25, 2016.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON E-COMMERCE

Yagovdik P.D.
Belarussian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Subbotkina I.G. ‒ Associate Professor
Annotation. COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually all aspects of our life. It is impossible to ignore the acceleration of e-
commerce because consumers do the shopping online even too often. The main aim of this research is to understand how big
the impact of Covid-19 on e-commerce is. Some changes in electronic commerce business and views of different respondents,
who work in this field are given in this study.

Keywords. E-commerce, to increase, to decrease, Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown, retailer, profit, e-payment, digital marketing,
customer, customer base.

2020 can be characterized as a challenging year for many people. It is impossible to ignore the
acceleration of e-commerce because consumers did the shopping online even too often. As a result, brands
were forced to change their strategies rapidly. Online shopping, using of social network, internet telephony
and teleconferencing – all these things have been increased due to COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to
a sharp increase in consumer-to-consumer (B2C) sales and increased business-to-business (B2B) e-
commerce. Sales increases have become particularly noticeable in the sales segments of medical devices,
household goods, household essentials and foodstuffs.
Most e-commerce companies had their online revenue increase during the global lockdown in the
spring of 2020. According to the survey, most companies realized that they hadn’t got a substantial increase
on online sales, but half of the respondents claimed it had grown by over 100%. But some companies
declaimed about a decrease in their revenue during the lockdown. After the end of lockdown, many
consumers started shopping at offline retailers again. Now the percent of retailer’s revenue fall down to 4%.
Disrupted supply chains, poorly staffed customer service and other challenges have appeared in online
sales sphere due to the whole COVID-19 situation. The online profit margin differs from previous years.
38 percent of e-commerce decision-makers noticed that their online profit margin had grown during the
global lockdown, while the other companies characterized the situation stated about the same. And
only 15 percent claimed about a decrease.
A number of workplaces suffered a lot from the pandemic. About a half of the companies had to
relocate staff, the others (about 26 percent) had to fire some people and 15 percent had to reduce their
employees’ salaries. It can be amazing for some people, but a few percent of the companies managed to
increase salaries. 21 percent of companies did not change their workforce at all.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Facebook and some other private websites have become the
most growing sales channels. These companies use all varieties of channels to sell their good. Especially,
social media have a successes using Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and a lot of others. More than half
companies claimed that they had used their own e-commerce websites. Companies often apply phone
channels, such as Viber or Telegram, and calls. The e-commerce business has used its own websites and
Facebook sales channels more frequently.
A lot of new practices have appeared due to the fact that companies which provide brick-and-mortar
goods need to run their business. About 31% introduced such services as in-store picking up and delivering
ones. A lot of such retailers have been forced to close their offline stores. The online-store retailers have
to change a lot in their business too. Some of the companies claimed that it had happened due to some
circumstances. It is a well-known fact that some retailers have both online and offline stores. For 43% the
situation is disappointing as their offline sales took a hit, but 16% managed to keep it at the same level.
And 23 percent have increased their offline sales.
Different e-payment methods are on the rise, particularly through mobile money, although cash on
delivery remains prominent. Most e-commerce businesses have tracked the trend of changes in payment
methods since the beginning of the COVID-19. Many countries are strongly recommended to switch to
digital payments in order to reduce possible contagion. However, cash is still preferable in delivering. But
for more than 40 percent of the respondents it has remained to be the option since the outbreak of the
pandemic, as consumers have chosen e-commerce. It could be profitable for expanding customer base,
who might not have a bank card or access to some digital payment opportunities. On the same token, this
is also associated a weak financial inclusion in a situation where preference should be given to the
contactless transactions.
There are some changes in market strategies. Most of the companies concentrate their business on
a digital part of it. Other companies have different points of view, and focus their business on offline trade
with some changes in supply chains and logistics.

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