14-day learning training camp instructor course: Zhou Hehe "ARMv8/ARMv9 Architecture - Quick Start"
1. Background
ARM full name: Advanced RISC Machines.
ARM processor: A processor developed based on the architecture designed by ARM, including arm core and peripherals. ARM itself does not produce processors, but only sells technical intellectual property (IP) to semiconductor, software and OEM manufacturers, and each manufacturer is responsible for production.
ARM architecture: It is the processor architecture designed by ARM itself, including hardware and software design. The hardware architecture corresponds to the microarchitecture, and the software architecture can be understood as the processor instruction set architecture. However, one thing to note is that the ARM architecture we usually refer to specifically refers to the ARM instruction set architecture (such as ARMv7, ARMv8, etc.)
ARM processing can be said to be the absolute king on the embedded mobile terminal (mobile phone, tablet, car central control, etc.), which is a good extension of knowledge for most embedded developers.
2. Timeline (ARMv7~present)
2.1 ARM architecture (instruction set)
| Version | time |
|---|---|
| ARMv7 | 2007 |
| ARMv8 | year 2013 |
| ARMv8.0 | year 2013 |
| ARMv8.1~ARMv8.3 | 2017 |
| ARMv8.4 | 2018 |
| ARMv8.5 | 2019 |
| ARMv8.6 | 2020 |
| ARMv8.7 | 2021 |
| ARMv8.8 | 2022 |
| ARMv9 | 2021 |
2.2 ARM core (processor)
| ARM core model | instruction set version | time |
|---|---|---|
| A57 | ARMv8.0 | year 2013 |
| A53 | ARMv8.0 | Year 2014 |
| A72 | ARMv8.0 | 2015 |
| A73 | ARMv8.0 | 2016 |
| A32(only32) A35 | ARMv8.0 | 2017 |
| A55 A75 | ARMv8.2 | 2017 |
| A76 A76E | ARMv8.2 | 2018 |
| A34(only 64) | ARMv8.0 | 2019 |
| A65 A65E A77 | ARMv8.2 | 2019 |
| A78 X1 | ARMv8.2 | 2020 |
| A510 A710 X2 | ARMv9.0 | 2021 |
3. Basic structure of ARM processor
Can be divided into two parts: ARM core, peripherals
ARM core: including register group, instruction set, bus, memory mapping rules, interrupt logic and debugging components, etc. The core is designed by ARM and licensed to a chip manufacturer by way of sales (ARM itself does not make chips). For example, Cortex A8 and A9 designed for high speed are all ARMv7a architectures; Cortex M3 and M4 are ARMv7m architectures; the former is the processor (that is, the core), and the latter is the architecture of the instruction set (also referred to as the architecture).
The following is the microarchitecture diagram of Cortex-A76
Peripherals: including timers, A/D converters, memory, i2c, UART, SPI, ROM, etc., are completely designed by each chip manufacturer and connected with the ARM core. Different chip manufacturers have different peripherals, thus forming an ARM chip industry with a huge number and specifications.