Suppose that the register 𝐴 and the register 𝐾 have the bit configuration.…
2019
Suppose that the register 𝐴 and the register 𝐾 have the bit configuration. Only the three leftmost bits of 𝐴 are compared with memory words because 𝐾 has 1’s in these positions. Because of its organization, this type of memory is uniquely suited to parallel searches by data association. This type of memory is known as
- A.
RAM
- B.
ROM
- C.
content addressable memory
- D.
secondary memory
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Correct answer: C
Answer: content addressable memory (associative memory)
Explanation: Content addressable memory (CAM) is designed to compare an input data word against all stored words simultaneously and return the matching entries or their addresses. A mask register (like the given register K) with 1s indicates which bit positions are included in the comparison, allowing partial or field-specific matches.
Parallel comparison of stored words to input data enables very fast lookups.
Masking (K with 1s) supports partial-field matching by selecting which bits to compare.
Common applications include high-speed lookup operations such as TLBs, caches, and routing tables in networking.
Contrast with other memory types: RAM and ROM are accessed by specifying addresses rather than by content, and secondary memory refers to bulk storage (disks/tapes) not designed for parallel associative searches.
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