These interview questions test the knowledge of x86 Intel architecture and 8086 microprocessor specifically. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

What is a Microprocessor? - Microprocessor is a program-controlled device, which fetches the instructions from memory, decodes and executes the instructions. Most Micro Processor are single- chip devices. Give examples for 8 / 16 / 32 bit Microprocessor? - 8-bit Processor - 8085 / Z80 / 6800; 16-bit Processor - 8086 / 68000 / Z8000; 32-bit Processor - 80386 / 80486. Why 8085 processor is called an 8 bit processor? - Because 8085 processor has 8 bit ALU (Arithmetic Logic Review). Similarly 8086 processor has 16 bit ALU. What is 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th generation processor? - The processor made of PMOS / NMOS / HMOS / HCMOS technology is called 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th generation processor, and it is made up of 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 bits. Define HCMOS? - High-density n- type Complimentary Metal Oxide Silicon field effect transistor. What does microprocessor speed depend on? - The processing speed depends on DATA BUS WIDTH. Is the address bus unidirectional? - The address bus is unidirectional because the address information is always given by the Micro Processor to address a memory location of an input / output devices. Is the data bus is Bi-directional? - The data bus is Bi-directional because the same bus is used for transfer of data between Micro Processor and memory or input / output devices in both the direction. What is the disadvantage of microprocessor? - It has limitations on the size of data. Most Microprocessor does not support floating-point operations. What is the difference between microprocessor and microcontroller? - In Microprocessor more op-codes, few bit handling instructions. But in Microcontroller: fewer op-codes, more bit handling Instructions, and also it is defined as a device that includes micro processor, memory, & input / output signal lines on a single chip. What is meant by LATCH? - Latch is a D- type flip-flop used as a temporary storage device controlled by a timing signal, which can store 0 or 1. The primary function of a Latch is data storage. It is used in output devices such as LED, to hold the data for display. Why does microprocessor contain ROM chips? - Microprocessor contain ROM chip because it contain instructions to execute data. What is the difference between primary & secondary storage device? - In primary storage device the storage capacity is limited. It has a volatile memory. In secondary storage device the storage capacity is larger. It is a nonvolatile memory. Primary devices are: RAM / ROM. Secondary devices are: Floppy disc / Hard disk. Difference between static and dynamic RAM? - Static RAM: No refreshing, 6 to 8 MOS transistors are required to form one memory cell, Information stored as voltage level in a flip flop. Dynamic RAM: Refreshed periodically, 3 to 4 transistors are required to form one memory cell, Information is stored as a charge in the gate to substrate capacitance. What is interrupt? - Interrupt is a signal send by external device to the processor so as to request the processor to perform a particular work. What is cache memory? - Cache memory is a small high-speed memory. It is used for temporary storage of data & information between the main memory and the CPU (center processing unit). The cache memory is only in RAM. What is called Scratch pad of computer? - Cache Memory is scratch pad of computer. Which transistor is used in each cell of EPROM? - Floating gate Avalanche Injection MOS (FAMOS) transistor is used in each cell of EPROM. Differentiate between RAM and ROM? - RAM: Read / Write memory, High Speed, Volatile Memory. ROM: Read only memory, Low Speed, Non Voliate Memory. What is a compiler? - Compiler is used to translate the high-level language program into machine code at a time. It doesnt require special instruction to store in a memory, it stores automatically. The Execution time is less compared to Interpreter. Which processor structure is pipelined? - All x86 processors have pipelined structure. What is flag? - Flag is a flip-flop used to store the information about the status of a processor and the status of the instruction executed most recently What is stack? - Stack is a portion of RAM used for saving the content of Program Counter and general purpose registers. Can ROM be used as stack? - ROM cannot be used as stack because it is not possible to write to ROM.

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25. What is NV-RAM? - Nonvolatile Read Write Memory, also called Flash memory. It is also know

Frequently Asked Questions - Embedded Systems. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. Can structures be passed to the functions by value? Why cannot arrays be passed by values to functions? Advantages and disadvantages of using macro and inline functions? What happens when recursion functions are declared inline? Scope of static variables? Difference between object oriented and object based languages? Multiple inheritance - objects contain howmany multiply inherited ancestor? What are the 4 different types of inheritance relationship? How would you find out the no of instance of a class? Is java a pure object oriented language? Why? Order of constructor and destructor call in case of multiple inheritance? Can u have inline virtual functions in a class? When you inherit a class using private keyword which members of base class are visible to the derived class? What is the output of printf("\nab\bcd\ref"); -> ef #define cat(x,y) x##y concatenates x to y. But cat(cat(1,2),3) does not expand but gives preprocessor warning. Why? Can you have constant volatile variable? Yes, you can have a volatile pointer? ++*ip increments what? it increments what ip points to Operations involving unsigned and signed unsigned will be converted to signed a+++b -> (a++)+b malloc(sizeof(0)) will return valid pointer main() {fork();fork();fork();printf("hello world"); } will print 8 times. Array of pts to functions void (*fptr[10])() Which way of writing infinite loops is more efficient than others? there are 3ways. # error what it does? How is function itoa() written? Who to know wether systemuses big endian or little endian format and how to convert among them? What is interrupt latency? What is forward reference w.r.t. pointers in c? How is generic list manipulation function written which accepts elements of any kind? What is the difference between hard real-time and soft real-time OS? What is interrupt latency? How can you recuce it? What is the differnce between embedded systems and the system in which rtos is running? How can you define a structure with bit field members? What are the features different in pSOS and vxWorks? How do you write a function which takes 2 arguments - a byte and a field in the byte and returns the value of the field in that byte? What are the different storage classes in C? What are the different qualifiers in C? What are the different BSD and SVR4 communication mechanisms

Frequently Asked Questions - 8085 Microprocessor 1. 2. 3. Which type of architecture 8085 has? How many memory locations can be addressed by a microprocessor with 14 address lines? 8085 is how many bit microprocessor?

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Why is data bus bi-directional? What is the function of accumulator? What is flag, bus? What are tri-state devices and why they are essential in a bus oriented system? Why are program counter and stack pointer 16-bit registers? What does it mean by embedded system? What are the different addressing modes in 8085? What is the difference between MOV and MVI? What are the functions of RIM, SIM, IN? What is the immediate addressing mode? What are the different flags in 8085? What happens during DMA transfer? What do you mean by wait state? What is its need? What is PSW? What is ALE? Explain the functions of ALE in 8085. What is a program counter? What is its use? What is an interrupt? Which line will be activated when an output device require attention from CPU?

Frequently Asked Questions - Electronics

What is meant by D-FF? What is the basic difference between Latches and Flip flops? What is a multiplexer? How can you convert an SR Flip-flop to a JK Flip-flop? How can you convert an JK Flip-flop to a D Flip-flop? What is Race-around problem? How can you rectify it? Which semiconductor device is used as a voltage regulator and why? What do you mean by an ideal voltage source? What do you mean by zener breakdown and avalanche breakdown? What are the different types of filters? What is the need of filtering ideal response of filters and actual response of filters? What is sampling theorem? What is impulse response? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of FIR filters compared to IIR counterparts. What is CMRR? Explain briefly. What do you mean by half-duplex and full-duplex communication? Explain briefly. Which range of signals are used for terrestrial transmission? What is the need for modulation? Which type of modulation is used in TV transmission? Why we use vestigial side band (VSB-C3F) transmission for picture? When transmitting digital signals is it necessary to transmit some harmonics in addition to fundamental frequency? For asynchronous transmission, is it necessary to supply some synchronizing pulses additionally or to supply or to supply start and stop bit? BPFSK is more efficient than BFSK in presence of noise. Why? What is meant by pre-emphasis and de-emphasis? What do you mean by 3 dB cutoff frequency? Why is it 3 dB, not 1 dB?

What do you mean by ASCII, EBCDIC?