The memory hierarchy is a triangle of storage devices in a computer, with larger, cheaper, and slower devices at the bottom and smaller, more expensive, and faster devices at the top. Programmers must manipulate the hierarchy to build faster computers, but cannot move the sections. Well-crafted programs can predict where memory will be stored or processed, but there is a random factor.
The memory hierarchy is the hierarchy of memory and storage devices in a computer. Often visualized as a triangle, the bottom of the triangle represents larger, cheaper, and slower storage devices, while the top of the triangle represents smaller, more expensive, and faster storage devices. This is often used in computational theory and design, so programmers know how to deal with different memory systems when building a computer. By knowing how to manipulate this hierarchy, programmers can build faster computers.
The memory hierarchy triangle is a visualization technique that helps consumers and programmers understand how memory works. After all, there are inexpensive storage devices with large amounts of memory, such as the hard drive or magnetic tape. Further up, is random access memory (RAM), which has medium capacities and speeds. At the top are the cache and processors, both very fast but with small capacities. The triangle is organized primarily by response time, but there is also a correlation between factors such as size, memory capacity, and price.
When building a computer, the programmer must keep the memory hierarchy triangle in mind. While the parts of the triangle can be manipulated, moving the sections is strictly against the rules. For example, a programmer could change the role of the hard drive to the role of RAM. If this happens, the computer would be very slow when loading immediate information such as files and websites, and would be able to hold little data for long-term storage, making the computer nearly useless. Swapping parts of the triangle is not the correct way to maximize a computer’s potential.
Manipulating the triangle in the right way is how programmers increase the efficiency of a computer. For example, if your storage units are made to be very simple, with lower size and complexity, the memory hierarchy works better. Also, if programmers can make information able to be processed higher up the hierarchy, for example by using the processor instead of RAM, the computer moves faster. This doesn’t move the sections, it just optimizes them.
While visualizing the memory hierarchy is very straightforward and memory can be manipulated to go to different sections, it’s hard to know exactly where the memory will be stored or used. Programmers have to estimate this factor, because several units will generally be processing memory at the same time, or memory can jump from one section to another. Well-crafted programs will usually be able to predict where memory will be stored or processed, but there is a random factor that programmers can’t always account for, which is why the memory hierarchy is much smoother than visualization at triangle face look.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
