What is memory transfer ? What are different registers associated for memory transfer ? Discuss.

Memory transfer refers to the process of either retrieving (reading) data from or storing (writing) data into memory. When data is read from memory, it is copied from memory locations to the CPU for processing. Conversely, when data is stored, it is transferred from the CPU to a specific memory location, replacing any previous content at that location.

Registers associated with memory transfer include the address register and the data register:

1. Address Register (AR): This register holds the memory address from which data needs to be fetched (in the case of reading) or where data needs to be stored (in the case of writing). It essentially points to the location in memory that the CPU wants to access.
2. Data Register (DR): This register is used to hold the actual data being transferred between the CPU and memory. When reading from memory, the data retrieved from the specified memory location is stored in the data register. When writing to memory, the data to be stored is placed in the data register before being transferred to the specified memory location.

To simplify the explanation further:

• Imagine memory as a large storage facility with each location (or “word”) having a unique address.
• The address register (AR) is like a pointer that tells the system which specific location in memory it wants to access.
• The data register (DR) is like a temporary storage space where data is held during the transfer process.
• When reading from memory, data from the specified memory location is copied into the data register.
• When writing to memory, data from the data register is transferred to the specified memory location, replacing any existing content there.