Question

True or false:

In the MIPS instruction set, the top 6 bits (31...26) are used for an opcode. With 6 bits, we can have 64 different combinations. This implies that the total number of instructions in the MIPS architecture should be less than 64

Answer 1

The top 6 bits in the MIPS instruction set are used for an opcode, but this does not limit the number of instructions to 64.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the MIPS instruction set, the top 6 bits (31...26) are indeed used for an opcode. With 6 bits, we can have 64 different combinations. However, this does not imply that the total number of instructions in the MIPS architecture should be less than 64.

The MIPS architecture actually supports more than 64 instructions. This is because the remaining bits in the instruction format are used for other purposes such as specifying registers, immediate values, and memory addresses.

Therefore, the total number of instructions in the MIPS architecture can be significantly higher than 64, allowing for a wide range of operations and functionalities.