Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) MCQs

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1. : What does Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) refer to in computer architecture?
(A) The ability of a processor to execute multiple instructions simultaneously
(B) The ability of a processor to handle multiple threads of execution
(C) The ability to perform parallel data operations
(D) The ability to manage multiple processes concurrently

2. : Which technique is commonly used to increase ILP in modern processors?
(A) Pipelining
(B) Virtual memory
(C) Caching
(D) Disk I/O optimization

3. : What is the primary advantage of using out-of-order execution in processors?
(A) It increases the degree of Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) by allowing instructions to be executed as soon as their operands are available
(B) It simplifies memory management
(C) It reduces the need for pipelining
(D) It minimizes the use of registers

4. : Which of the following is a common method to achieve higher ILP in processors?
(A) Instruction scheduling
(B) Memory paging
(C) Cache replacement policies
(D) Disk I/O operations

5. : What role does branch prediction play in enhancing ILP?
(A) It attempts to guess the outcome of branch instructions to keep the pipeline full and avoid stalls
(B) It increases cache size
(C) It reduces the number of memory accesses
(D) It improves data parallelism

6. : Which type of parallelism is concerned with the simultaneous execution of different instructions on the same data?
(A) Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP)
(B) Data-Level Parallelism
(C) Thread-Level Parallelism
(D) Task-Level Parallelism

7. : What is a primary challenge in exploiting ILP?
(A) Managing data dependencies between instructions
(B) Increasing clock speed
(C) Reducing memory latency
(D) Enhancing disk I/O performance

8. : What is the purpose of instruction reordering in ILP?
(A) To improve ILP by scheduling instructions in a way that minimizes stalls and maximizes parallel execution
(B) To reduce memory footprint
(C) To simplify hardware design
(D) To increase processor clock speed

9. : How does a superscalar processor improve ILP?
(A) By allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel during a single clock cycle
(B) By increasing the cache size
(C) By reducing the number of pipelines
(D) By simplifying branch prediction

10. : Which of the following is a technique used to overcome instruction hazards in ILP?
(A) Scoreboarding
(B) Memory segmentation
(C) Disk caching
(D) Virtual addressing

11. : What is the main benefit of register renaming in ILP?
(A) It eliminates false dependencies between instructions by dynamically allocating registers
(B) It increases cache efficiency
(C) It improves disk I/O performance
(D) It simplifies branch prediction

12. : How does speculative execution contribute to ILP?
(A) By executing instructions before it is known whether they are needed, based on predicted outcomes
(B) By reducing the number of pipelines
(C) By increasing memory bandwidth
(D) By simplifying instruction decoding

13. : Which of the following best describes the term “data hazard” in ILP?
(A) A situation where an instruction depends on the result of a previous instruction that has not yet completed
(B) A condition where multiple instructions execute simultaneously
(C) An error in branch prediction
(D) A conflict between different threads of execution

14. : What is the impact of ILP on processor design?
(A) It influences the design choices related to pipeline depth, superscalar architecture, and out-of-order execution
(B) It reduces the need for memory management
(C) It simplifies the implementation of virtual memory
(D) It increases the complexity of disk I/O operations

15. : How does instruction-level parallelism affect the performance of a CPU?
(A) By allowing the CPU to execute more instructions per clock cycle, thus increasing overall throughput
(B) By increasing the amount of required memory
(C) By reducing the need for multiple cores
(D) By simplifying software development

16. : Which technique helps mitigate structural hazards in ILP?
(A) Using multiple execution units to handle different types of instructions simultaneously
(B) Increasing the clock speed of the processor
(C) Reducing cache size
(D) Implementing virtual memory

17. : What is the role of a reservation station in out-of-order execution?
(A) It holds instructions waiting to be executed until their operands are available
(B) It manages branch predictions
(C) It optimizes cache performance
(D) It schedules disk I/O operations

18. : How does ILP influence the design of modern compilers?
(A) Compilers are designed to reorder instructions and optimize code to maximize ILP
(B) Compilers focus solely on code simplicity
(C) Compilers are designed to reduce the number of pipelines
(D) Compilers manage disk I/O performance

19. : What is the main goal of using out-of-order execution in processors?
(A) To increase ILP by allowing instructions to be executed as soon as their operands are ready, regardless of their original order
(B) To simplify branch prediction
(C) To increase the size of the cache
(D) To manage memory more efficiently

20. : What does the term “pipeline stall” refer to in the context of ILP?
(A) A delay that occurs when the pipeline cannot continue executing instructions due to hazards
(B) The increase in processor clock speed
(C) The use of multiple pipelines
(D) The execution of multiple instructions per cycle

21. : Which of the following strategies is used to improve branch prediction accuracy?
(A) Using dynamic branch predictors that adapt based on runtime behavior
(B) Reducing the number of execution units
(C) Increasing cache size
(D) Implementing static branch prediction

22. : How does ILP impact the execution of loops in programs?
(A) By allowing multiple iterations of a loop to be executed in parallel if dependencies are managed effectively
(B) By reducing the need for pipelining
(C) By increasing memory latency
(D) By simplifying software design

23. : What is the primary role of a re-order buffer in out-of-order execution?
(A) To maintain the correct program order of instructions and handle completion of instructions
(B) To manage branch predictions
(C) To reduce memory access time
(D) To increase cache efficiency

24. : Which of the following describes “dynamic scheduling” in ILP?
(A) A technique where instructions are scheduled for execution based on their availability and dependencies at runtime
(B) A technique that fixes instruction scheduling at compile-time
(C) A method to reduce cache misses
(D) A strategy to increase the number of execution units

25. : What does “speculative execution” aim to achieve in the context of ILP?
(A) It aims to improve performance by executing instructions based on predicted outcomes, even if the predictions are incorrect
(B) It reduces the complexity of instruction scheduling
(C) It increases memory bandwidth
(D) It simplifies the pipeline design

26. : Which type of hazard occurs when an instruction needs a result that is not yet available from a previous instruction?
(A) Data hazard
(B) Control hazard
(C) Structural hazard
(D) Resource hazard

27. : What is the main purpose of branch target buffers (BTBs) in processors?
(A) To predict the target address of branch instructions to improve pipeline efficiency
(B) To increase cache size
(C) To manage out-of-order execution
(D) To handle data hazards

28. : Which of the following techniques helps in resolving control hazards in ILP?
(A) Branch prediction
(B) Cache coherence protocols
(C) Memory segmentation
(D) Disk caching

29. : What does “register scoreboarding” help with in ILP?
(A) It tracks the status of registers to manage data hazards and instruction execution
(B) It increases the size of instruction queues
(C) It improves disk I/O performance
(D) It reduces memory latency

30. : How does loop unrolling benefit ILP?
(A) By increasing the number of instructions executed in parallel within a loop
(B) By reducing the clock speed of the processor
(C) By simplifying the hardware design
(D) By increasing memory usage

31. : What is the impact of ILP on multi-core processor designs?
(A) It influences the design of cores to exploit parallel execution at the instruction level
(B) It reduces the need for multiple cores
(C) It simplifies memory management
(D) It decreases the number of execution units required

32. : Which technique involves predicting the outcome of conditional branches to maintain pipeline efficiency?
(A) Branch prediction
(B) Instruction scheduling
(C) Register renaming
(D) Out-of-order execution

33. : How does instruction-level parallelism affect software optimization techniques?
(A) It requires compilers to use advanced techniques like instruction scheduling and loop unrolling to maximize ILP
(B) It reduces the need for optimization
(C) It simplifies code generation
(D) It eliminates the need for data hazards

34. : What is the role of hardware-based branch predictors in improving ILP?
(A) They improve prediction accuracy for branch instructions, reducing pipeline stalls
(B) They manage memory allocation
(C) They increase cache size
(D) They simplify instruction decoding

35. : Which of the following techniques is used to handle data hazards in ILP?
(A) Operand forwarding
(B) Disk caching
(C) Virtual memory management
(D) Process scheduling

36. : What is the purpose of a “reorder buffer” in out-of-order execution?
(A) To maintain the original order of instruction execution and handle the completion of instructions
(B) To manage branch predictions
(C) To increase cache efficiency
(D) To reduce memory latency

37. : Which technique involves executing instructions in parallel that do not have dependencies on each other?
(A) Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP)
(B) Thread-Level Parallelism
(C) Data-Level Parallelism
(D) Task-Level Parallelism

38. : What is the primary purpose of “dynamic branch prediction” in ILP?
(A) To predict the outcome of branch instructions dynamically at runtime to improve pipeline efficiency
(B) To increase the number of execution units
(C) To manage memory more efficiently
(D) To reduce the number of pipelines

39. : How does ILP impact the performance of scientific computing applications?
(A) It allows for the parallel execution of complex scientific computations, reducing overall execution time
(B) It increases memory usage
(C) It simplifies software design
(D) It reduces the number of processors required

40. : What is the primary objective of Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) in modern processors?
(A) To increase the number of instructions executed per clock cycle and improve throughput
(B) To reduce power consumption
(C) To manage high-speed disk operations
(D) To simplify software programming interfaces

41. : What is the challenge of implementing ILP in real-time systems?
(A) Ensuring that parallel execution meets strict timing constraints and deadlines
(B) Increasing processor clock speed
(C) Reducing memory footprint
(D) Simplifying hardware design

42. : Which technique is used to manage dependencies between instructions in ILP?
(A) Register renaming
(B) Cache coherence
(C) Disk scheduling
(D) Virtual memory management

43. : What does “thread-level parallelism” refer to in comparison to ILP?
(A) Executing multiple threads concurrently, while ILP focuses on executing multiple instructions within a single thread
(B) Increasing the number of pipelines
(C) Reducing the number of execution units
(D) Simplifying instruction decoding

44. : How does ILP contribute to the efficiency of database management systems (DBMS)?
(A) By allowing concurrent execution of multiple database operations, thus improving throughput
(B) By reducing the need for disk caching
(C) By increasing memory bandwidth
(D) By simplifying query optimization

45. : What is the main benefit of using “speculative execution” in modern processors?
(A) It aims to increase ILP by executing instructions before their necessity is confirmed based on predicted outcomes
(B) It reduces the complexity of branch prediction
(C) It increases memory capacity
(D) It simplifies software design

46. : Which of the following best describes “instruction-level parallelism” in relation to multi-core processors?
(A) ILP focuses on improving the execution of multiple instructions within a single core, whereas multi-core processors handle parallelism across different cores
(B) ILP reduces the need for multiple cores
(C) ILP simplifies memory management
(D) ILP increases the number of pipelines

47. : What is a “data dependency” in the context of ILP?
(A) A situation where one instruction requires the result of a previous instruction before it can execute
(B) A conflict between multiple threads of execution
(C) A delay in disk I/O operations
(D) A challenge in branch prediction

48. : How does the concept of “scoreboarding” help manage ILP?
(A) It tracks the status of various functional units and instructions to handle hazards and ensure proper execution order
(B) It increases the number of pipelines
(C) It reduces memory usage
(D) It simplifies the branch prediction process

49. : Which of the following is a key factor in determining the effectiveness of ILP?
(A) The ability to handle data and control hazards efficiently
(B) The number of execution units
(C) The size of the cache
(D) The clock speed of the processor

50. : What does “dynamic scheduling” involve in the context of ILP?
(A) Scheduling instructions at runtime based on their availability and dependencies to maximize parallel execution
(B) Scheduling instructions at compile-time
(C) Increasing the number of execution units
(D) Reducing cache size

51. : Which technique is used to predict and manage the outcomes of branch instructions to maintain pipeline efficiency?
(A) Branch prediction
(B) Memory segmentation
(C) Data forwarding
(D) Disk I/O optimization

52. : How does ILP affect the design of instruction pipelines?
(A) It influences pipeline depth and the handling of hazards to maximize parallel execution of instructions
(B) It simplifies the design of memory management
(C) It reduces the need for multiple pipelines
(D) It increases cache efficiency

53. : What is the effect of ILP on computational tasks that involve complex calculations?
(A) It improves performance by allowing simultaneous execution of multiple instructions involved in the calculations
(B) It increases memory usage
(C) It simplifies data management
(D) It reduces the need for parallel processing

54. : How does the use of “loop unrolling” enhance ILP?
(A) By increasing the number of instructions within a loop that can be executed in parallel
(B) By reducing the number of pipelines
(C) By simplifying memory management
(D) By increasing cache size

55. : What is the purpose of “operand forwarding” in ILP?
(A) To provide the necessary data to instructions that need it before it is written back to the register file
(B) To increase cache size
(C) To simplify branch prediction
(D) To manage multiple execution units

56. : How does “instruction-level parallelism” impact software compilation?
(A) It requires compilers to optimize instruction order and scheduling to exploit parallelism effectively
(B) It reduces the need for optimization
(C) It simplifies software design
(D) It increases the number of execution units

57. : Which of the following strategies is used to handle control hazards in ILP?
(A) Dynamic branch prediction
(B) Memory paging
(C) Disk I/O optimization
(D) Cache coherence

58. : What is the main role of “register renaming” in ILP?
(A) To eliminate false dependencies between instructions by dynamically assigning physical registers
(B) To increase the size of the instruction cache
(C) To manage branch predictions
(D) To simplify memory management

59. : How does “out-of-order execution” affect ILP?
(A) It increases ILP by allowing instructions to be executed as soon as their operands are available, regardless of their original order
(B) It reduces memory usage
(C) It simplifies instruction scheduling
(D) It increases the number of pipelines

60. : What is the primary purpose of a “branch target buffer” (BTB) in improving ILP?
(A) To predict the target addresses of branch instructions and maintain pipeline flow
(B) To increase memory bandwidth
(C) To manage data hazards
(D) To simplify branch prediction

61. : Which of the following describes “out-of-order execution” in ILP?
(A) A technique where instructions are executed as their operands become available, rather than strictly in the original program order
(B) A method to increase cache efficiency
(C) A strategy to reduce the number of execution units
(D) A technique for managing memory more efficiently

62. : How does “speculative execution” improve ILP?
(A) By predicting and executing instructions that may be needed based on branch predictions, reducing pipeline stalls
(B) By simplifying instruction decoding
(C) By increasing memory bandwidth
(D) By managing disk I/O operations

63. : Which of the following best describes the concept of “instruction scheduling” in ILP?
(A) The process of arranging instructions in a way that maximizes parallel execution and minimizes stalls
(B) The design of memory management techniques
(C) The optimization of disk I/O operations
(D) The simplification of branch prediction

64. : What is a “scoreboard” used for in ILP?
(A) To track the status of functional units and instructions, managing hazards and instruction execution
(B) To increase the number of pipelines
(C) To simplify memory management
(D) To reduce cache size

65. : Which of the following techniques is used to minimize data hazards in ILP?
(A) Operand forwarding
(B) Cache coherence
(C) Branch prediction
(D) Disk optimization

66. : How does “register renaming” contribute to improving ILP?
(A) By providing unique physical registers to eliminate false dependencies between instructions
(B) By increasing cache size
(C) By simplifying branch prediction
(D) By managing disk I/O operations

67. : What is the role of “dynamic scheduling” in ILP?
(A) To schedule instructions at runtime based on their availability and dependencies, maximizing parallel execution
(B) To manage memory more effectively
(C) To increase the number of execution units
(D) To simplify software design

68. : How does ILP affect the performance of high-performance computing applications?
(A) It allows for the concurrent execution of multiple instructions, enhancing overall performance and throughput
(B) It increases memory usage
(C) It simplifies hardware design
(D) It reduces the number of processors needed

69. : What does “instruction-level parallelism” enable in modern processors?
(A) It enables the simultaneous execution of multiple instructions within a single processor core
(B) It increases the need for multiple cores
(C) It simplifies memory management
(D) It reduces the complexity of branch prediction

70. : Which of the following techniques is used to resolve control hazards in ILP?
(A) Branch prediction
(B) Operand forwarding
(C) Cache optimization
(D) Disk I/O management

71. : What is the effect of “loop unrolling” on ILP?
(A) It increases ILP by reducing the number of iterations and increasing the number of parallel instructions within a loop
(B) It simplifies memory management
(C) It reduces cache size
(D) It increases the number of pipelines

72. : How does ILP influence the design of compilers?
(A) Compilers are designed to optimize code by reordering instructions and using techniques like loop unrolling to maximize ILP
(B) Compilers focus solely on code simplicity
(C) Compilers are designed to manage disk I/O
(D) Compilers simplify memory management

73. : What role does “speculative execution” play in ILP?
(A) It improves ILP by executing instructions based on predicted outcomes, even if the predictions are not accurate
(B) It simplifies instruction scheduling
(C) It reduces memory usage
(D) It increases the number of execution units

74. : What is a “data hazard” in the context of ILP?
(A) A situation where an instruction depends on the result of a previous instruction that has not yet completed
(B) A condition where multiple threads of execution conflict
(C) A delay in memory access
(D) An error in branch prediction

75. : Which technique helps manage the dependencies between instructions in ILP?
(A) Register renaming
(B) Cache coherence
(C) Disk I/O management
(D) Virtual memory

76. : How does “out-of-order execution” enhance ILP?
(A) By allowing instructions to be executed as soon as their operands are available, independent of their original sequence
(B) By increasing the number of pipelines
(C) By simplifying memory management
(D) By reducing cache size

77. : What is the impact of “branch target buffers” on ILP?
(A) They help improve pipeline efficiency by predicting the target address of branch instructions
(B) They increase memory bandwidth
(C) They manage data hazards
(D) They simplify instruction scheduling

78. : Which of the following best describes “instruction-level parallelism” in modern processors?
(A) The ability of a processor to execute multiple instructions concurrently within a single core
(B) The ability to handle multiple threads of execution
(C) The ability to increase cache size
(D) The ability to manage multiple processes

79. : What is the challenge of achieving high ILP in real-world applications?
(A) Dealing with unpredictable control flow and data dependencies
(B) Increasing the number of processor cores
(C) Simplifying software design
(D) Increasing memory capacity

80. : Which component of the processor temporarily holds instructions until their operands are ready during out-of-order execution?
(A) Reservation station
(B) ALU
(C) Cache
(D) Pipeline register

81. : How do modern compilers support ILP?
(A) By applying instruction scheduling and optimization techniques like loop unrolling
(B) By disabling pipelining
(C) By increasing memory latency
(D) By using disk I/O optimization

82. : What is the purpose of instruction fusion in ILP?
(A) To combine multiple instructions into a single micro-operation to reduce pipeline stalls
(B) To divide instructions into smaller operations
(C) To increase memory size
(D) To create new instruction sets

83. : What limits the maximum achievable ILP in a program?
(A) Instruction dependencies and branch mispredictions
(B) Cache size
(C) Number of threads
(D) Compiler complexity

84. : Why is instruction decoding critical in ILP processors?
(A) It determines how instructions are interpreted and how dependencies are detected
(B) It manages memory access
(C) It predicts branch outcomes
(D) It schedules threads

85. : What type of dependency is removed using register renaming?
(A) Name or false dependency (Write-after-Write / Write-after-Read)
(B) True data dependency
(C) Memory dependency
(D) Control dependency

86. : Which of the following can increase the likelihood of pipeline stalls?
(A) Branch instructions and data hazards
(B) High clock speed
(C) Increased cache size
(D) Loop unrolling

87. : What is one technique to avoid structural hazards in ILP?
(A) Duplicating execution units for high-demand operations
(B) Loop fusion
(C) Code obfuscation
(D) Increasing register size

88. : Which type of analysis helps compilers exploit ILP during code generation?
(A) Data flow analysis
(B) Disk scheduling
(C) Memory compaction
(D) Virtual memory mapping

89. : What role does the issue logic play in a superscalar processor?
(A) It decides which instructions can be issued in a given cycle based on dependencies and resource availability
(B) It increases cache efficiency
(C) It handles system calls
(D) It simplifies memory mapping

90. : Which type of ILP hazard occurs due to the reuse of the same register by multiple instructions?
(A) Name hazard
(B) Control hazard
(C) Memory hazard
(D) Clock hazard

91. : Which optimization technique enables executing multiple instructions in a loop simultaneously?
(A) Loop unrolling
(B) Memory paging
(C) Paging algorithms
(D) Register swapping

92. : What is one benefit of increasing instruction fetch width in ILP processors?
(A) More instructions can be fetched per cycle, increasing parallelism potential
(B) More threads can be created
(C) Memory can be accessed more quickly
(D) Virtual memory size is increased

93. : Which unit in a processor manages instruction reordering and ensures correct program output?
(A) Reorder buffer
(B) Branch unit
(C) Instruction cache
(D) Translation lookaside buffer

94. : How does ILP improve the performance of multimedia applications?
(A) By executing multiple instructions that operate on different media data elements in parallel
(B) By compressing audio and video automatically
(C) By increasing disk speed
(D) By simplifying encoding standards

95. : What does a superscalar architecture enable in a processor?
(A) Execution of multiple instructions simultaneously in a single clock cycle
(B) Execution of multiple programs at once
(C) Larger virtual memory
(D) Better disk performance

96. : What is the function of a pipeline register in ILP?
(A) It holds intermediate values between pipeline stages
(B) It stores branch targets
(C) It caches data from main memory
(D) It allocates threads

97. : How does data forwarding avoid pipeline stalls?
(A) It provides a result from a later pipeline stage to an earlier one needing that data
(B) It skips instruction decoding
(C) It eliminates the use of cache
(D) It stores all instructions in memory

98. : Why is parallel execution of instructions sometimes limited in ILP?
(A) Due to data, control, and structural hazards
(B) Due to lack of CPU cores
(C) Due to disk latency
(D) Due to low clock speed

99. : How do instruction dependencies impact ILP?
(A) They limit which instructions can be executed in parallel
(B) They improve cache efficiency
(C) They enable more threads
(D) They simplify memory layout

100. : What is a key feature of modern processors to exploit ILP?
(A) Superscalar design and out-of-order execution
(B) Reduced pipeline width
(C) Manual scheduling of instructions
(D) Disk caching

Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) MCQs
By: Prof. Dr. Fazal Rehman | Last updated: June 23, 2025

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