Purpose of Registers

Registers play a very important role in computers, and they are used by CPU for various purposes.

• Storing Instruction: Registers are used to store the instruction from programs before the CPU follows them. This helps the computer quickly find and follow the steps it needs to take.
• Holding Answer: When the computer does math calculations or other tasks, the register stores the temporary answer.
• Quick Access to Important Stuff: Registers are like the computer’s quick-access shelves. They keep important things nearby, so the computer can grab them fast without going far away to get them. It’s like keeping your favorite tools on a shelf right next to you, instead of in a faraway closet.

So, registers are like the computer’s quick-access memory, helping it work faster and smarter.

In Computer Architecture, the Registers are very fast computer memory that is used to execute programs and operations efficiently. This is done by giving access to commonly used values, i.e., the values that are at the point of operation/execution at that time. So, for this purpose, there are several different classes of CPU registers that work in coordination with the computer memory to run operations efficiently. 

The sole purpose of having a register is fast retrieval of data for processing by CPU. Though accessing instructions from RAM is comparatively faster with a hard drive, it still isn’t enough for the CPU. For even better processing, there are memories in the CPU that can get data from RAM which are about to be executed beforehand. After registers, we have cache memory, which is faster but less fast than registers.