Harvard architecture

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The Harvard architecture is a computer architecture with separate storage and signal pathways for instructions and data. It is often contrasted with the von Neumann architecture, where program instructions and data share the same memory and pathways. The Harvard architecture is often used in real-time processing or low-power applications. The term is often stated as having originated from the Harvard Mark I relay-based computer, which stored instructions on punched tape (24 bits wide) and data in electro-mechanical counters. These early machines had data storage entirely contained within the central processing unit, and provided no access to the instruction storage as data. Programs needed to be loaded by an operator; the processor could not initialize itself. The concept of the Harvard architecture has been questioned by some researchers. According to a peer-reviewed paper on the topic published in 2022, "The term 'Harvard architecture' was coined decades later, in the context of microcontroller...

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