Processor architecture
The Central Procesing Unit, known as CPU for short acts as the computers brain, this is because the CPU is the electronic circuit inside the computer that is tasked with doing all the instructions the users asks. Like basic maths, logical comparisons and controling the input and output (I/O).
Below you can see a simplified diagram descriping what the CPu contains. You can see that the arithmetic logit unit (ALU) and the control unit (CU) are contained inside de CPU as well as the register bank which in this diagram is represented by the memory unit, all of which we will explain with detail later.
The control unit of the central processing unit regulates and integrates the operations of the computer. It selects and retrieves instructions from the memory bank and interprets them. It does this interpretation to know what information to give to the other parts of the CPU and to know when to activate the other functional elements of it.
All the input data is transferred form the memory bank to the arithmetic-logic unit, which we will cover in detail below, but in summary it is the unit for processing the information, which involves the four basic arithmetic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), certain logic operations such as the comparing of data and the selection of the desired problem-solving procedure or a viable alternative based on predetermined decision criteria.
So you can say the control unit controls the flow of data within the system.
Furthermore, the control unit controls and monitors communications between the hardware attached to the computer. It controls the input and output of data, checks that signals have been delivered successfully, and makes sure that data goes to the correct place at the correct time.
The diagram below show how it works in a more visual way:
