Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford / 2021 / Digital systems, linear algebra, introduction to formal proof / 2 / d

On the same primary-opcode expansion interpretation, opcode: 9 bits; each register field: 8 bits. The printed rd is a naming slip: a conventional MIPS I-type instruction has fields rs and rt, with the latter sometimes serving as the destination. There is no separate rd field.

Keeping the original 16-bit immediate requires $9+8+8+16=41$ bits per instruction. If the instruction encoding were held at 32 bits, only seven bits would remain for the immediate, reducing immediate arithmetic and addressing ranges. A uniform encoding for both enlarged formats would have to accommodate the longer R-type case too; any padding or revised format policy must be specified separately. Register count and instruction width do not determine data-word width.