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Memory Addresses

Some physical addresses are decoded to select memory hardware. Physical memory includes ROM as well as RAM. Each block of physical memory has a range of physical addresses. The physical addresses where RAM or ROM can be found depend on the particular computer system.

Physical memory does not necessarily occupy sequential addresses. There can be (and often are) gaps, ranges of physical addresses that do not relate to either memory or devices, between ROM addresses and RAM addresses. In most systems, all RAM is given a single sequential span of physical addresses. However, this is not a requirement. Blocks of RAM addresses can also be separated by gaps that are not populated with memory. Since all software uses virtual addresses, software always sees a sequential range of addresses without gaps.


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