Which architecture states that data and instructions can be stored in the same memory, with processing and storage units separated?

• A. Von Neumann Architecture
• B. Harvard Architecture
• C. RISC Architecture
• D. CISC Architecture

Answer: (A)

Understanding how programs and data are stored and accessed helps explain this question. In this setup, data and instructions share the same memory space, while the processing unit sits separate from that memory. The CPU fetches both instructions and data from the same memory through a common bus, which is a defining feature of the Von Neumann design. This stored-program concept means one memory holds both code and data, and the CPU coordinates access to that shared resource. Harvard architecture, by contrast, keeps programs and data in separate memories, so it doesn’t fit the description. RISC and CISC describe instruction set styles and don’t specify how memory is organized; they can be implemented in either memory architecture. So the described architecture is Von Neumann.