What describes the cycle of operations a computer performs to obey an instruction?

The Fetch-Execute Cycle precisely describes the series of operations a computer performs to process an instruction. This cycle consists of two main phases: fetching the instruction from memory and then executing that instruction. When a program runs, the CPU retrieves the instruction from the memory address indicated by the program counter. After this instruction is fetched, the CPU decodes it to understand what operation is required and executes it accordingly, which may involve arithmetic operations, data movement, control functions, or interfacing with memory.

This cycle is fundamental to how a computer operates, as it continuously loops through the process: fetching the next instruction, executing it, and updating relevant states until the program completes. Other terms like ‘Data Processing Cycle,’ ‘Instruction Cycle,’ and ‘Control Cycle’ do describe important aspects of computer functionality, but they do not capture the full iterative sequence of fetch and execute operations as explicitly as the Fetch-Execute Cycle does.