In computer system organization, CPUs and device controllers connect through what common mechanism?

The connection between CPUs and device controllers is established through a bus. A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. It provides a pathway for data and control signals to travel back and forth between the CPU and various devices such as memory, disk drives, and input/output devices.

In a computer system, the bus architecture allows for multiple devices to communicate with the CPU at the same time, enabling efficient data transfer. The bus may be established as a parallel bus, where multiple bits are transmitted at once, or as a serial bus, where bits are sent one after the other.

This mechanism is essential for coordinating communication and ensuring that devices can send and receive data as needed, making it a central feature of computer organization. The use of a bus simplifies the design of computer systems by reducing the number of distinct connections needed, as multiple components can share the same communication pathways.

In this context, alternatives like data, node, or link do not specifically imply the standard mechanism used for connecting CPUs and device controllers. While they may describe elements related to network connections or data transfer in a broader sense, they do not accurately represent the structured and organized pathway that a bus provides in a computer system architecture.