1. The architecture of a processor refers to the instruction set, registers, and memory-resident data structures that are public to a programmer and are maintained and enhanced from one generation of architecture to the next.
The micro-architecture of a processor refers to implementation of a processor architecture in silicon. Within a family of processors, like the Intel IA-32 processors, the micro-architecture typically changes from one processor generation to the next, while implementing the same public processor architecture. Intel\'s IA-32 architecture is based on the x86 instruction set and registers. It has been enhanced and extended through generations of IA-32 processors, while maintaining backwards compatibility for code written to run on the earliest IA-32 processors.