Module Identifier CS25510  
Module Title COMPUTER HARDWARE  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Dr David Barnes  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Dr David Barnes  
Pre-Requisite CS15410  
Course delivery Lecture   22 lectures  
  Practical   Up to 10 x 2 hr  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  100%
Supplementary Exam Will take the same form, under the terms of the Department's policy.   
Further details http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/ModuleInfo/CS25510  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:


Brief description

This module introduces digital electronics in the context of studies in software development. It extends a general understanding of computer architecture.

Aims

This module introduces students to the principles of computer hardware (digital electronics), and explains how components work at the level of gates, flip-flops etc. It provides hands-on experience of computer hardware, including the use of a microcontroller to control real world hardware.

Content

1. Digital Electronics - 3 lectures.
Digital/analogue comparison, logic levels and voltages, digital waveforms, I. C. packages and I. C. technologies.

2. Combinational logic - 5 lectures.
Revision of basic gates, I. C. data sheets, comparators, adders, encoders, multiplexers. Laws and rules of Boolean algebra. Universal gates.

3. Sequential logic - 3 lectures.
Latches, flip-flops. Applications: parallel data storage, frequency division, and counting.

4. Example microcontroller - 2 lectures.
I. C. complexity classificiation. Microcontroller on-chip peripheral functions and architecture.

5. Microcontroller programming - 3 lectures.
The fetch/execute cycle. Assembly language, directives and instructions. Basic I/O, A/D and interrupt programming.

6. Microcontoller hardware expansion - 4 lectures.
Single chip/expanded mode, memory maps, address decoding circuits. RISC versus CISC computer hardware.

7. Digital hardware exercise - 5 practicals.
NAND gate practical. Microprocessor hardware architecture exercise.

8. Microcontroller programming exercise - 5 practicals.
Binary I/O, A/D input and interrupt programming using microcontroller simulator.

Reading Lists

Books
** Consult For Futher Information
Thomas L. Floyd (1997) Digital Fundamentals Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-573478-9
Alan Clements (2000) The Principles of Computer Hardware Oxford University Press ISBN 0198564538
Ronald J. Tocci and Frank J. Ambrosio (2000) Micorprocessors and Microcomputers: Hardware and Software Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-010494-9
Peter Spasov (1999) Microcontroller Technology: The 68HC11 Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-901240-0

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5