CS15410 - COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

Module Identifier	CS15410
Module Title	COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Mark Ratcliffe
Semester	Semester 2
Other staff	Dr Adrian Shaw
Mutually Exclusive	CS14020, CS15010
Course delivery	Lecture	22 lectures
	Practical	Up to 4 x 2 hr.
Assessment	Supplementary examination	Will take the same form, under the terms of the Department's policy
	Exam	2 Hours (Multiple choice)	100%
Further details	http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/ModuleInfo/CS15410

Brief description

This module examines what a computer is and how it works, down to a level just above electronics. It considers how a program, written in a high-level language, is ultimately executed by a computer.

Informal feedback on progress is provided in the form of question and answer and example examination questions sessions run in class.

Aims

This module provides students who intend to study software development with an appropriate initial understanding of the hardware on which programs run and how programs are executed.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, a student should be able to:

draw a block diagram of a computer and explain how it works down to the level of logic gates;
explain what machine codes are and how they are executed by a CPU;
describe how a computer performs input and output operations;
explain how abstract concepts in high-level languages, such as function call or local variable, are implemented in machine code;
perform simple binary arithmetic.

Syllabus

1. What is a computer? - 4 Lectures
Block diagram overview; CPU, memory, I/O, Bus. Memory, Digital Logic; pigeon-hole model, address and contents, bits bytes and words.

2. Buses - 2 Lectures
Address, data and control buses. Basic data transfer.

3. Inside the CPU - 3 Lectures
Simple examples of instructions. The fetch-execute cycle and the program counter. Registers. ALU. Control unit. Implementing a machine code in hardware. Digital logic.

4. A real CPU example: Motorola 68000 and 68HC11 - 4 Lectures
Some machine codes and mnemonics. Addressing modes. Assembly code.

5. Executing high-level software - 4 Lectures
Machine-code equivalents of high-level constructs. Function calls. Stack frames and local variables.

6. I/O - 5 Lectures
Reading and writing data. Interrupts. Transfering large amounts of data; DMA, block I/O.

7. Exercises - 4 Practicals
Use a CPU simulator to watch instruction execution. Assembly language comprehension (probably, but not necessarily, by writing a program).

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Ronald J. Tocci and Frank J. Ambrosio. (2000) Microprocessors and Microcomputers. 5th. Prentice Hall