EECE 337 - Introduction to Computer Architecture and Organization

Texts:

Tanenbaum, A. S., Structured Computer Organization. Prentice Hall, 1984.
Kelly, A., and I. Pohl, A Book on C. Benjamin/Cummings, 1984.

Goals: This course builds on previous assembly language programming experience, high-level language programming experience, and a basic understanding of computer hardware to give a junior-level student a more complete understanding of how all the levels of computer systems work together.

Topics:

Introduction: Languages, virtual machines, hierarchical and modular design, multi-level computer concepts.
Computer System Organization: Processors, memory, input/output, networks and distributed systems.
Processor Design: Extend the simple computer designed in EECE238L and add simple microprogramming. Details of a specific processor.
Conventional Machine Level: Instruction types, addressing modes and instruction formats, extend the knowledge of machine language.
Operating System at the Machine Level: Virtual input/output, concurrency, virtual memory, interfacing assembly language to the operating system.
Compilation/Assembly Process: Linking, loading, symbol tables, and basic data structures.
Multi-level Machines: Program portablility and design strategies.

Computer Projects: There will be several programming projects in assembly language and C.

Additional Readings:

H. S. Stone, Introduction to Computer Architecture , Science Research Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1975.
W. Stallings, Computer Organization and Architecture; Principles of Structure and Function (Second Edition) , Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1990.
R. Y. Kain, Computer Architecture; Software and Hardware (Volumes 1 and 2), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989.
S. Dasgupta, Computer Architecture; A Modern Synthesis (Volumes 1 and 2), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1989.
J. L. Hennessy and D. A. Patterson, Computer Architecture A Quantitative Approach, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc., San Mateo, CA, 1990.