LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is a study of the evolution of computer architecture and the factors influencing the design of hardware and software elements of computer systems. The course covers the fundamentals of classical and modern processor design: performance and cost issues, instruction sets, pipelining, memory organization.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The design and development of a computer requires one to address specific targets in terms of computational performance, size, cost, and power consumption. Accordingly, both a tablet and a data centre belong to the class of computers; on the other hand, they are definitely different when looking at the four attributes listed above. This module focuses on the design methodologies that allow one to target specific constraints when developing a computer. At the same time, students will be involved in practical classes, where professional tools for the design of digital electronic systems will be utilized. Overall, students will be able to improve their skill on computer architectures and computer systems.

TEACHING METHODS

This course includes a combination of lectures and laboratory assignments. Lab assignments will allow students to incrementally design, implement, test, and evaluate digital architectures.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Topics will include: introduction to computer architecture design; analysis of the major design issues: computational performance, power consumption, cost, size; computer arithmetic; instruction set design; processor: datapath and control unit; pipeline and parallelism; memory organization.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lecture notes

David Patterson, John Hennessy, "Computer Organization and Design", Morgan Kaufmann

David Harris, Sarah Harris, "Digital Design and Computer Architecture", Morgan Kaufmann