Computer Organization

(Redirected from CSCI 210)

Credit hours:3 NS

Timeframe:spring semester

1 Course Description
2 Important dates
3 Opinions
4 External links

Course Description

"This course covers the principles that underly the structure of computer systems, and their implementation in real hardware. Many of these issues are best illustrated through low-level programs, in assembly language and microcode. Most assembly language programs will target the MIPS RISC architecture, the one used by Silicon Graphics in many of their workstations. A simulation kernel will be provided for program development.

"The topics of interest at the conventional 'machine language level', such as data representation and procedure calling conventions, are very abstract compared to what really goes on at lower levels. Tanenbaum's text uses the "virtual machine" concept to structure complexity. This concept corresponds precisely to the notion of abstraction in programming. Using propositional logic as its foundation, we will study four levels of virtual computing devices, each with its own principles of operation and notion of programming. They are logical circuits, microcode, machine language and assembly language. Each level is implemented as a 'program' in the language of the previous level. For your assignments, you too will be writing programs at each of these levels."

(from the course syllabus)