General

This course explores the principles of computer architecture and organization, focusing on the classical von Neumann machine model and its functional units. It covers topics such as instruction set architecture, memory hierarchy, control unit design, and assembly language programming. The course includes hands-on laboratory work to reinforce theoretical knowledge with practical applications in computer hardware, instruction execution, and basic assembly programming.

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to:

1. Provide foundational knowledge of computer architecture and organization.
2. Develop practical skills in assembly language programming.
3. Explain the implementation of high-level programming constructs at the machine language level.
4. Analyze control signal generation and its implementations.
5. Explore memory hierarchies, cache, and virtual memory for performance enhancement.
6. Understand interrupt mechanisms and their use in I/O operations.

Overall Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Explain the organization of the classical von Neumann machine and its major functional units.
2. Construct simple assembly language program segments.
3. Describe how fundamental high-level programming constructs are implemented at the machine-language level.
4. Discuss the concept of control points and the generation of control signals using hardwired or microprogrammed implementations.
5. Describe how the use of memory hierarchy (cache, virtual memory) reduces effective memory latency.
6. Explain the concept of interrupts and describe their role in I/O control and data transfers.