This page is presenting the course of Computer Architecture (CART - 2011). You can find all the information relative to this course on this page and some materials linked to the course. This course will be given in english and will last 12 lectures of three times 30 minutes (with a break of 5 minutes in-between) and will be preceded by exercices in your project group rooms.
This course will introduce you to how computers work internally down to the CPU and the instructions it is executing.
Students are expected to have followed the imperative
programming course and know the C language. Students do not
need to be experts in C since the constructs of the language we
will be using are quite limited. The course will present
advanced features that are needed for writing assembly.
Students are also expected to use GNU tools such as gcc
,
some editor, and a debugger.
Please make sure that either:
kdbg
.VirtualBox
on your laptop. In addition, download the Ubuntu image
here and
import it inside VirtualBox
.
You should reconfigure the virtual
machine to use more memory. The image contains the tools you
will need.You will become familiar with these different topics:
The text book for this course does not follow a classical
approach to computer architecture. It explains it from
a programmer's perspective, which is more relevant and
more interesting for you. The course book is
Computer Systems - A Programmer's Perspective
by Randal E. Bryant and David R. O'Hallaron.
This is an SE course and you will be assessed by a marked written exam.
Any question or remark relative to the course is welcome.