CMSC 311 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION

Catalog Description

Introduction to assembly language. Design of digital logic circuits. Organization of central processors, including instruction sets, register transfer operations, control, microprogramming data representation, and arithmetic algorithms. Memory and input/output organization.

Objective

An in-depth understanding of how a stored-program computer works and how it is designed to execute a machine-specific (assembly) language.

Prerequisites

CMSC 214 and CMSC 250.

Topics

  1. Boolean Algebra, Logic Gates, Flip-Flops (3 weeks)
  2. Computer Elements (combinational and sequential circuits and memories) (2 weeks)
  3. Internal Code and Data Representation (2 weeks)
  4. Register Transfer Language and Simulation (2 weeks)
  5. Organization and Simulation of a Stored-Program Computer (3 weeks)
  6. Assemblers and Assembly Language (1 week)
  7. RISC Architecture (1 week)

Course Text

M. Mano, Computer System Architecture, (Second Edition), Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982.

Typical Grading and Workload