Computer Architecture

What you'll learn

The key areas this subject covers, mapped to the official curriculum.

• Number systems, complements and IEEE 754 floating point
• Register transfer language and the basic computer datapath
• Hardwired versus microprogrammed control
• CPU organization, instruction formats and addressing modes
• Cache, virtual memory, pipelining and I/O transfer modes

Course units

The structured path through this subject.

1. 1

   Data Representation

   Number systems, complements, fixed- and floating-point representation and character codes.

   5 topics · 5 lessons available

2. 2

   Register Transfer and Microoperations

   Register transfer language, bus and memory transfers, and arithmetic, logic and shift microoperations.

   3 topics · 3 lessons available

3. 3

   Basic Computer Organization and Design

   Instruction codes, the instruction cycle, memory reference instructions, and I/O and interrupts.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

4. 4

   Microprogrammed Control

   Control memory, microinstruction formats, microprogram sequencing and the design of the control unit.

   3 topics · 3 lessons available

5. 5

   Central Processing Unit

   Register and stack organization, instruction formats and addressing modes.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

6. 6

   Pipelining

   Parallel processing, arithmetic and instruction pipelines, timing diagrams and hazards.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

7. 7

   Computer Arithmetic

   Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division algorithms including Booth's algorithm.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

8. 8

   Input Output Organization

   Peripheral devices, I/O interface, asynchronous transfer, modes of transfer and priority interrupt.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

9. 9

   Memory Organization

   Memory hierarchy, main and associative memory, cache mapping and replacement, and virtual memory.

   5 topics · 5 lessons available