COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE - 2
- Academic year
- 2021/2022 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- ARCHITETTURA DEGLI ELABORATORI - MOD.2
- Course code
- CT0615 (AF:359650 AR:187179)
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6 out of 12 of COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
- Degree level
- Bachelor's Degree Programme
- Educational sector code
- ING-INF/05
- Period
- 2nd Semester
- Course year
- 1
- Where
- VENEZIA
- Moodle
- Go to Moodle page
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
The teaching falls within the basic educational activities of the degree course in Computer Science.
It allows to learn foundations and techniques for the design of the main components of a computer: Processor - Input/Output - Memory.
It also allows deepening the knowledge on the machine/assembly levels of a conventional computer. The course provides further knowledge on measures and techniques for performance evaluation of a computer.
Finally, the course emphasizes the hardware/software interface of computers.
It allows to learn foundations and techniques for the design of the main components of a computer: Processor - Input/Output - Memory.
It also allows deepening the knowledge on the machine/assembly levels of a conventional computer. The course provides further knowledge on measures and techniques for performance evaluation of a computer.
Finally, the course emphasizes the hardware/software interface of computers.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding.
The student will have mastered the specific technical terminology.
She will be able to recognize and understand the theoretical foundations and techniques for designing the main components of a computer.
She will have knowledge on the representation of information and on measures for performance evaluation.
She will understand the complexity of modern computer architectures, and their influence on software design and performance.
Furthermore, the student will acquire knowledge on the level of machine/assembly programming, and on the translation of simple high-level programs in assembly language.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
The student will be able to carry out exercises aimed at applying the knowledge acquired in the various topics of the course; in particular, on the representation of integer and real numeric values, on the logical design of circuits, on the parallelism at the level of instructions, on the realization of the various levels of memory hierarchies, on performance evaluation of processors and I/O subsystems, on assembly translation of high-level imperative programs.
She will also be able to make hardware/software choices applying the principles of performance evaluation.
The student will have mastered the specific technical terminology.
She will be able to recognize and understand the theoretical foundations and techniques for designing the main components of a computer.
She will have knowledge on the representation of information and on measures for performance evaluation.
She will understand the complexity of modern computer architectures, and their influence on software design and performance.
Furthermore, the student will acquire knowledge on the level of machine/assembly programming, and on the translation of simple high-level programs in assembly language.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
The student will be able to carry out exercises aimed at applying the knowledge acquired in the various topics of the course; in particular, on the representation of integer and real numeric values, on the logical design of circuits, on the parallelism at the level of instructions, on the realization of the various levels of memory hierarchies, on performance evaluation of processors and I/O subsystems, on assembly translation of high-level imperative programs.
She will also be able to make hardware/software choices applying the principles of performance evaluation.
Pre-requirements
- Computer Architecture (Mod.1)
- C programming language
- C programming language
Contents
- Advanced project of a CPU: pipeline
- Memory hierarchies
- Input/Output
- Performance evaluation
- The ARM instruction set
- Program execution: compiler, assembler, linker, loader
- The translation process: from C to ARM assembly
- Laboratory examples on real-world ARM architectures (like the Raspberry Pi)
- Memory hierarchies
- Input/Output
- Performance evaluation
- The ARM instruction set
- Program execution: compiler, assembler, linker, loader
- The translation process: from C to ARM assembly
- Laboratory examples on real-world ARM architectures (like the Raspberry Pi)
Referral texts
- David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy. "Struttura e Progetto dei Calcolatori" 4th Italian edition based on 5th English edition. Zanichelli, 2015
- David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy. "Computer Organization and Design ARM Edition", Morgan Kaufmann; 1st edition (March 16, 2016)
- David Money Harris Sarah L. Harris. "Sistemi digitali e architettura dei calcolatori. Progettare con tecnologia ARM", Trad. di O. Scarabottolo, rev. di N. Scarabottolo, Zanichelli, 2017
- David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy. "Computer Organization and Design ARM Edition", Morgan Kaufmann; 1st edition (March 16, 2016)
- David Money Harris Sarah L. Harris. "Sistemi digitali e architettura dei calcolatori. Progettare con tecnologia ARM", Trad. di O. Scarabottolo, rev. di N. Scarabottolo, Zanichelli, 2017
Assessment methods
The exam is composed of some open-ended theoretical questions and exercises to test the proficiency of the student with respect to the various topics of the course
Teaching methods
- Frontal theoretical lessons
- Practical examples shown by the teacher on embedded ARM devices
- Exercises
- Practical examples shown by the teacher on embedded ARM devices
- Exercises
Teaching language
Italian
Type of exam
written
Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 26/08/2021