A practical introduction to computer architecture

Author(s)

    • Page, Daniel

Bibliographic Information

A practical introduction to computer architecture

Daniel Page

(Texts in computer science)

Springer, c2009

Available at  / 4 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 629-631) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

It is a great pleasure to write a preface to this book. In my view, the content is unique in that it blends traditional teaching approaches with the use of mathematics and a mainstream Hardware Design Language (HDL) as formalisms to describe key concepts. The book keeps the "machine" separate from the "application" by strictly following a bottom-up approach: it starts with transistors and logic gates and only introduces assembly language programs once their execution by a processor is clearly de ned. Using a HDL, Verilog in this case, rather than static circuit diagrams is a big deviation from traditional books on computer architecture. Static circuit diagrams cannot be explored in a hands-on way like the corresponding Verilog model can. In order to understand why I consider this shift so important, one must consider how computer architecture, a subject that has been studied for more than 50 years, has evolved. In the pioneering days computers were constructed by hand. An entire computer could (just about) be described by drawing a circuit diagram. Initially, such d- grams consisted mostly of analogue components before later moving toward d- ital logic gates. The advent of digital electronics led to more complex cells, such as half-adders, ip- ops, and decoders being recognised as useful building blocks.

Table of Contents

Tools and Techniques.- Mathematical Preliminaries.- Basics of Digital Logic.- Hardware Design Using Verilog.- Processor Design.- A Historical and Functional Perspective.- Basic Processor Design.- Measuring Performance.- Arithmetic and Logic.- Memory and Storage.- Advanced Processor Design.- The Hardware/Software Interface.- Linkers and Assemblers.- Compilers.- Operating Systems.- Efficient Programming.- Appendices.- SPIM: A MIPS32 Simulator.

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Details

  • NCID
    BA89832991
  • ISBN
    • 9781848822559
  • LCCN
    2009922086
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    London
  • Pages/Volumes
    xxii, 641 p.
  • Size
    25 cm
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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