2024 Computer Systems

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Academic unit or major
Undergraduate major in Mathematical and Computing Science
Instructor(s)
Endo Toshio  Sakamoto Ryuichi 
Class Format
Lecture / Exercise     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
-
Group
-
Course number
MCS.T233
Credits
3
Academic year
2024
Offered quarter
4Q
Syllabus updated
2024/3/14
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

Modern computers consist of digital circuits implemented on silicon wafers. However, humans program with textual, high-level programming languages such as C++ and Python, and it is not obvious how abstract computing models that humans perceive are actually executed on hardware. In practice, there are many layers involved in the execution, and for this particular course, first we study language abstraction at the lowest level, namely machine languages, and then how hardware can be constructed to interpret and execute such machine languages. In the lab course we will also learn structure of processors by constructing a CPU simulator.

Student learning outcomes

The goal of this course is to learn the hardware architectural concepts of computers, how they execute the programs in principle. Also, we will cover recent advances in computer architectures, especially techniques to attain speed and execution efficiency, in order to attain insights into how an efficient computing infrastructure can be constructed.
We will first be learning the lowest level programming language, namely machine language, and will then learn how hardware components such as ALUs and memory devices are designed with digital circuits. This will allow students to come to a complete understanding of the abstraction layers of computers based on the von Neumann architecture.

Keywords

Computer architecture, machine language, instruction set architecture, logical circuits, logic gates, expression of numbers, floating point numbers, adders, ALU, combinatorial circuits, truth table, sequentical circuits, data path, single cycle execution, multi cycle execution, pipelining, out-of-order execution, memory, DRAM, sram, memory hierarchy, cache, performance, throughput, latency, parallelism, multi-core, GPU, supercomputers

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills Intercultural skills Communication skills Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

For each lecture class a set of PowerPoint slides will be distributed in T2SCHOLA. The lab course will have an assignment every classes, and a report is to be submitted for each assignment. The grade will be determined based on the combination of the score of the final exam and the submitted reports.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Introduction of lecture series, computing history Not specified
Class 2 Introduction to computer architecture, assembly / machine language (1) arithmetic and logical instructions, load/store instructions Not specified
Class 3 Assembly / machine language (2): load/store instructions, control instructions, implementing procedures Not specified
Class 4 From logic gates to processor (1): combinatorial circuits and adders Not specified
Class 5 From logic gates to processor (2): ALU, control, sequential circuits Not specified
Class 6 From logic gates to processor (3): memory by sequential circuits Not specified
Class 7 From logic gates to processor (4): Basic structure of a processor Not specified
Class 8 Improvement of arithmetic operations and floating point numbers Not specified
Class 9 Structure of memory (1): DRAM and SRAM Not specified
Class 10 Structure of memory (2): Cache memory technology Not specified
Class 11 Advance of processors (1): Speedup by pipelining Not specified
Class 12 Advance of processors (2): Out of order execution Not specified
Class 13 Advance of processors (3): Various parallelizing technology Not specified
Class 14 Supercomputers Not specified

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Undergraduate Learning (東京工業大学学修規程) and the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Graduate Learning (東京工業大学大学院学修規程), for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

Not Specified

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Patterson and Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Assessment criteria and methods

The grade will be determined based on the combination of the score of the final exam and the submitted reports.

Related courses

  • MCS.T204 : Introduction to Computer Science
  • MCS.T214 : Theory of Automata and Languages
  • MCS.T314 : Operating Systems
  • MCS.T334 : Compiler Construction

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

Basic knowledge of programming, and Boolean logic

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