Program Overview

Digital Design and Computer Architecture

The class provides a first introduction to the design of digital circuits and computer architecture. It covers technical foundations of how a computing platform is designed from the bottom up. It introduces various execution paradigms, hardware description languages, and principles in digital design and computer architecture. The focus is on fundamental techniques employed in the design of modern microprocessors and their hardware/software interface.

Objectives

This class provides a first approach to Computer Architecture. The students learn the design of digital circuits in order to:

• understand the basics
• understand the principles (of design)
• understand the precedents (in computer architecture) Based on such understanding, the students are expected to:
• learn how a modern computer works underneath, from the bottom up
• evaluate tradeoffs of different designs and ideas
• implement a principled design (a simple microprocessor)
• learn to systematically debug increasingly complex systems
• hopefully be prepared to develop novel, out-of-the-box designs The focus is on basics, principles, precedents, and how to use them to create/implement good designs.

Lectures

• Thursday, 14:15-16:00, in HG F7 (Overflow room: HG F5)
• Friday, 14:15-16:00, in HG F7 (Overflow room: HG F5)

Lab sessions

When? | Where?
---|---

• Tuesday, 16:15-18:00 | HG E19, HG E26.1, HG E26.3, HG E27
• Wednesday, 16:15-18:00 | HG E19, HG E26.1, HG E26.3, HG E27
• Friday, 08:15-10:00 | HG D11, HG D12, HG E26.3, HG E27
• Friday, 10:15-12:00 | HG E19, HG E26.1, HG E26.3, HG E27

Prerequisites

• None

Staff Information

Contact

• Mailing List: (sent to instructor and TAs)
• Office Hours: In person & online
  • Monday (01:30PM~02:30PM), ETL K25 and Zoom: Check Moodle
  • Tuesday (06:00PM~07:00PM), ETF C109 and Zoom: Check Moodle
  • Wednesday (10:00AM~11:00AM), ETF C109 and Zoom: Check Moodle

Staff List

• Instructor: Onur Mutlu
• Head Teaching Assistant: Juan Gomez Luna
• Head Teaching Assistant: Mohammad Sadrosadati
• Head Teaching Assistant: Mohammed Alser
• Head Teaching Assistant: Ataberk Olgun
• Teaching Assistant: Giray Yaglikci
• Teaching Assistant: Can Firtina
• Teaching Assistant: Geraldo De Oliveira Junior
• Teaching Assistant: Rahul Bera
• Teaching Assistant: Konstantinos Kanellopoulos
• Teaching Assistant: Nika Mansouri Ghiasi
• Teaching Assistant: Nisa Bostancı
• Teaching Assistant: Rakesh Nadig
• Teaching Assistant: Joel Lindegger
• Teaching Assistant: İsmail Emir Yüksel
• Teaching Assistant: Haocong Luo
• Teaching Assistant: Yahya Can Tuğrul
• Teaching Assistant: Julien Eudine
• Student Assistant: Banu Cavlak
• Student Assistant: Lukas Gygi
• Student Assistant: Marc Rettenbacher
• Student Assistant: Yumi Kim
• Student Assistant: Maria Makeenkova
• Student Assistant: Liana Koleva
• Student Assistant: Steve Rhyner
• Student Assistant: Jinfan Chen
• Student Assistant: Bahar Açılan
• Student Assistant: Aaron Zeller
• Student Assistant: Jonathan Maillefaud
• Student Assistant: Mark Sosman
• Student Assistant: Talu Güloglu
• Student Assistant: Jessie Li
• Student Assistant: Athena Wang