This chapter covers a variety of topics related to how computers “work,” focusing on computer hardware and architecture. One goal for this chapter is to help you gain an understanding of how the basic logical and mathematical operations underlying computation are performed mechanically.
We will also use a simulation of CPU architecture to learn more about how an instruction is processed along the CPU data path cycle and how values from memory are incorporated into CPU instructions. We are doing this to gain more experience with understanding a computer’s mechanical operations at a higher level of abstraction.
Finally, this chapter covers reading and writing basic assembly language, to help us see the 0s and 1s underneath higher level programming and apply them to basic algorithms.
Acknowledgements¶
The author consulted Chapter 5, “Computing Components” from Nell Dale and John Lewis’ Computer Science Illuminated, Seventh Edition textbook (Jones & Barlett Learning, 2020; ISBN: 9781284155617) when writing this lab.
Sections of this chapter are based on the “Data path & memory” lab:
Created: Jerod Weinman, 16 March 2009
Modified: Jerod Weinman, 20 April 2011
Modified: Jerod Weinman, 4 April 2014
Portions adapted from Dave Reed, “A Balanced Introduction to Computer Science,” Exercises 14.1-14.6.
Sections of this chapter are based on the “Machine language” lab:
Created: Jerod Weinman, March 16, 2009
Revised: Janet Davis, April 27, 2012
Revised: Janet Davis, March 12, 2013
Revised: Jerod Weinman, 4 April 2014
Adapted from Dave Reed, “A Balanced Introduction to Computer Science,” Exercises 14.9, 14.10, and 14.13.
This chapter’s lecture segments were adapted from the following PBS Crash Course Computer Science episodes:
Application¶
Link to application question template (ND users, Google Doc)