Learning Outcomes At the end of this course, students will be able to:
explain why everything is data, including instructions, in computers;
describe how negative integers, fixed-length numbers, and non-numeric data are represented;
convert numerical data from one format to another;
describe computations as a system characterised by a known set of configurations with transitions from one unique configuration (state) to another (state);
describe the distinction between systems whose output is only a function of their input (combinational) and those with memory/history (sequential);
describe a computer as a state machine that interprets machine instructions;
articulate that there are many equivalent representations of computer functionality, including logical expressions and gates, and be able to use mathematical expressions to describe the functions of simple combinational and sequential circuits; and
design the basic building blocks of a computer: arithmetic-logic unit (gate-level), registers (gate-level), central processing unit (register transfer-level), and memory (register transfer-level).
Course Contents Introduction to information representation and number systems. Boolean algebra and switching theory. Manipulation and minimisation of completely and incompletely specified Boolean functions. Physical properties of gates: fan-in, fan-out, propagation delay, timing diagrams and tri-state drivers. Combinational circuits design using multiplexers, decoders, comparators and adders. Sequential circuit analysis and design, basic flip-flops, clocking and timing diagrams. Registers, counters, RAMs, ROMs, PLAs, PLDs, and FPGAs. Lab Work: Simple combinational gates (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR); Combinational circuits design using multiplexers, decoders, comparators and adders. Sequential circuit analysis and design using basic flip-flops (S-R, J-K, D, T flip-flops); Demonstration of registers, counters, RAMs, ROMs, PLAs, PLDs, and FPGAs.
