ITEM004
Computer Structures

This course looks at the computer as a highly organised system consisting of hardware and software components. An introduction is given to the Von Neumann and other architectures, principles and techniques of operating systems and other system software.

The course covers the following topics:

• Introduction to computer architecture and computer organisation, with a brief review of computer history; principal components of a computer system, basic functions, interconnections; principles of the Von Neumann architecture.
• Computer architecture: General Purpose Register architectures; program execution; CPU cycles; instruction sets and types of operations; functions of the ALU, representation of integers and reals, computer arithmetic; interrupts; stacks. Bus architectures: bus structures; operation, elements of bus design; arbitration. Memory: memory hierarchy; types of RAM and module organisation; cache memory principles, design mapping functions, replacement algorithms. Disks: data organisation and formatting, characteristics. Optical memory: brief review of CD-ROM. I/O modules: interrupt-driven I/O; DMA; I/O channels and processors; brief introduction to external interfaces (serial and parallel); device drivers.
• Hardware/software systems. Supporting the needs of users and program development; resource requirements during program execution; multi-user and multi-tasking systems; non-determinacy; principles of resource-sharing; stand-alone computers versus networked environments.
• Introduction to operating systems; overview and types of operating systems; concept of multiprogramming; concept of process and inter-process communication; scheduling algorithms; types of memory management, memory sharing, protection and security; file system structures and operations.