Fundamentals of digital systems

CS-173 / 7 credits

Language: English

Summary

Welcome to the introductory course in digital design and computer architecture. In this course, we will embark on a journey into the world of digital systems, exploring the fundamental principles and concepts that underpin modern computing technology.

Content

Part I: Number Systems

Digital systems are built from circuits that process binary digits (zeros and ones). This part of the course aims to show how familiar numeric quantities can be represented and manipulated in a digital system. We will describe binary number systems and show how addition and subtraction are performed.

Part II: Digital Logic and Design with Verilog

Binary logic circuits have the dominant role in digital technology. We will discover logic gates and expressions, combinational and sequential logic elements, and build state machines. We will design and simulate logic circuits in Logisim-Evolution and Verilog hardware description language.

Part III: Intro to Computer Architecture

We will discover the fundamental building blocks of computers and how they are organized. On one side, we will study a basic processor architecture and the RISC-V open-standard ISA. On the other, we will discuss the future of computing and the role of domain-specific architectures. The basics of FPGA architecture and design flow will also be covered.

Keywords

number systems, logic gates, digital logic, delay, frequency, power, arithmetic circuits, combinational circuits, sequential circuits, finite state machines
memory, computer organization, CPU, FPGA, GPU, TPU
RISC-V ISA
Logisim-Evolution, Verilog, Icarus Verilog, GTKWave, Visual Studio Code

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

Analyze the behavior of a digital circuit
Describe digital systems in Verilog
Design and test digital systems
Explain basic components of a computer
Create fully functional digital systems, including a simple CPU
Realize a fully functional piece of RISC-V assembly code
Describe the functionality of a piece of RISC-V assembly code
Characterize various number systems
Reason about the factors affecting the performance of digital systems
Describe the importance of reduced-precision computing
Design common arithmetic circuits

Transversal skills

Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
Communicate effectively, being understood, including across different languages and cultures.
Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
Use both general and domain specific IT resources and tools

Teaching methods

Ex cathedra
Flipped classroom
Exercices

Expected student activities

Attending the course and exercise sessions
Completing the assignments
Participating in the discussions on the forum

Assessment methods

Midterm exam (written)
Final exam in the exam session (written)

Supervision

Office hours	Yes
Assistants	Yes
Forum	Yes

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Yes

Bibliography

Stephen Brown and Zvonko Vranesic (2014), Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design (3rd ed.), McGraw-Hill
John F. Wakerly (2018), Digital Design Principles and Practices with Verilog (5th ed.), Pearson
Milos D. Ercegovac and Tomas Lang (2004), Digital Arithmetic, Morgan Kauffmann Publishers
David Patterson and John Hennessy (2020), Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface (2nd ed.), Morgan Kauffmann Publishers
David Patterson and Andrew Waterman (2017), The RISC-V Reader: An Open Architecture Atlas (1st ed.), Strawberry Canyon LLC