F27CS - Introduction to Computer Systems

Course leader(s):

Adam Sampson (Edinburgh, January)
Mehran Sharghi (Edinburgh, January)
To be announced (Dubai, January)
Fadi Alhaddadin (Dubai, January)
Rosalind Deena Kumari (Malaysia, January)

Aims

To introduce students to modern computer systems architecture.

To give students an appreciation of logical design and data representation.

Syllabus

1. Core architecture (1.1 - Computer system components, 1.2 - Information representation, 1.3 - Floating point)

2.1 - Boolean algebra and logic, 2.2 - Arithmetic circuits

3. The CPU (3.1 - The fetch-execute cycle, 3.2 - Processor design, 3.3 - Assembly programming, 3.4 - Pipelined processors)

4. I/O and memory (4.1 - Input-output architecture, 4.2 - The memory hierachy, 4.3 - Virtual memory)

5. Operating systems (5.1 - Operating system architecture, 5.2 - Operating system components, 5.3 - Introduction to Linux, 5.4 - Common tasks in Linux, 5.5 - Shell scripting)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:

Explain the purpose and function of major hardware and software components in contemporary computer systems.
Explain how information is represented in contemporary computer systems.
Design and reason about simple logic circuits.
Write and understand simple assembler programs.
Perform common tasks on Linux and write shell scripts to automate them.

Further details

Curriculum explorer: Click here

SCQF Level: 7

Credits: 15