This text offers both the theoretical, machine-independent concepts underlying the construction of all computers, and a specific introduction to the assembly language and architecture of the widely used PDP-11. It discusses the major functional components of a computer - memory, ALU, Input/Output, and processor - and how they are integrated into a complete computer system. The book describes and builds an idealized model of a computer and shows how the theoretical concepts are put into practice in the construction of the PDP. It integrates hardware concepts with software principles, introducing the student to internal systems programs used to run the computer.

Computer Organization and Design Fundamentals takes the reader from the basic design principles of the modern digital computer to a top-level examination of its architecture. This book can serve either as a textbook to an introductory course on computer hardware or as the basic text for the aspiring geek who wants to learn about digital design. The material is presented in four parts. The first part describes how computers represent and manipulate numbers. The second part presents the tools used at all levels of binary design. The third part introduces the reader to computer system theory with topics such as memory, caches, hard drives, pipelining, and interrupts. The last part applies these theories through an introduction to the Intel 80x86 architecture and assembly language. The material is presented using practical terms and examples with an aim toward providing anyone who works with computer systems the ability to use them more effectively through a better understanding of their design.

Computer Architecture/Software Engineering

This best selling text on computer organization has been thoroughly updated to reflect the newest technologies. Examples highlight the latest processor designs, benchmarking standards, languages and tools. As with previous editions, a MIPs processor is the core used to present the fundamentals of hardware technologies at work in a computer system. The book presents an entire MIPS instruction set—instruction by instruction—the fundamentals of assembly language, computer arithmetic, pipelining, memory hierarchies and I/O. A new aspect of the third edition is the explicit connection between program performance and CPU performance. The authors show how hardware and software components--such as the specific algorithm, programming language, compiler, ISA and processor implementation--impact program performance. Throughout the book a new feature focusing on program performance describes how to search for bottlenecks and improve performance in various parts of the system. The book digs deeper into the hardware/software interface, presenting a complete view of the function of the programming language and compiler--crucial for understanding computer organization. A CD provides a toolkit of simulators and compilers along with tutorials for using them. For instructor resources click on the grey "companion site" button found on the right side of this page.This new edition represents a major revision. New to this edition:* Entire Text has been updated to reflect new technology* 70% new exercises.* Includes a CD loaded with software, projects and exercises to support courses using a number of tools * A new interior design presents defined terms in the margin for quick reference * A new feature, "Understanding Program Performance" focuses on performance from the programmer's perspective * Two sets of exercises and solutions, "For More Practice" and "In More Depth," are included on the CD * "Check Yourself" questions help students check their understanding of major concepts * "Computers In the Real World" feature illustrates the diversity of uses for information technology *More detail below...

Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface presents the interaction between hardware and software at a variety of levels, which offers a framework for understanding the fundamentals of computing. This book focuses on the concepts that are the basis for computers. Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of the computer revolution. This text then explains the concepts and algorithms used in modern computer arithmetic. Other chapters consider the abstractions and concepts in memory hierarchies by starting with the simplest possible cache. This book discusses as well the complete data path and control for a processor. The final chapter deals with the exploitation of parallel machines. This book is a valuable resource for students in computer science and engineering. Readers with backgrounds in assembly language and logic design who want to learn how to design a computer or understand how a system works will also find this book useful.