BUILD a computer,

WRITE software for that computer, and

COMPARE that computer to other computers.

Or, more specifically:

• Describe and implement the control and datapath of a non-pipelined RISC CPU, including support for interrupts/exceptions and input/output

  • Describe the ISA of the CPU, including the register model, memory map, control registers, interrupt process, input/output, etc

• Write assembly language programs for that RISC CPU which utilize interrupts and/or input/output

• Debug assembly language programs using a simulator/debugger

• Describe how the CPU facilitates/implements high-level language features and support for operating systems, including:

  • Procedure calling

  • Interrupts/exceptions

  • Input/output

  • Privileged modes

• Compare microcontrollers with microprocessors; Pick a processor for a given project

  • Describe metrics of evaluation including speed, memory size/access times, power usage, peripherals, ease of development, etc

  • Describe speed enhancements including pipelining and caching

• Identify some contributors to computer architecture and organization and relate their achievements to the knowledge area.

• Describe what is meant by 'computer architecture' and discuss historical and future computer architecture trends.