Hdl Based Design Problems For Computer Architecture
Chad Hager, Steven F. Barrett, Cameron Wright, Jerry Hamann · 2020
A computer architecture course is a necessary component in a computer engineering curriculum.Students in related disciplines such as electrical engineering and computer science may also value course concepts in the development of their elective coursework.There are many excellent computer architecture textbooks available to illuminate the difficult concepts encountered within the topic area.Many contain detailed designs of various architectures and configurations.To enhance the design skills and allow students to observe the dynamic operation of specific computer architectures, a series of Verilog Hardware Descriptive Language (HDL) design exercises were developed for a senior/graduate level course in computer architecture.The exercises allowed students to begin with basic review exercises on HDL design techniques and progress to fully operational computer architectures.The exercises were directly based and coupled with architectures presented in the course textbook by Mano and Kime.Student feedback indicated the exercises significantly enhanced their design skills and their overall understanding of computer architecture concepts.Students also demonstrated the capability to analyze more complex computer architectures and synthesize advanced components of a computer architecture and apply their knowledge to challenging open-ended design projects.Although originally developed for the Mano and Kime textbook, the design exercises described may be used with any computer architecture text.