Learning Outcomes What you will know

Computer Architecture

• Develop a sense of the historical developments that have led to the computers we have today
• Understand the principle of the Von Neuman architecture
• Understand the concept of an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)

Referencing modules: Computer Architecture

Assessed by:

Computers and Integers

• Master conversions between binary, decimal, and hexadecimal
• Be able to do by-hand additions in decimal and hexadecimal
• Understand the need for and the representation of both unsigned and signed integers
• Know how integers are stored in computers, whether unsigned or signed
• Known integer ranges and main patterns of integer encoding in these ranges

Referencing modules: Integers & Computers, Multiplication and Division, Numerical Overflow

Assessed by:

Foating Point Numbers

• Understand the need for and limitations of floating point numbers in programming languages
• Know the general structure of the IEEE floating point format
• Know ways to get around the above limitations

Referencing modules: Floating Point Numbers

Data sizes and numerical overflow

• Understand how to do size conversions of numbers
• Understand numerical overflow

Referencing modules: Numerical Overflow

X86 architecture

• Understand the history and significance of the X86 architecture

Referencing modules: Computer Architecture

NASM

• Understands the basics of assembly instructions mov, add, sub, inc, and dec
• Understand Endianness
• Be able to trace programs with memory operations and indection

Referencing modules: NASM Basics

Assembly Programming

• Be able to understand/trace simple assembly programs

Referencing modules: Data Casting, Control Structures, First NASM Program, Multiplication and Division, Numerical Overflow

Assessed by:

Data size

• Understand zero-extension and sign-extension and how to do them in assembly
• Understand signed and unsigned values in C and how size extension in C maps to assembly instructions

Referencing modules: Data Casting

Assembly and High-level Languages

• Understand some of the relations between high-level programming languages and assembly language

Referencing modules: Data Casting, Control Structures, Numerical Overflow