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Computer Organization & Assembly Language: Module 0. Introduction to CS-215. Course topics. Computer Organization Computer Components CPU, memory, I/O devices, bus Representing information Integers, real numbers, text characters, machine code Arithmetic operations Assembly Language
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Computer Organization & Assembly Language: Module 0 Introduction to CS-215
Course topics • Computer Organization • Computer Components • CPU, memory, I/O devices, bus • Representing information • Integers, real numbers, text characters, machine code • Arithmetic operations • Assembly Language • Basic features • Translation (C++ assembly language) • Data structures • Procedures • Programmed I/O
Course activities • Computer Organization • Representing information • Encode and decode various types of data • How is 3.14 represented by a computer? • What unsigned integer is represented by the byte 11001010? • Arithmetic operations • Demonstrate the (addition/subtraction/multiplication/division) of two (integers/real numbers) using one of the algorithms for hardware operations presented in class • Requires an understanding of the representations • It is not enough to use conventional techniques and convert the result!
Course activities • Assembly Language • Translation (C++ assembly language) • Implement a C++ code fragment in assembly language • Procedures • Implement a C++ function in assembly language • Use activation records • Programmed I/O • Write code which manages I/O to a device • monitor, keyboard
Course resources • Text: A Programmer's View of Computer Architecture, Goodman & Miller • Website: http://cs.uwm.edu/~cs215 • Syllabus • Lecture slides • Assignments • Language and simulator resources • Desire2Learn (D2L) • Announcements • Dropbox (assignment submission) • Discussion board
Focus: MIPS R2000 Assembly Language • The MIPS R2000 is an old CPU from SGI • Modern MIPS used in SGI workstations, Sony PS2 • All MIPS chips use nearly the same assembly language • MIPS assembly language is very similar to that of the PowerPC chip, the heart of the Apple Macintosh • Why MIPS R2000 • Simple, easily learned language • Straight-forward architecture • Freely available GUI simulator: SPIM
PCSpim • Initially developed at UW-Madison by James Larus • More stable than its Unix counterpart • Xspim is on both miller and grid • Has a graphic interface for easy debugging • More on PCSpim later
Why study assembly language? • Developing a more accurate model of computation is the main goal of this course • A software engineer who understands how a computer works will be able to: • design more efficient code • Find and fix problems with code that don't stem from the semantics of the source language • Correctly diagnose problems in a deployed application • hardware, OS, libraries, network, source code, etc.
What is a model? • A model is a partial representation of a system • incomplete • specific purpose • Multiple models for different purposes • Model of the city of Milwaukee for • MCTS bus driver • MMSD engineer • Bicyclist • Commercial airline pilot
Level of detail • Eliminating distracting detail enables focus on aspects of interest, get higher level perspectives • street maps for navigation do not show buildings and topography • More detail is NOT necessarily better • A detailed schematic of a car engine would not help the average motorist troubleshoot a sputtering engine • A flow chart would be better • A city map that shows every alley is less useful to a visitor than one that shows just major roads
Abstraction • Modeling is about abstraction: • building general, high-level concept pictures • Models often abstract away variation • Access to UWM computers requires authentication • The authentication abstraction filters out mechanism • login-password, fingerprint recognition, ID badge, etc. • Different abstractions, levels of abstraction depending on aspects of interest, degree of expertise
Learning is model refinement • The primary purpose of modeling is to improve understanding • Observing differences between the model and reality shows us gaps in our understanding • This is how learning works, according to educational theory • Cognitive dissonance • Learn is updating our model to better predict reality
Novice user’s model of computation • A computer is a machine that: • Can generate video and sound, like a TV • responds to input from a keyboard and a mouse • Unlike a TV • must be plugged into the Internet to work properly • Like a TV needs cable, or an antenna • This is a useful model for word-processing, email, web browsing, copying CD’s, etc. • Programming requires a more detailed model
CS-201 model of computation • A computer is a machine that executes a C++ program, by • Executing each line of the program sequentially, subject to control structures and function calls • Allowing the program to receive text input from the keyboard, or a file • Allowing the program to produce text output to the monitor, or a file C++ Program Computer
A more complex model of computation • A computer executes machine instructions, and can control a variety of input/output devices • Compiler • language definition • settings • implementation details • Operating system • resource allocation • device management • CPU • machine instructions • addressing modes C++ Program CPU Operating System Compiler