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Computer Science

Computer Science

Course Information

Summary How a computer works, from hardware to high-level programming. Logic circuits, computer instructions, assembly language, binary arithmetic, C programming, program translation, data structures, and algorithm analysis. CS 142 can be taken concurrently with this course.
Prerequisites CS 142
Credits 3  
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This document is not a syllabus. Instead, for ALL offerings of this course, this document states the expected objectives and topics for the course. Faculty members teaching this course should adhere to these objectives and topics. Students taking this course can expect to achieve the objectives and cover the topics specified, and faculty members teaching follow-on courses can expect students to have been appropriately exposed to the prerequisite material as stated.

 

Purpose

ECEn/CS 124 is an introductory course to computer systems. The purpose is to understand the levels of transformation from gates through high level languages in the organization of a modern computer. 

 

Objectives

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Perform computations using Boolean logic.
  2. Translate Boolean logic to transistor circuitry.
  3. Use combinational and sequential circuitry to implement an instruction set architecture.
  4. Write a machine code program.
  5. Explain how assembly/C programs are assembled/compiled, linked and executed.
  6. Program solutions to problems in assembly language.
  7. Program solutions to problems in C.
  8. Use C and assembly code together in an application.
  9. Use functions, pointers, and stacks in program design.
  10. Use symbolic debuggers to find problems in programs. 

 

Topics

  • The transistor, logic gates, latches, logic structures, (gates, multiplexor or, decoder, full adder, gated latches, and counters),culminating in an implementation of memory. (7 hours)
  • Finite state control, its implementation as a sequential circuit, the von Neumann model of execution, a simple computer, machine language and assembly language programming. (7 hours)
  • Programming methodology, system calls, functions, and stacks. (5 hours)
  • Introduction to C, variables and operators, control structures, and functions. (8 hours)
  • Pointers and arrays. (6 hours)
  • I/O, testing, and debugging. (3 hours)
  • Recursion, elementary data structures. (4 hours)

 

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