Computer Systems

Catalog description

Understanding the internal behavior of computing devices enables the design of more efficient and scalable software systems. This course introduces students to the fundamental principles and components of computer system architecture. Students are expected to learn to describe, compare, and contrast different computing architectures and gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between hardware and software. Topics include the evolution of computing systems, digital logic, processor design, instruction sets, x86, x64, ARM, and RISC-V architectures, embedded systems, processor virtualization, graphics processing units (GPU's), and smartphone architecture.