The Foundations of Computer Design
What you'll learn
- Know what binary numbers are and how to do basic math with them
- Know how a computer uses electricity to do computations
- Design and program a basic, but working, CPU and memory circuit
- Be able to define and understand basic assembly and machine code
Requirements
- Students should have a desire to understand how computers really work
- The only required knowledge is basic math and the ability to think logically however a total beginner will likely find this class very challenging
Description
Learn how a computer works with this basic, but detailed course on the foundations of computer design. In this course you will learn how a computer really works and by the end you will be able to understand the design of a programmable central processing unit. This class is the foundation of a computer science curriculum.
Designing your first computer!
- Learn binary and hexadecimal numbers
- Understand logic gates
- Recognize multiplexers decoders and the ALU
- Learn how to design memory chips and CPU registers
- Build a basic central processing unit
A building block to more advanced computer topics
This course starts from the ground up and completes with a fully functioning programmable computer. Advanced computer design topics such as power or speed optimizations are not covered but all the information needed to understand basic computer design is packed into this course. A total beginner will likely need to repeat a few of the lectures but it can be understood by anyone who takes the time to study each of the lectures. Anyone who desires to become a computer science expert must know how processors really work and this course is the first step towards that goal.
Who this course is for:
- This course is for students who desire to know how a basic computer is designed and programmed
- Computer professionals who were never exposed to assembly programming may also find this course useful.
Featured review
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Course content
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Instructors
- 4.2 Instructor Rating
- 325 Reviews
- 4,881 Students
- 2 Courses
I have been interested in computers and technology all of my life. I was lucky enough to have access to a computer at a young age and growing up I always wondered how it worked. I first taught myself how to program in 7th grade using books from the library and continued learning the art of programming throughout high school and into college. For my undergraduate degree I majored in computer science and followed that with a master's degree in software engineering. While in undergraduate school I began working full time as a developer and continued both school and work full time until I graduated college. I've had the opportunity to work for four different companies throughout my 10+ year professional career and have been able to work on everything from embedded micro-controllers to big data applications deployed on the cloud.
I am excited to share my knowledge in a way that was impossible when I was learning. My goal on Udemy is to reach individuals with a hunger for learning technology and give them the foundation they need to be successful. How computers really work remains a mystery to many, even some IT professionals and programmers, but knowing how things happen on the lowest level is very helpful when solving difficult problems.
- 4.4 Instructor Rating
- 39,315 Reviews
- 216,329 Students
- 17 Courses
Paul is an IT Professional with over 12 years of experience currently working as a Network Administrator in contract support of various Federal Agencies in the United States.
He has been teaching online courses for the past 5 years and taught over 200k students in 195 countries.