If you want to truly understand HOW COMPUTERS WORK, this is the right course for you! Based on Scott CPU by J. Clark Scott, we will talk about how to design a computer step by step, and also discuss extensively the design logics behind! You will know not only how computers work, but more importantly, WHY they are designed this way. You will find it NOWHERE ELSE!!
If you are absolute beginners, this course will teach you the nuts and bolts in an intuitive way that’s easy to follow.
If you are an experienced programmer curious about how those magical symbols typed turn into actions and results, this course will teach you the missing hardware piece in an enlightening way.
If you are an electrical engineer who already know circuits and electronics, this course will give you the unprecedented insights found nowhere else about complex circuits like memory latches, decoders, counters.
If you are a lifelong learner hoping to enrich your life experiences by learning science and technologies, this course will give you the fresh insights into the technological aspects of our modern lives.
Why are we able to communicate with students from such drastically different backgrounds? That’s because we’ve uncovered a brand new way of teaching: teach WHY, not just how! When you understand why, the learning process would become a flow experience.
We will talk about how to build each component of a computer. The mechanics of doing is intertwined with the purposes and goals, so the learners will find it so easy to follow.
(I) How computers compute. In this section, we will talk about how to build ALU that does the computing. Particularly we will talk about number representations, how transistor works, semiconductor technologies, and how to combine transistors to build adders. We will also talk about how computers do subtraction, multiplication and division.
(II) How computers remember. In this section, we will talk about how to build computer memory. We will show you step by step how to build memory latches, how to build memory grid by using multiple memory units, how to connect the memory grid to the ALU, how memory addressing works.
(III) How computers control. In this section, we will talk about how to build computer control section. We will discuss the basic tasks a computer needs to perform, how to build a sequencer, how instruction works, how to fetch and execute instructions.
(IV) What is programming. In this section we will talk about the basic instructions needed, how to wire them and how to do programming. In particular we will talk about jump instructions, load and store instructions, data instructions, clear instructions, IO instructions.
How our teaching differs from others’:
Many people talk about computers from the perspectives of a machine, rather than the perspectives of human. They start with the different components of computers, detailing one component and move on to the next. Those materials, while presenting the mechanics of the machine in an objective way, they barely speak to our hearts. Because for any information to go into our hearts, we have to understand WHY we do what we do.
Fully understand the needs of learners, the lecturers lay out the components from the perspectives of learners: what do I need to build and why would I build it this way. Eventually every essential components of a computer will be discussed, but the contents are structured in a way that follow human logics and reasoning, rather than the mechanics of the machine. Once you understand the design logics, you will see nothing is really difficult, nothing need to be memorized, because you have fully understood!
