Abstract: Helping Students Understand the Datapath with Simulators and Crazy Models

Helping Students Understand the Datapath with Simulators and Crazy Models


Michael B. Gousie and James D. Teresco
Proc. SIGCSE 2013, The 44th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Denver, March 8, 2013.

Undergraduate computer science programs at many small colleges often include only one course focused on hardware. Many important concepts are covered in such a course, including the basics of computer architecture. By the end of such a course, students should have a good understanding of how a binary machine instruction is executed in hardware. Unfortunately, even a simplified diagram of a datapath is often difficult for students to master. We present two approaches that use lab exercises to help to address this problem. In one, students build a working model of the datapath out of ordinary materials; in the other, a software simulator is designed and implemented. These approaches are described and their merits discussed.

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