Book Image

Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

By : Jim Ledin
Book Image

Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

By: Jim Ledin

Overview of this book

Are you a software developer, systems designer, or computer architecture student looking for a methodical introduction to digital device architectures but overwhelmed by their complexity? This book will help you to learn how modern computer systems work, from the lowest level of transistor switching to the macro view of collaborating multiprocessor servers. You'll gain unique insights into the internal behavior of processors that execute the code developed in high-level languages and enable you to design more efficient and scalable software systems. The book will teach you the fundamentals of computer systems including transistors, logic gates, sequential logic, and instruction operations. You will learn details of modern processor architectures and instruction sets including x86, x64, ARM, and RISC-V. You will see how to implement a RISC-V processor in a low-cost FPGA board and how to write a quantum computing program and run it on an actual quantum computer. By the end of this book, you will have a thorough understanding of modern processor and computer architectures and the future directions these architectures are likely to take.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Section 1: Fundamentals of Computer Architecture
8
Section 2: Processor Architectures and Instruction Sets
14
Section 3: Applications of Computer Architecture

Answer

Perform the following steps:

  1. An Internet search for low-power microprocessor brings up a selection of processors from manufacturers including STM, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Microchip Technology, and several others.
  2. A second search for embedded cellular modem produces a list of cellular modems suitable for this application. Some of these devices are in the form of a system-on-module (SoM), incorporating the RF modem with a programmable processor core in a single module.
  3. The MultiTech Dragonfly Nano SoM (https://www.multitech.com/brands/multiconnect-dragonfly-nano) appears to be suitable for this application. This device is available for US$103.95 and integrates an ARM Cortex-M4 processor for hosting user applications. The Dragonfly Nano provides I/O interfaces including a serial UART, USB, I2C, SPI, 9 analog inputs, and up to 29 digital I/O pins. The Cortex-M4 contains 1 MB of flash memory and 128 KB of RAM.
  4. The Dragonfly Nano documentation states...