C (programming language)

Pointer (computer programming)

The GNU Debugger (GDB)

Recursion (computer science)

System Control Flow

Executables

Virtual memory

C Programming

Floating Point

Buffer overflow

Memory & Data

x86 Programming

Array (data structure)

Memory & Caches

Integers

x86-64 Assembly

Binary

Bitwise Operators

Procedures & Recursion

Data structure alignment

Process (computing)

Computers and Society

The Stack & Procedures

Cache (computing)

Java (programming language)

Memory allocation

CSE 351 The HW/SW Interface University of Washington Autumn 2022 This course develops students' understanding of software functioning at different levels of abstraction. Focus areas include C, assembly, and low-level data representation. It also introduces concepts of operating systems and differences between Java and C. It serves as a starting point for those interested in hardware or high-level abstractions. This course should develop students' sense of what really happens when software runs – and that this question can be answered at several levels of abstraction, including the hardware architecture level, the assembly level, the C programming level, and the Java programming level. The core around which the course is built is C, assembly, and low-level data representation, but this is connected to higher levels (roughly how basic Java could be implemented), lower levels (the general structure of a processor), and the role of the operating system (but not how the operating system is implemented).

For (computer science) students wanting to specialize at higher levels of abstraction, this could, in the extreme, be the only course they take that considers the "C level" and below. However, most will take a subset of [Systems Programming (CSE333)](http://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse333/), [Operating Systems (CSE451)](http://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse451/), [Compilers (CSE401)](https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse401/), etc.

For students interested in hardware, embedded systems, computer engineering, computer architecture, etc., this course is the introductory course after which other courses will delve both deeper (into specific topics) and lower (into hardware implementation, circuit design, etc.). Of particular interest are [Introduction to Digital Design (CSE369)](https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse369/), [Design of Digital Circuits and Systems (CSE371)](https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse371/), [Introduction to Embedded Systems (CSE474)](https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse474/), and [Computer Architecture I (CSE469)](https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse469/). At the end of this course, students should be able to:

- Describe the multi-step process by which a high-level program becomes a stream of instructions executed by a processor;
- Describe the basic organization of the memory hierarchy and the effect of its parameters on system performance;
- Trace the execution of assembly code (x86-64), map the assembly to high-level language constructs, and write simple pieces of assembly programs;
- Write C code using pointers to create and manipulate complex data structures;
- Write (or rewrite) code to be take advantage of the computer execution model to improve execution efficiency;
- Debug small-ish C and assembly programs using GDB;
- Explain the role of an operating system;
- Describe fundamental differences between Java and C.  Course Themes
## Course Themes

The course has four principal themes:

- Representation: How different data types (from simple integers to arrays of data structures) are represented in memory, how instructions are encoded, and how memory addresses (pointers) are generated and used to create complex structures.
- Translation: How high-level languages are translated into the basic instructions embodied in process hardware with a particular focus on C and Java.
- Control Flow: How computers organize the order of their computations, keep track of where they are in large programs, and provide the illusion of multiple processes executing in parallel.
- History and Society: The principles computers are built upon were influenced by the societal context of the historical periods in which they were designed and, in turn, computers influence society in ways far beyond pure computational power.

CSE 351 The HW/SW Interface

Computer Systems

Unix

Bitwise Operations

x86-64

Privacy

Assembly

Stack (abstract data type)

C Strings

Heap (data structure)

Assembly: Arithmetic and Logic

Trust

C Generics

Assembly: Control Flow

Managing the Heap

Data Representation

Function Pointers

Assembly: Function Call

Optimization

Overflow

Reverse Engineering

Caching

CS 107 Computer Organization & Systems Stanford University Autumn 2022 This Stanford University course delves into the depths of computer systems and programming. It continues from the introductory sequence, expanding students' programming experience using the C language, exploring machine-level code, computer arithmetic, memory management, and more. CS107 is the third course in Stanford's introductory programming sequence. The CS106 courses provide you with a solid foundation in programming methodology and abstractions, and CS107 follows on this to build up and expand your breadth and depth of programming experience and techniques. The course will work from the C programming language down to the microprocessor to de-mystify the machine. With a complete understanding of how computer systems execute programs and manipulate data, you will become a more effective programmer, especially in dealing with issues of debugging, performance, memory, and robustness. Topics covered include: the C programming language, data representation, machine-level code, computer arithmetic, elements of code compilation, optimization of memory and runtime performance, and memory organization and management.

### CS107A

CS107A, also called Pathfinders (or ACE), is a supplementary instruction program that meets for a weekly section and holds Pathfinders-specific review sessions. CS107A is application-only; please see the [FAQ](https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/cs/cs107/cs107.1232/faq.html) page for more information. The goals for CS107 are for students to gain mastery of

- writing C programs with complex use of memory and pointers
- an accurate model of the address space and compile/runtime behavior of C programs

to achieve **competence** in

- translating C to/from assembly
- writing programs that respect the limitations of computer arithmetic
- identifying bottlenecks and improving runtime performance
- working effectively in a Unix development environment
- using ethical frameworks and case studies to inform decision-making

and have **exposure** to

a working understanding of the basics of computer architecture The prerequisite for CS107 is CS106B/X (or equivalent). You should have practical C/C++ skills using recursion, dynamic data structures (pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs), data abstraction, classic data structures (lists, stacks, queues, sets, maps), and standard algorithms (searching, sorting, hashing). You should have an appreciation of the intrinsic value of good engineering and design and you will be expected to produce well-decomposed, readable code. Come talk with us if you need help determining the right placement for you. **Required**: Bryant & O’Hallaron. Computer Systems: A Programmer’s Perspective. 3rd Edition.

The bookstore has a less-expensive custom version of this textbook for our course that includes only the chapters we will cover; you can also use the regular full 3rd edition. You will need the 3rd edition of the textbook, which has substantial updates from IA32 to x86-64. There will be assigned readings from this textbook that are important preparation for lecture and lab. For readings that we assign, you can view a free digital PDF copy of the textbook on Canvas under the "Files" tab.

**Strongly recommended**: We also strongly recommend you have a "C language goto" in whatever form works best for you: textbook, tutorial, reference sheet, website, etc. As one suggestion, The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie is the classic text and a digital copy is available for checkout via [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2030445M/The_C_Programming_Language) (make a free account to "borrow" it digitally). Another option is Nick Parlante's Essential C reader PDF [available here](http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/101).

There is also a CS107 reader written by Chris Gregg, another CS107 instructor: [https://web.stanford.edu/~cgregg/cgi-bin/107-reader](https://web.stanford.edu/~cgregg/cgi-bin/107-reader), which covers all of the course topics in detail.

Our lecture readings pull from Bryant & O'Halloran, Kernighan & Ritchie, and Essential C.

CS 107 Computer Organization & Systems

RISC-V Procedures

Loader

RISC-V Single-Cycle Datapath

Caches - Multilevel

Parallelism

Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB)

Amdahl's law

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)

RISC-V Instruction Formats

Combinational Logic

RISC-V Single-Cycle Control

Caches - Set-associative

Thread-level Parallelism

Page faults

Virtual memory performance

Data-level parallelism

Data center

Assembly language

Number Representation

RISC-V

Compiler

Synchronous Digital Systems (SDS) State

RISC-V 5-Stage Pipeline

Performance with Caches

OpenMP

Multilevel

Dependability

Warehouse-scale Computing

Input/output

RISC-V Data Transfer

Assembler

Finite State Machine (FSM)

Hazards

Flynn taxonomy

Cache coherence

Interrupts

MapReduce

Parity

C Memory (Mis)Management

RISC-V Decision Making Logical Ops

Linker

Combinational Logic Blocks

Caches - Direct Mapped

Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD)

Performance

Exception handling

Apache Spark

Error-correcting Codes (ECC)

CS 61C Great Ideas in Computer Architecture (Machine Structures) UC Berkeley Fall 2022 This course deepens students' understanding of computer architecture and the translation of high-level programs into machine language. Emphasis is on C and assembly language programming, computer organization, parallelism, CPU design, and warehouse-scale computing. Prerequisites include CS61A and CS61B or equivalent C-based programming experience. [Official Academic Guide course description](https://classes.berkeley.edu/content/2022-fall-compsci-61c-001-lec-001)

The subjects covered in this course include C and assembly language programming, translation of high-level programs into machine language, computer organization, caches, performance measurement, parallelism, CPU design, warehouse-scale computing, and related topics.  CS61A and CS61B (or equivalents) or experience with a C-based programming language (e.g. Java, C++). There is no official textbook for this class. However, there are three optional textbooks as additional references:

- **P&H**: Second edition of Patterson and Hennessy's *Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition* book ("P&H"), ISBN 0128122757.
- **K&R**: *The C Programming Language, Second Edition* by Kernighan and Ritchie. Other C programming books are also suitable if you are already comfortable with them, but our lectures will be based on K&R.
- **WSC**: *The Datacenter as a Computer: An Introduction to the Design of Warehouse-Scale Machines*, which is freely available [on our website](https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61c/resources/WSCBarrosoHolzle.pdf).

Please contact staff on Ed if you have trouble finding or paying for these textbooks.

CS 61C Great Ideas in Computer Architecture (Machine Structures)

C (programming language)

3 courses cover this concept

CSE 351 The HW/SW Interface

CS 107 Computer Organization & Systems

CS 61C Great Ideas in Computer Architecture (Machine Structures)