CS 61C Machine Structures Berkeley
CS 61C Machine Structures Lecture 1, Course Introduction, Wed, 01/18
What?
These are notes I'm taking based on the online machine structures berkeley webcast video course taught by John Wawrzynek. It is a 47min 34 second lecture. No book or reading is required for the Introduction. See the assignments on the course website.
John Wawrzynek
Berkely: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~johnw/
Publications: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~johnw/publications.html
Rate My Professsor: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=853551
Articles by John Wawrzynek: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=Wawrzynek&btnG=Search http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cis?q=John+Wawrzynek&submit=Search+Documents&cs=1
JimmyR.com Review
Pros
It's just an introduction. Things get juicier in subsequent lectures. There's nothing particularly to praise yet.
Negatives
* Terrible lighting on slides the teacher primarily relies on to teach
* Teacher wavers voice and stumbles quite a bit
* Goes over what most people already know
* The projector is covering up the title on many slides
* Pretty soft sound
This lecture goes through things really fast and doesn't give any understanding of the more complicated parts. One will have to study them online or in the book in order to get a better understanding of what he's talking about. He emphasized more in explaining how much the technology has grown exponentially through a series of graphs and charts, which something most computer enthusiasts and programmers already know.
The professor seems to stumble on his words and go faster when he's in the complicated parts, which makes it feel like busywork copying. The generalities in explanation is not near enough to take them out of the senseless jargon mental category.
How this was made?
I'm not a berkely student. This is purely based on their free webcast (see link above). Most the notes are based on overhead parts rather than the short additions the professor managed to mumble in. I'm not responsible if anything happens if I screw up on my notes. Please contact me if you have something to add or have corrections.
The links in this are not from the lecture, they're actually I'm feeling lucky google links in an attempt to send you directly to a wikipedia entry for the keywords. If they lead you to a random site, my apologies. They have the rel=nofollow tag and do not reflect a legit recommendation.
Lecture Notes
Machine Layers
Software: Compiler, Assembler
Hardware: Processor | Memory | IO Systems
Datapath & Control
Digital Design
Circuit Design
Transistors
This is a coordination of the many "(layers | levels) of abscraction". It doesnt matter if it's an MP3 player computer or a microwave, this basic design applies to most devices.
Levels of Representation
* High Level Language
* Assembly Language Program e.g. MIPS
* Machine Language Program
* Machine Interpretation
* Architecture Implementation (logical Circuit Description[Circuit Schematic Diagrams[[gates]]])
Anatomy: 5 Components of Any Computer
Processor: Control, Datapath
Memory: Open Programs and Data storage
Devices: Input (keyboard, mouse, network), Output (LCD, Printer)
Overview of Physical Implementations
Integrated Circuits
Combinational logic circuits, memory elements, analog interfaces.
Printed Circuits (PC) Boards
Substrate for ICs and Interconnection, distribution of CLK,Vdd, and GND signals, heat dissipation.
Carrier for the chips. Suppy power into the integrated circuits. Provide heat dissipation.
Power Supplies
Converts line AC voltage to regulated DC low voltage levels.
Chassis
Holds boards, power supply, provides physical interface to user or other systems.
Connectors and Cables
Integrated Circuit
* Primarily Crystalline Sillicon.
* 90nm is the size of the smallest transistor
* contains 100-250M transistors 25-100M logic gates
* 3-10 Conductive layers
* CMOS Complimentary metal OXide Semiconductor
The package the chip is in helps to spread the heat, and spread signal paths to board level. It's usually made of Ceramic or plastic with gold wires.
Printer Circuit Board
* Fiberglass or ceramic
* 1-20 Conductive layers
* 1-20 on a side
* IC packages are soldered down
* Provides
o mechanical support
o Distribution of power
Technology Trends for Single Chip DRAM Capacity
Memory now increases 1.4 times it's capacity every year or 2 times every 2 year (?).
It is 8000 times more than its 1980s value.
Evolution of Intel Micro Processors
Moores Law says that we'll have 2 times more transistors per chip every two years. Gordon Moore said this initially, that the number of transistors would double every year. He then updated it every 18 months. It's actually 24 months.
Shrinking number of companies making micro processors (Writer Note: AMD RULES SO MUCH MORE. DIE DELL DIE).
Any other kind of technology hasn't grown anywhere near comparible. Teacher compares it to cars.
At some point the exponential increase is going to stop. The limit is how small the media can be the devices use and function properly. The teacher predicts within the next 10 years the growth will slow and we'll be looking for a new technology to continue the growth.
The new techology provides us with applications we've never had before. For example, in games very fast processing is required for the lifelike graphics processing so we can see very realistic looking graphics. With faster processors we can also have better, cheaper servers which make new services and features available for the world wide web.
Faster Processes
Shows a graph of how processors have gotten faster. Processors have slowed down slightly recently to 29% growth per year. It's harder and harder to take advantage of the transistors.
Summary
Processors
2x faster every 1.5 years since 85. 100 times increase in the last decade.
Memory
DRAM capacity 2x every 2 years since 96. 64 times increase in the last decade.
Disk (including cds and removable??)
Capacity 2x every 1 year since 97. 250 times increase in the last decade. They are not made out of integrated circuits but use similar technology.
This course hasn't changed much in 20 years
The way computers are built are basically the same.
Plots Ray Kurtzwell's graph from MIT
The graph shows technology since 1900 based on how many computerations per second per dollar. The graph is plotted dots showing a relatively straight line. When one technology runs out of steam something faster comes out to replacement. Sillicon will be replaced by something else once it's growth has slowed.
Talks about Books Required for course
The C Programming language Kerninghan and Ritchie 2nd edition. Read P&H Chapter 1 and sections 3.1 and 3.2. Read K&R Chapters 1-4.
