Unit purpose and aim(s):
The unit covers how programs are represented and executed by modern computers, low-level machine representations of programs and data; an understanding of how computer components influence program performance, assembly level machine organization., memory system organization and architecture, functional organization, and alternative architectures. Fundamental concepts of the architectural structure and organization of computers are reviewed, including fundamental execution
cycle, central processing unit, input/output unit and memory management unit, I/O controllers and processors. An analysis of the evolution of the major architectures from Complex Instruction Set Computers (CISC) to Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC) is carried out. The unit also addresses
concepts of data encryption, authentication, hashing, and security attacks.
- Teacher: Isaac Makosa