On-Line Minicomputer Usage in Systems Engineering, An Instructional Laboratory Program

The development, methodologies, and first semester implementation of a senior level digital computer laboratory course are discussed. The laboratory centers around the use of a minicomputer and permits dedicated minicomputer usage for real time on-line processing or time sharing as necessary. The experiments emphasize the areas of control and communications. Unique aspects of this course include its development as performed mainly by graduate students (directed by the authors), the nature of the experiments themselves, the relatively large amount of credit it is assigned, the fundamental place it occupies in the Systems and Computer Engineering Curriculum, and its rapid and positive acceptance by students. Future plans for additions to existing experiments, new experiments, modifications in operating systems format, and innovative teaching methods are also described.