Work In Progress: Computer Design for Intermediate-Level Digital Systems Course

The flexibility of programmable logic devices (PLDs) and their supporting CAD (computer aided design) tools make PLDs ideal for digital systems design courses. This paper outlines a computer design-based course and supporting laboratory targeted for students with intermediate-level digital design skills. The unifying theme of this course is the design, implementation, and programming of a relatively complex microcontroller (MCU). This course emphasizes the development and subsequent integration of basic individual computer building blocks using a hardware description language (HDL). The major topics in the course include finite state machine (FSM) design, computer system architecture, and assembly language programming. Placing emphasis on a hierarchical design approach and ensuring continuity in the course topics reduces potential difficulties in presenting this scope of topics