Course details
Computer architecture and computer organization are fundamental topics for computer programmers and computer systems developers. This hands-on course follows on from Applied Mathematics for Computing and Java programming. COMP 2825 is a study of the rules and methods used to describe the functionality and implementation of computer systems. The hierarchy of computer levels and functions are discussed and analyzed in detail. Through exercises and labs students evaluate modern computer system hardware architectures. They are shown how to build performance into their software applications and computer systems. Topics include pipelining, error-correcting code in theory and in practice, performance enhancement, hard-disk drives and solid-state drives, cache and main memory, addressing, microprogramming the CPU, registers and circuits. Additional topics include the ALU and data path, logarithms, bus clocking, bus arbitration, and address decoding. COMP 2825 is required for the Computer Systems Certificate, CSC in PTS and it is equivalent to COMP 2721 in the full-time CST Diploma. Upon successful completion students will use software at the hardware level to optimize how code is managed by the datapath inside the CPU. They will have skills to evaluate and recommend the appropriate computer system architecture for specific applications. be able to optimize software for specific hardware, accounting for how code is managed inside the CPU. They will also have gained an introduction to lower-level assembly programming, in order to build better software applications in higher-level programming languages. COMP 2825 is offered in the January (Winter) and April (Spring) terms.
Prerequisite(s)
Credits
4.0
Cost
$545.22 - $571.11 See individual course offerings below for actual costs.
Course offerings
Spring/Summer 2023
Below are two offerings of COMP 2825 for the Spring/Summer 2023 term.
CRN 57039
Duration
Thu Apr 27 - Thu Jul 27 (12 weeks)
- 12 weeks
- CRN 57039
- $545.22
Class meeting times
| Dates | Days | Times | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27 - Jul 27 | Thu | 18:00 - 21:30 | Online |
| Apr 27 - Jul 27 | N/A | N/A | Online |
Instructor
Jason Wilder
Course outline
Cost
$545.22
Important information
- Internet delivery format.
- Departmental approval needed
- Important course information will be sent to you prior to your course start date. Check your myBCIT email account to access this information.
-
Please email cstpts@bcit.ca for Departmental approval. Include your Student number (A0#) and COMP__ and preferred CRN __ and Program Declaration____. Course is 48 hours - 42 hours synchronous online classes and 6 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3.5 hours online and requires an additional 0.5 hours per week asynchronously. Late registration is not permitted. No class June 29 and July 13.
Status
In Progress
This course offering is in progress. Please check back next term, subscribe to receive email updates or contact us with your comments or questions.
CRN 66860
Duration
Mon May 01 - Mon Jul 31 (12 weeks)
- 12 weeks
- CRN 66860
- $571.11
Class meeting times
| Dates | Days | Times | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 01 - Jul 31 | Mon | 18:00 - 21:30 | Downtown DTC Rm. 420 |
| May 01 - Jul 31 | N/A | N/A | Online |
Instructor
Rahim Oraji
Course outline
Cost
$571.11
Important information
- Departmental approval needed
-
Please email cstpts@bcit.ca for Departmental approval. Include your Student number (A0#) and COMP__ and preferred CRN __ and Program Declaration____. Course is 48 hours - 42 hours on campus and 6 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3.5 hours on campus and requires an additional 0.5 hours per week asynchronously. This is a BYOD (bring your own device) course, participants must provide their own current model PC with an i5 or higher equivalent processor, 8 GB of RAM minimum, 256 GB minimum storage and high-speed internet access. Late registration is not permitted. No class May 22 (Victoria Day) and July 3 (Canada Day).
Status
In Progress
This course offering is in progress. Please check back next term, subscribe to receive email updates or contact us with your comments or questions.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the basic concepts and terminology related to computer architecture and organization.
- Discuss and compare modern machine architectures.
- Explain and describe the characteristics of current CPU architectures.
- Explain the three lowest levels of computer organization: digital logic level, microarchitecture level, and instruction set architecture level.
- Solve problems related to the design of each level.
- Evaluate modern computers from the point of view of performance.
- Determine the latency, bandwidth, and important relevant features of pipelines.
- Create codes capable of detecting and possibly correcting errors in code-words.
- Determine whether a Hamming code word contains errors, and possibly also fix the errors.
- Calculate the time required to read different hard-disk drives and compare them to solid-state drives.
- Create various circuits including adders, shifters, latches, and multiplexers.
- Determine the timing and negotiations necessary between the CPU and memory.
- Describe how computers handle bus arbitration.
- Describe in detail how computers fetch, decode, and execute instructions, including micropramming the datapath inside the CPU.
- Gain an introductory theoretical and practical knowledge of assembly-level programming.
Effective as of Winter 2022
Related Programs
Computer Architecture and Organization (COMP 2825) is offered as a part of the following programs:
School of Computing and Academic Studies
- Computer Systems
Certificate Part-time
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