CSE Seminars/Conferences

Colloquia, Seminars and Conference News

Title : From Nand to Tetris in 12 Steps

Date : December 2, 2005. (2:00 pm) Tea starts half an hour before each seminar

Location: ITEB 336

Speaker : Schocken Shimon

Abstract:

We present a new course that aims to demystify the integrated function of computer systems, using a hands-on approach. The course presents many abstractions, algorithms, and data structures learned in CS courses, and makes them concrete by building a complete computer system from the ground up. In particular, we guide the students through a modular series of projects that gradually construct and unit-test a simple hardware platform and a modern software hierarchy, yielding a surprisingly powerful computer system.

The hardware projects are done in a simple hardware description language and a hardware simulator supplied by us. The software projects (assembler, VM, and a compiler for a simple object-based language) can be done in any language, using the API's and test programs supplied by us. We also build a mini-OS. The result is a GameBoy-like computer, simulated on the student's PC. We start the course (and this talk) by demonstrating some video games running on this computer, e.g. Tetris and Pong.

Building a working computer from Nand gates alone is a thrilling intellectual exercise. It demonstrates the supreme power of recursive ascent, and teaches the students that building computer systems is -- more than anything else -- a triumph of human reasoning. We are able to squeeze all this into a single course since we deal with neither efficiency nor advanced features, leaving these subjects to other courses in the program. The resulting approach is completely self-contained, requiring only programming as a pre-requisite. Hence, courses based on the approach can be given at almost any stage in the program. A book based on the approach was recently published by MIT Press. Joint work with Noam Nisan. For more details see www.idc.ac.il/tecs

Bio:

Shimon Schocken is co-founder of IDC Herzliya, a new Israeli university, and dean of its Efi Arazi School of Computer Science (1995-present). Previously he was on the faculty of NYU (1985-1995) and his Ph.D. is from the University of Pennsylvania. His research and teaching interests focus on the use of decision theory in intelligent systems and on computer science fundamentals. In 2004 he received the IBM Eclipse Scholar award for a software suite developed in conjunction with his latest book. He is presently a visiting professor of computer science at Harvard University.

[Back]


Computer Science & Engineering Department 371 Fairfield Road Unit 2155 Storrs, CT 06269-2155 Phone: (860) 486-3719 Fax: (860) 486-4817	Colloquia, Seminars and Conference News Title : From Nand to Tetris in 12 Steps Date : December 2, 2005. (2:00 pm) Tea starts half an hour before each seminar Location: ITEB 336 Speaker : Schocken Shimon Abstract: We present a new course that aims to demystify the integrated function of computer systems, using a hands-on approach. The course presents many abstractions, algorithms, and data structures learned in CS courses, and makes them concrete by building a complete computer system from the ground up. In particular, we guide the students through a modular series of projects that gradually construct and unit-test a simple hardware platform and a modern software hierarchy, yielding a surprisingly powerful computer system. The hardware projects are done in a simple hardware description language and a hardware simulator supplied by us. The software projects (assembler, VM, and a compiler for a simple object-based language) can be done in any language, using the API's and test programs supplied by us. We also build a mini-OS. The result is a GameBoy-like computer, simulated on the student's PC. We start the course (and this talk) by demonstrating some video games running on this computer, e.g. Tetris and Pong. Building a working computer from Nand gates alone is a thrilling intellectual exercise. It demonstrates the supreme power of recursive ascent, and teaches the students that building computer systems is -- more than anything else -- a triumph of human reasoning. We are able to squeeze all this into a single course since we deal with neither efficiency nor advanced features, leaving these subjects to other courses in the program. The resulting approach is completely self-contained, requiring only programming as a pre-requisite. Hence, courses based on the approach can be given at almost any stage in the program. A book based on the approach was recently published by MIT Press. Joint work with Noam Nisan. For more details see www.idc.ac.il/tecs Bio: Shimon Schocken is co-founder of IDC Herzliya, a new Israeli university, and dean of its Efi Arazi School of Computer Science (1995-present). Previously he was on the faculty of NYU (1985-1995) and his Ph.D. is from the University of Pennsylvania. His research and teaching interests focus on the use of decision theory in intelligent systems and on computer science fundamentals. In 2004 he received the IBM Eclipse Scholar award for a software suite developed in conjunction with his latest book. He is presently a visiting professor of computer science at Harvard University. [Back] Print \| Email