Text Book

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What is the textbook for the course?
The textbook for the course is Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design by Stephen Brown and Zvonko Vranesic.

Course Outline

What is the outline of the course week-by-week?
The outline of the course week-by-week is:

  1. Boolean Algebra basics.
  2. Compound logic and an introduction to HDL.
  3. Minimization, Karnaugh-Map, minterms, maxterms, Sum Of Product (SOP), and Product Of Sum (POS).
  4. Number representation and Arithmetic Circuits - Signed and unsigned numbers, RPA, Fast Adders, and Multipliers.
  5. Fast Adders and Multipliers.
  6. Review and midterm.
  7. Combinational circuit building blocks - Multiplexer, decoder, encoder, and comparator.
  8. Verilog for Combinational Circuits and introduction to Sequential Circuits - Latches, DFF, and Edge Triggering.
  9. Sequential Circuits - TFF, JKFF, Registers, Shift Registers, and Set and Reset.
  10. Counters and HDL for Sequential Circuits.
  11. State Machines.
  12. Digital System Design - Bus structure and the SAP-1.
  13. Digital System Design - SAP-1 continued.
  14. Digital System Design - Shift-Add Multiplier and Divider.
  15. Basics of Logic Testing.
  16. Review.

By the end of the course, you'll learn...

What are the four things you'll learn by the end of the course?
The four things you'll learn by the end of the course are:

  1. The building blocks of logic.
  2. Building a library of digital circuit blocks using HDL.
  3. Learning the design jargon.
  4. Learning the design language.

What are five companies that use Verilog?
Five companies that use Verilog include:

  1. Nvidia.
  2. Micron.
  3. Apple.
  4. Intel.
  5. AMD.

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From the professor

Most digital circuits, including sequential circuits but excluding combinational circuits, have a clock.

Hardware Knowledge is Essential

The underlying ... of a digital circuit dictates the actions of high-level ...
The underlying physics of a digital circuit dictates the actions of high-level programmers.

What is the order of the layers of abstraction from high-level programmers to a digital circuit?
The order of the layers of abstraction from high-level programmers to a digital circuit is:

  1. Application.
  2. Algorithm.
  3. Programming language.
  4. Assembly language.
  5. Machine code.
  6. Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).
  7. Micro Architecture.
  8. Gates / registers.
  9. Devices (transistors).
  10. Physics.

What happens to the complexity as you go down the layers of abstraction?
As you go down the layers of abstraction, the complexity increases.

What layers of abstraction are based in software?
The layers of abstraction based in software are:

  • Application.
  • Algorithm.
  • Programming language.
  • Assembly language.
  • Machine code.
  • Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).

What layers of abstraction are based in hardware?
The layers of abstraction based in hardware are:

  • Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).
  • Micro Architecture.
  • Gates / registers.
  • Devices (transistors).
  • Physics.

What can cause an uneven distribution of heat in a multi-core processor?
Software not optimized for multiple cores, where only a few cores are being used for most calculations, can cause an uneven distribution of heat in a multi-core processor.

Truth vs. False

How is a statement deemed true or false?
A statement is deemed true or false depending on its alignment with the fact.

Numeric Representation of Logic

What two digits are used to represent true and false?
The two digits that are used to represent true and false are:

  1. 1 - True.
  2. 0 - False.

What is the representation of logic using 0 and 1 called?
The representation of logic using 0 and 1 is called the Boolean representation.

Who is Boolean representation named after?
Boolean representation is named after George Boole.

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Logical AND

What is the kind of logic that requires both factors to be true for the output to be true?
The kind of logic that requires both factors to be true for the output to be true is AND logic.

Boolean Algebra: AND

What mathematical operation represents AND in Boolean Algebra?
The mathematical operation that represents AND in Boolean Algebra is multiplication.

Logical OR

What is the kind of logic that requires at least one factor to be true for the output to be true?
The kind of logic that requires at least one factor to be true for the output to be true is OR logic.

Boolean Algebra: OR

What mathematical operation represents OR in Boolean Algebra?
The mathematical operation that represents OR in Boolean Algebra is addition.

From ChatGPT

Apple eliminated dedicated VRAM in systems with the M2 processor. Apple's M1 and M2 series processors, including the M2, feature a Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), where the CPU, GPU, and other components share a single pool of high-bandwidth, low-latency memory. Unlike traditional systems that use dedicated VRAM for the GPU, the M2 chip uses unified memory, which is dynamically allocated between the CPU and GPU as needed.

This architecture enhances performance and efficiency by allowing all components to access the same memory without needing to copy data between separate pools. However, this also means there's no separate VRAM specifically dedicated to graphics. Everything is handled through the shared unified memory.