Computer systems I

Module 1 Digital Electronics (3 ECTS cr) Digital technology focuses on the analysis and design of digital circuits. This module covers fundamental topics such as number systems, Boolean algebra, logic gates, and combinational circuits (including normal forms and Karnaugh maps), as well as flip-flops and sequential circuits. Module 2 Computer Engineering (6 ECTS cr) This module explores the structure and functionality of computer systems, as well as the interface between software and hardware. Topics include data representation and arithmetic, assembly programming, memory systems (including cache memory), the architecture and operation of modern processors, and interrupt handling. Parallel processors, such as GPUs, are also covered. Module 3 Theoretical Computer Science (6 ECTS cr) This module covers the foundations of automata theory, formal languages, computability, and complexity theory. It is essential for understanding the capabilities and limitations of computers, including why some problems are computationally unsolvable while others are easy or hard to solve. In automata theory and formal languages, the module explores regular languages (with expressions and finite automata), context-free languages (with grammars and pushdown automata), and the pumping lemma. In computability theory, topics include Turing machines, the Church-Turing thesis, and the decidability of languages (problems). The final part of the module focuses on complexity theory, addressing complexity classes and the time complexity of algorithms. The use of AI to tackle hard problems (NP problems) is also discussed.