Understand Computer Architecture by Building Below the Language

10 weeks · 0 milestones

Build a working assembler, simple CPU emulator, or cache simulator from scratch — the artifact must demonstrate that you understand what happens below the programming language you normally use: instruction encoding, pipeline stages, cache line behaviour, or memory hierarchy trade-offs. The implementation must be accompanied by a written explanation of every design decision in terms of the specific hardware constraint it addresses. Proof: the working implementation and write-up reviewed by a CS lecturer or systems engineer who traces the execution of a program they haven't shown you through your implementation and asks you to explain every step.

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