VSC (Very Simple Computer) - Homebrew CPU

2 downloads 0 Views 361KB Size Report
Undergraduate Computer Architecture Course. R. A. Pilgrim ..... Sajjan G., Introduction to Logic. Design, Scott, Foresman and Co., Boston,. Mass., 1988. 154.
Design and Construction of the Very Simple Computer (VSC): A Laboratory Project for an Undergraduate Computer Architecture Course R. A. Pilgrim Computer Science and Information Systems Department Murray State Univeristy, Murray Kentucky Abstract The Very Simple Computer (VSC) was designed in class and breadboarded in

set size of 8 rather than 16 as provided for in the ASC. This decision was based on the simpler hardware configuration resulting from the smaller instruction set. Next, the VSC provides 32 words addressable memory rather than 16 as with the SCRAM. This was done to provide an example of chip-select circuit design in the memory unit. A block diagram of the VSC is shown in Figure 1.

the laboratory by the students of an undergraduate-level computer architectures course. The computer uses small and medium scale TTL integrated circuits. It has an 8-bit word with a 3-bit op-code and a 5-bit address, resulting in 8 instructions and 32 words of memory. The VSC uses a rocker switch input and directly monitors (with LEDs) the bus for the output. This relatively inexpensive project (