Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives On completion of the subject students will be able to understand and represent low level algorithms; write assembly language programs for the Intel 80386 using the GNU as assembler; describe the operation of a microprocessor (simple, pipelined, or superscalar).
Synopsis This subject examines in detail the internal mechanism of computers and their manipulation by means of a low-level programming language. It includes the following topics: assembly language; register architecture; procedure activation; parameter passing and binding; block structured addressing; coroutines; interrupts; I/O operations; modes of addressing; memory implementation; paging and segmentation. The practical component is based on 80386 assembly language.
Assessment Examination (2 hours): 65% + Laboratory work: 20% + Practical examination 15% + Satisfactory assessment in the practical component of the subject must be obtained