course-details-portlet

TDT4160

Computer Fundamentals

Credits 7.5
Level Intermediate course, level II
Course start Autumn 2025
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction Norwegian
Location Trondheim
Examination arrangement School exam

About

About the course

Course content

The course will contain terminology, principles, and concepts for the construction and operation of different kinds of modern computers and other computer-related equipment. Principles of how computers (and other digital machines) are constructed from combinatoric and sequential logic logic blocks. Architecture (organization), operation, and realization of computers and computer systems. Construction of computers on different levels, instruction format, address modes, processor architecture and types. Hardware and software interface, connection of components, interrupts, busses, memory hierarchy, and cache. A short introduction to distributed systems, embedded systems, parallel computers, new technologies, and new applications will be given.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

  • The student should know how computers work and how they are constructed.
  • The student should understand how simple processors are constructed, including single-cycle, multi-cycle, and pipelined designs.
  • The student should understand the principles of how memory systems are constructed, including the use of caches and virtual memory.
  • The student should understand the interface between hardware and software.
  • The student should understand how abstraction and structure are used to handle complexity in computer systems.

Skills:

  • The student should be able to write simple programs in an assembly language.
  • The student should be able to read block diagrams.
  • The student should be able to see how schematics and block diagrams at different levels of abstraction relate to each other.

General competence:

  • The student should understand the general operation of a computer and be able to use this knowledge in projects at all abstraction levels.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and exercises.

The exercises are compulsory and cover both theory and practice. The theoretical exercises cover important concepts in the curriculum, for example, performance calculation, translation from instructions to control words, calculating memory access time, as well as reflecting upon the behavior of the computer. The practical exercises focus on assembly programming in the Ripes simulator.

Compulsory assignments

  • Exercises

Further on evaluation

The re-sit examination is held in August, and the examination form may change from written to oral.

Course materials

Patterson and Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface (2nd Edition), Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2020, Paperback ISBN: 9780128203316, eBook ISBN: 9780128245583

Credit reductions

Course code Reduction From
SIF8026 7.5 sp
IT2201 7.5 sp Spring 2006
TFE4105 3.7 sp Autumn 2010
This course has academic overlap with the courses in the table above. If you take overlapping courses, you will receive a credit reduction in the course where you have the lowest grade. If the grades are the same, the reduction will be applied to the course completed most recently.

Subject areas

  • Informatics
  • Technological subjects

Contact information

Course coordinator

Department with academic responsibility

Department of Computer Science

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: School exam
Grade: Letter grades

Ordinary examination - Autumn 2025

School exam
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code D Date 2025-12-11 Time 15:00 Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment
Place and room for school exam

The specified room can be changed and the final location will be ready no later than 3 days before the exam. You can find your room location on Studentweb.

Sluppenvegen 14
Room SL111 brun sone
81 candidates
Room SL110 lilla sone
64 candidates
Room SL111 lyseblå sone
72 candidates
Room SL110 turkis sone
31 candidates
Room SL410 blå sone
51 candidates
Room SL430
54 candidates
Room SL110 hvit sone
64 candidates
Room SL111 grønn sone
50 candidates
Room SL111 blå sone
36 candidates
Room SL111 orange sone
60 candidates
Room SL410 orange sone
58 candidates

Re-sit examination - Summer 2026

School exam
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code D Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment Place and room Not specified yet.