Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

Chapter 2: Digital Logic

This chapter builds upon the introductory topics presented in Chapter 1, Introducing Computer Architecture and provides a firm understanding of the digital building blocks used in the design of modern processors. We begin with a discussion of the properties of electrical circuits, before introducing transistors and examining their use as switching elements in logic gates. We then construct latches, flip-flops, and ring counters from the basic logic gates. More complex components, including registers and adders, are developed by combining the devices introduced earlier. The concept of sequential logic, meaning logic that contains state information that varies over time, is developed. The chapter ends with an introduction ...