Computer Architecture for Everybody

Computers are often treated as black boxes. You write code, run programs, and rely on systems that seem almost magical. This course removes that mystery by exploring how computer hardware actually works, starting from its historical roots.

We begin by examining how early computing ideas emerged from physical systems and analog approaches. From there, we move into the transition to digital systems, where simple components with two stable states become the foundation of modern computing.

You will learn how transistors evolved from discrete components into integrated circuits, and how manufacturing techniques such as photolithography made it possible to build increasingly complex chips. These developments lead to very large scale integration (VLSI), where millions and billions of transistors are placed on a single chip.

The course then focuses on digital logic. You will see how gates like AND, OR, and NOT are used to build more complex circuits such as adders, which perform arithmetic operations. From there, we explore how computers store information using latches and registers, introducing the concept of memory within a processor.

Finally, we connect these ideas to the structure of modern computers, including how CPUs execute instructions and how hardware components work together as a system.

This course focuses on building intuition rather than requiring advanced mathematics. By the end, you will have a clear mental model of how computers are built from simple physical components into powerful digital systems.