Hardware and Virtual Machines

15.1 Processors, Parallel Processing and Virtual Machines

Candidates should be able to:

1. Show understanding of Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC) and Complex Instruction Set Computers (CISC) processors

Notes and guidance

Differences between RISC and CISC

2. Show understanding of the importance / use of pipelining and registers in RISC processors

Notes and guidance

Understand interrupt handling on CISC and RISC processors

3. Show understanding of the four basic computer architectures

Notes and guidance

SISD, SIMD, MISD, MIMD

4. Show understanding of the characteristics of massively parallel computers
5. Show understanding of the concept of a virtual machine

Notes and guidance

1. Give examples of the role of virtual machines
2. Understand the benefits and limitations of virtual machines

15.2 Boolean Algebra and Logic Circuits

Candidates should be able to:

1. Produce truth tables for logic circuits including half adders and full adders

Notes and guidance

May include logic gates with more than two inputs

2. Show understanding of a flip-flop (SR, JK)

Notes and guidance

1. Draw a logic circuit and derive a truth table for a flip-flop
2. Understand of the role of flip-flops as data storage elements

3. Show understanding of Boolean algebra

Notes and guidance

1. Understand De Morgan’s laws
2. Perform Boolean algebra using De Morgan’s laws
3. Simplify a logic circuit/expression using Boolean algebra

4. Show understanding of Karnaugh maps (K-map)

Notes and guidance

Understand of the benefits of using Karnaugh maps Solve logic problems using Karnaugh maps