CS 2340 Computer Architecture - Video Notes (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering endianness, MIPS instructions, the Binary game term project, and related concepts from the notes.

Endianness

The order bytes are stored in memory for multi-byte values; determines how multi-byte data is laid out.

Big-endian

Most significant byte stored at the lowest memory address.

Little-endian

Least significant byte stored at the lowest memory address.

Subu

MIPS unsigned subtraction instruction; computes a - b without overflow detection; result wraps around.

Two's complement

Binary representation for signed numbers; negative values are represented by the bit pattern that encodes the negative value in modulo 2^n.

Binary game

Term project: a one-player game solving binary-to-decimal and decimal-to-binary conversions using an ASCII board.

ASCII board

Text-based game board drawn with ASCII characters (no graphics).

Randomized problems

Each game play presents different problems due to randomness.

Levels

Game stages; the project specifies 10 levels with increasing complexity.

10 levels (level progression)

Structure where each level adds more lines or content to the board, increasing challenge.

Term project release

Assignment details for the Binary game project, including specifications and a link for reference.

Minimum requirements

One-player against computer; random problems; ASCII board; input validation; 10 levels.

Graphic extra credit

Optional enhancement to display graphics beyond the ASCII board.

Timeout feature

Optional extra credit feature to end a round after a timeout.

Written report

Documentation component of the term project detailing design and implementation.

Assembly code

Students must submit their own unique version of the MIPS assembly code.

User Manual

Documentation describing how to use and interact with the program.

Oral interview

Grader-led interview to verify implementation and understanding; part of grading.

60% implementation

Major portion of grade based on actual implemented features (verified via oral interview).

20% documentation

Portion of grade based on quality and completeness of documentation.

20% demonstration

Portion of grade based on demonstration of working program.

lw

MIPS instruction: Load Word; loads a 4-byte word from memory into a register.

sw

MIPS instruction: Store Word; writes a 4-byte word from a register to memory.

lb

MIPS instruction: Load Byte; loads a single byte from memory into a register.

sb

MIPS instruction: Store Byte; stores a single byte from a register to memory.

Byte-addressable memory

Memory where each address refers to a single byte, not a word.

Base address

Starting address of an array or data block (address of element 0).