Schaum's Outline of Computer Architecture is intended for use as a problem-solved approach text in an undergraduate course called Computer Architecture, which is taken in the second to fourth years in Computer Science and Engineering Departments. The book follows the syllabus for this course. More advanced courses that this text could supplement include: Parallel Computer Architecture, and Computer Systems Performance. See: Market/Audience for details. Computer Architecture is the organization and design of the elements, both hardware and software, that go into building computers. For designers and engineers Computer Architecture denotes hardware / software interface, and the efficient use of hardware / software resources. This Schaum's Outline will give readers the ability to understand the fundamental issues that influence the design of modern computer systems. Moreover, it will provide them with the analytical methods they will need to quantify real-world design choices. This work covers the various designs and alternatives for: instruction sets, pipelining, cache, memory, I/O, etc., and provides current examples as well as historical background.
The chief goal of Schaum's Outline of Computer Architecture is to familiarize students with the concepts that provide the basis for modern digital computers, but it will be equally at home in the hands of anyone who designs computers or has concerns about the performance of computer programs. It seeks a balance between an over emphasis on the details of a specific machine and the need to provide students with a hands-on universal design experience. The text integrates general principles and laboratory exercises - providing necessary hands-on experience and practice.