Assembly language and processor design: an integrated project

Abstract

The research describes a project in computer organization class with two groups, one in 2017 and the other in 2018, in a trimester course of 68.34 hours which integrated both topics assembly language and hardware design. The project involves the implementation of a reduced version of an embedded MIPS32 system, with a simulated and real hardware implementation using FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Followed by the development of a game in C and assembly language that runs on the embedded system. The results show that all students from the first and second group that coursed computer organization class during a 10-week period expressed high levels of interest and engagement, despite the complexity of the project. With feedback from the first group and with some modifications to the project, all students from the second group successfully completed the project.