Explain the factors that affect a computer system performance and provide performance metrics to evaluate a computer system.
Explain how an instruction is executed in a computer hardware with a classical architecture (e.g., von Neumann machine).
Summarize how instructions and data are represented at the machine level and how basic arithmetic is performed.
Write simple programs in assembly language for at least one computer architecture.
Explain how subroutine calls are handled in one programming language (e.g., the assembly language level).
Explain the effect of memory latency on the performance of a computer platform and the use of memory hierarchy to reduce the effective memory latency.
Describe the principles of memory management and the role of memory organization (cache and virtual memory etc.) in overall computer performance.
Explain at least one I/O mechanism for the processor to communicate with I/O devices.
Describe data storage technologies used in computer system and discuss reliability concerns.
Explain basic instruction level parallelism using pipelining and the major hazards that may occur and the concept of branch prediction and its utility.