Reading Mano's Computer System Architecture? Build it live
Computer System Architecture, by M. Morris Mano, is a classic textbook that goes from logic circuits to a complete computer, now in its 3rd edition from Pearson. Its 13 chapters are Digital Logic Circuits, Digital Components, Data Representation, Register Transfer and Microoperations, Basic Computer Organization and Design, Programming the Basic Computer, Microprogrammed Control, Central Processing Unit (CPU), Pipeline and Vector Processing, Computer Arithmetic, Input-Output Organization, Memory Organization and Multiprocessors. At its center, in chapters 5 to 7, is the design and programming of a basic computer, first with hardwired and then with microprogrammed control. This page maps each chapter to lessons and live circuits you can try in digiwleea's free browser lab, as a hands-on companion to the reading.
What the book does best
It carries one thread from logic circuits to a complete computer: components and data representation, register transfer and microoperations, then a basic computer designed and programmed in detail, its control redone with microprogramming, and on to CPU organization, pipelining, arithmetic, I/O and memory. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with Pearson or the author.)
Where digiwleea helps
The book's basic computer stays on the page; digiwleea lets you build one and watch it run. In the browser you wire gates from CMOS transistors, then registers, a bus, an ALU, memory and control, and finally a small 8-bit accumulator CPU that runs a stored program, plus the assembly language behind it, with every part checked against its truth table. Its instruction set is its own, but the pieces are the classic ones: an accumulator, a program counter, an instruction register, a step counter and a control unit.
| Computer System Architecture (Mano) | digiwleea | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | A textbook (print and e-book) | A browser lab, theory lessons and a guided course |
| The computer | A basic computer designed on paper | An 8-bit accumulator CPU you build and program |
| Control | Hardwired, then microprogrammed | Both, as live circuits |
| Checks your work | Exercises | Every part checked against its truth table |
| Price | Paid textbook | Free lab and Act I; Premium for the full course |
Chapter by chapter: what to try live
The chapter titles are the 3rd edition's; next to each, the digiwleea lessons and live circuits on the same topics:
- 1. Digital Logic Circuits. Boolean algebra, Karnaugh maps, adders, and the SR latch, D, JK and T flip-flops.
- 2. Digital Components. Decoders, multiplexers, the register with load, shift registers, binary counters and memory.
- 3. Data Representation. Binary, hexadecimal, one's and two's complement, floating point, BCD, Gray code and error-detecting codes.
- 4. Register Transfer and Microoperations. Registers and the bus: tri-state buffers, the register file, the MAR and MDR; arithmetic and logic microoperations in the 4-bit ALU and the barrel shifter.
- 5. Basic Computer Organization and Design. The pieces of the basic computer, live: the accumulator, program counter, instruction register and a hardwired control unit stepping through fetch and execute.
- 6. Programming the Basic Computer. Machine code, assembly and loops, on digiwleea's own instruction set, with the CPU simulator.
- 7. Microprogrammed Control. The microcode lesson and a microprogrammed control unit reading its control words from a ROM.
- 8. Central Processing Unit (CPU). Addressing modes, the datapath, and stack organization in the live hardware stack.
- 9. Pipeline and Vector Processing. Pipelining and performance.
- 10. Computer Arithmetic. Addition and subtraction, Booth multiplication, division, the BCD adder and the IEEE 754 converter.
- 11. Input-Output Organization. Memory-mapped I/O.
- 12. Memory Organization. The memory hierarchy, a live direct-mapped cache and virtual memory.
No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.
More comparisons: Books, courses and projects
See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.
Open the digiwleea lab →Frequently asked
Is there a simulator for Mano's basic computer?
The parts a basic computer is made of (registers, an accumulator, a program counter, an instruction register, and hardwired or microprogrammed control) run live in digiwleea's browser lab, and digiwleea's course builds a small accumulator CPU from them.
What are the chapters of Computer System Architecture by Morris Mano?
In the 3rd edition: Digital Logic Circuits; Digital Components; Data Representation; Register Transfer and Microoperations; Basic Computer Organization and Design; Programming the Basic Computer; Microprogrammed Control; Central Processing Unit (CPU); Pipeline and Vector Processing; Computer Arithmetic; Input-Output Organization; Memory Organization; Multiprocessors.
What is the difference between Mano's Digital Design and Computer System Architecture?
Digital Design covers digital logic itself: gates, minimization, combinational and sequential circuits, memory and register-transfer design. Computer System Architecture uses that logic to design a whole computer, then covers CPU organization, arithmetic, I/O and memory systems.
Is digiwleea's CPU the same as Mano's basic computer?
No. It is a small 8-bit accumulator machine with its own instruction set, built from the classic parts: an accumulator, a program counter, an instruction register, a step counter and a control unit.