Online ChaptersChapters 19 through 21, in PDF format, are available for download here.
Online AppendicesAppendix C through Appendix K, in PDF format, are available for download here.
Useful DocumentsDocuments referenced in the book are here.
Practice ProblemsA set of homework problems with solutions is available. Students can enhance their understanding of the material by working out the solutions to these problems and then checking their answers.
Useful Web Sites
Computer Science Student Resource Site: Help and advice for the long-suffering, overworked student.
Errata sheet: Latest list of errors, updated at most monthly. File name is Errata-COA8e-mmyy.pdf. If you spot any errors, please report them to me (click on “contact me” at bottom of page)
Interactive simulations: Links to interactive simulations listed in the textbook.
SimpleScalar: The home page includes downloadable software and documentation.
SMPCache: The home page includes downloadable software and documentation.General Sites
WWW Computer Architecture Home Page: A comprehensive index to information relevant to computer architecture researchers, including architecture groups and projects, technical organizations, literature, employment, and commercial information.
Computer Architecture Resources: Good collection of links.
CPU Info Center. Information on specific processors, including technical papers, product information, and latest announcements.
Processor Emporium. Interesting and useful collection of information.
ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Architecture. Information on SIGARCH activities and publications, good set of useful links.
IEEE Technical Committee on Computer Architecture. Copies of TCCA newsletter, useful links.
Chapter 2 - Computer Evolution and Performance
Intel Developer's Page. Intel's Web page for developers; provides a starting point for accessing Pentium information. Web site includes the Intel Technology Journal. Also of interest is the Intel Microprocessor Quick Reference Guide, which gives basic data on all Intel microprocessors, going back to the 4004.
Intel Architecture Manuals. Intel's official documentation for its x86 products.
ARM Home Page. Information on the ARM processor family.
AMD Developer Central A key competitor to Intel with a variety of processor offerings.Website includes developer guides and manuals.
Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation. SPEC is a highly recognized organization in the computer industry for its development of standardized benchmarks used to measure and compare performance of different computer systems.
Top500 Supercomputer Site. Interesting survey material on supercomputers
Charles Babbage Institute. Provides links to a number of web sites dealing with the history of computers.
IAS Final Report. This 1954 report describes the implemented IAS machine and lists the final instruction set.
Photographs of Vintage Computers
Chapter 3 - Computer Function and Interconnection
PCI Special Interest Group Information about PCI specifications and products.
Chapter 5 - Internal Memory
Tom's Hardware Guide Covers RAM and numerous other topics.
Rambus Good source of information on RDRAM and DDR DRAM.
Chapter 6 - External Memory
Optical Storage Technology Association Good source of information about optical storage technology and vendors, plus extensive list of relevant links.
LTO Program: Linear Tape Open has become the dominant magnetic tape storage technology. This site provides information about LTO technology and licensed vendors.
Chapter 7 - Input/Output
T10 Home Page. T10 is a Technical Committee of the National Committee on Information Technology Standards and is responsible for lower-level interfaces. Its principal work is the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI). There are also links to related Web sites.
Infiniband Trade Association. Includes technical information and vendor pointers.
1394 Trade Association. Includes technical information and vendor pointers on firewire.
Chapter 8 - Operating Systems
ACM Special Interest Group on Operating Systems. Information on SIGOPS publications and conferences.
IEEE Technical Committee on Operating Systems and Applications. Includes an online newsletter and links to other sites.
The Operating System Resource Center A useful collection of documents and papers on a wide range of OS topics.
Chapter 9 - Computer Arithmetic
IEEE 754 Maintained by the IEEE 754 group. Includes IEEE 754 documents, related publications and papers, and a useful set of links related to computer arithmetic.
What Every Computer Scientist Should Know About Floating-Point Arithmetic A classic Computing Surveys paper.
Elementary Computer Mathematics A basic survey. Includes Java-generated problems with solutions.
Chapter 10 - Instruction Sets
Gavin's Guide to 80x86 Assembly A good, concise overview of x86 assembler language.
The Art of Assembly Language Programming. A 1500-page on-line mega-book on the subject. Should be enough for any student of the subject.
Chapter 17 - Parallel Processing
IEEE Computer Society Task Force on Cluster Computing An international forum to promote cluster computing research and education.
Chapter 18 - Multicore
Multicore Association. Vendor organization promoting the development of and use of multicore technology.
Chapter 20 - Digital Logic
Digital Logic Home Page Diagrams of circuits.