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Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

diycomputerscience.com

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Re: Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

#3

Post by revolvingcur »

I acquired this book when it was published in 2008, and I firmly believe my CS education would have been better for having had it several years before that. It's a very well-constructed course that can be completed by an amateur at a casual pace, or by a hardcore student in a couple of weeks of dedicated work.

Re: Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

#6

Post by random42 »

vjeux wrote: post #5

There is a major problem with this teaching approach: every module is a pre-requisite for the next one. Therefore, if a student fails one module, he will have to spend time fixing it instead of moving forward.

This not a problem with the teaching approach, it is the problem with "crash course" mentality.

The whole point of this entire course is to acquaint the reader with the foundations of the computer system. If reader does not understand a layer of the course, he SHOULD spend more time in learning that layer, rather than moving forward with half-cooked knowledge.

Re: Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

#7

Post by abecedarius »

vjeux wrote: post #5

There is a major problem with this teaching approach: every module is a pre-requisite for the next one. Therefore, if a student fails one module, he will have to spend time fixing it instead of moving forward.

They address this by supplying implementations. In principle you could do most of the course backwards, though I haven't heard of anyone doing it that way.

Re: Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

#8

Post by zeteo »

For the people who have read the book / taken the course:

I can see how a simple assembler and a simple game can be built quickly, but Computer Architecture, Compilers and Operating Systems are usually separate, semester-length courses. (And not among the simplest.) So what is he giving up on, in order to compress all this into a single course?

Re: Online course: Build your own simulated computer, assembler, lang, OS, & game

#9

Post by loup-vaillant »

vjeux wrote: post #5

There is a major problem with this teaching approach: every module is a pre-requisite for the next one. Therefore, if a student fails one module, he will have to spend time fixing it instead of moving forward.

How is this a problem of the teaching approach? I haven't read the book, but my guess is that it is basically unavoidable, short of providing working code. No OS without a computer, and no game without OS, right?. Plus, it is probably easier to use something you actually built.

Anyway, if you really want to learn this stuff (well, any stuff), you have to "work his ass off until you figure it out"[1]. No pre-set time limit. Someone who is stuck will just take her time, go for help, rest, or whatever.

On a final note, I fail every single program that I write. Several times. Then I fix them. Every single one. And for several failures, I have nothing more than one success. It may sounds gloomy, but it feels good, actually.

[1]: Dr Tae, here: http://vimeo.com/5513063

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