Contact Information

Course Description: (From the catalog) This course provides a study of the fundamental circuit building blocks that are used in the development of digital computers. The theory and practical application of both asynchronous and synchronous electronic logic circuits are covered. Topics included are: binary representations, data transfer methods, error detection and correction, logic gates, logic families, programmable logic devices, Boolean algebraic simplification, Karnaugh maps, combinational logic circuits, adders, comparators, encoders, decoders, multiplexers, demultiplexers, sequential logic circuits, latches, flip-flops, counters, shift registers and memory. Extensive laboratory work supplements the topics studied.

Course goals

• understand how binary data is represented and stored electronically in a digital computer;
• read and understand data sheets for various digital logic devices;
• understand how to manipulate and simplify Boolean expressions;
• create electronic implementations for Boolean expressions;
• analyze and develop truth tables and timing diagrams for logic circuits;
• develop, analyze and simplify combinational logic using Boolean algebra and Karnaugh maps (K-maps);
• program a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) using a hardware definition language;
• design, simulate, plan and build digital logic circuits in the laboratory;
• apply functions of combinational logic to solve standard digital logic problems;
• analyze, design and implement digital logic circuits to create simple finite state machines (FSMs).

Course Objectives

• demonstrated how information is represented in a digital computer;
• demonstrated how to analyze and simplify Boolean expressions;
• analyzed digital logic circuits using truth tables, timing diagrams and state diagrams.
• developed combinational logic implementations using truth tables and K-maps;
• developed sequential logic implementations using transition tables, K-maps and state diagrams;
• demonstrated how to program a CPLD;
• planned a digital logic design and selected appropriate devices.

Attendance policy

This is partly a lab course. You can't do the labs if you aren't in the lab. My grading reflects my expectation of seeing you regularly:

Quizzes and exams are ordinarily due in the period in which they are given, and may not be turned in later, although they may be excused if you have a convincing story, such as your grandmother getting married in Provincetown.

Labs reports are due a week following the day on which they are assigned, but not necessarily in class; they should be turned in on Blackboard. That means they should be machine-readable; I prefer either Word documents or .PDF files. However, many reports will contain tables, diagrams, or calculations. Although it is certainly acceptable to carefully build those diagrams using MS Word, it is also acceptable to include cell-phone photos of diagrams or calculations.

One advantage of turning in labs on-line is that you can easily keep a copy to refer to the following week. For this reason, I won't necessarily give you information like chip pinouts again when the need comes up for it in a subsequent lab. I'll assume that you've kept track of these things. Keeping track of a little extra information will also come in handy when you are explaining the lab to your grandchildren (see below.)

Most labs have several steps in them which say: Demonstrate to instructor. When you come to one of these steps, you should call me over, so that I may enjoy your success with you. I don't have any mechanism to add my presence to your lab report, but I'd still like to see the appropriate pieces of your lab work.

Anything turned in by midnight is on time, and unless I am actually in my office at midnight, anything I find in the Blackboard dropbox on the following morning is assumed to have been turned in on time.

Papers and programming assignments are similarly due by midnight. Late papers and programs may be accepted after their due date, but I am likely to mark them down for lateness.

Course resources

The textbook for this course is

Thomas L. Floyd, Digital Fundamentals Pearson/Prentice Hall

The book is fairly expensive new from the bookstore. If you are willing to wait a few days to order it online, you can obtain more cheaply used. I usually buy used books from Abebooks.com, but Ebay and Amazon both carry used books.

There are many editions available. I planned my syllabus using the tenth edition, and there isn't a whole lot of difference between the later editions. The bookstore will probably carry only the eleventh edition. You won't be surprised to learn that the newer edition is usually more expensive used.

From time to time I will put programs from lectures on the web.

I usually record grades in blackboard.

Reading and Lab Project Schedule:

• Thursday lab section schedule
• Friday lab section schedule

Final Exam

Topics

Grading

Tentative grade rubric:

1. There will be several pop quizzes, making up in total 10% of the final grade.
2. There will be a final exam and three midterms, which will make up 40% of the final grade
3. Your lab reports will constitute 40% of the final grade. The lab grade will be based partly on your participation in the lab, partly on the general neatness of the presentation, and mostly on how well the report reflects the purpose of the lab.

   My goal is that you should finish the term with a folder of lab reports that you could re-read and explain to your grandchildren fifty years from now. Your grandchildren may turn out not to be interested, but perhaps you may be able to turn to those labs while solving similar problems, maybe even in the following weeks of the term.

4. The remaining 10% of the grade will be based on homework assignments, class participation and other utterly subjective measures.

Late work

I do not consider homework which is emailed to me to be turned in on time, no matter when you sent it. Instead use the Blackboard dropbox.

There are no makeup or early exams, but I may excuse an exam for a good story, presented in advance, like your grandmother getting married that day in Provincetown.

Each student is responsible for completing all course requirements and for keeping up with all activities of the course (whether a student is present or not).

Academic Honesty

I consider it plagiarism to share typing or fail to give credit to other peoples' ideas.

Fitchburg State has an Academic Integrity policy, which can be found in the college catalog. Penalties for academic dishonesty, including submitting work which is not your own, and assisting other students on examinations, can be severe.

Accommodation