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Assembly Language

Processors
Arithmetic Finite State
Logic Units Machines

Devices Flip-flops

Circuits
Logic Gates
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What is a computer?

do you need
electricity for a
computer?
CSCB58 Asks the Big Questions
▪ What is a computer?
▪ What is memory? How does a computer
store information
▪ Why do computers work in binary?
▪ how does a computer actually…
compute?
▪ How does the code we write in
Python/Java/C++/etc actually translate
into things happening?
Why take CSCB58?
▪ To better understand computers!
▪ See what's going on "under the hood"
▪ Open the black box, get rid of the mystery
▪ Understand the whole pipeline, from
atoms to assembly
 Everything above assembly is virtualization
and abstraction
 Everything else is an illusion!
▪ Build a cool software-based project!
CSCB58 Course Goals
▪ Learn to build computers…
 Understand and design the underlying
architecture of computer systems.
▪ … and how they work.
 How programs use digital structures to do
computation.
▪ Learn engineering.
 Build systems from components, understand
abstractions, make tradeoffs.
▪ Learn there is no magic!
 There is nothing you cannot understand.
 CSCB58 Course Goals

▪ By the end of this course, you will be able to

build a computer from the atomic level upwards*
 Build circuits from logic gates
 Build memory/computational units from circuits
 Build a computer from memory/computational units

(* Given an infinite amount of time, and the ability to manipulate individual

atoms.)
Build a Computer!
▪ …from LEGO

▪ …in Minecraft

▪ …from living crabs*

* Do not build a computer from live
crabs. It is unethical.

▪ …inside an iMessage
to break into iPhones**
** also unethical.
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Vogons
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This week

Assembly Language

Processors
Arithmetic Finite State
Logic Units Machines

Devices Flip-flops

Circuits
Logic Gates

Transistors
You already know some important concepts…
 Boolean Logic from CSCA67
▪ Example: Create an expression that is true if
both variables A and B are true, or if both C and
D are true.
G = A & B | C & D

▪ Now create a circuit that does the same thing:

A
B
G
C
D
Logic Gates
▪ If you know how to create A
Y
B
simple logical expressions,
you already know the basics A
Y
B
of putting logic gates
together to form simple
A Y
circuits.
▪ Just need to know which
A
Y
logic operations are B

represented by which gate!

 AND Gate

A
Y
B

inputs outputs
truth table A B Y
For every
combination of 0 0 0
inputs, what are 0 1 0 If the truth table
the outputs? for two circuits is
1 0 0 the same, they
1 1 1 are equivalent
OR Gate

A
Y
B

A B Y
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1
NOT Gates
Bubble signifies
‘NOT’

A Y

A Y
0 1
1 0
XOR Gates

A
Y
B

A B Y
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0
NAND Gates
Bubble signifies
‘NOT’

A
Y
B

A B Y
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0
NOR Gates

A
Y
B

A B Y
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0
 Buffer

A Y

This is not as silly as A Y

you might think now, 0 0

as we’ll see later… 1 1
Circuit Design?
▪ Creating circuit logic can be similar to
creating Boolean logic in Python, C or Java:
Y = (!A and !B and !C) or
(!A and B and C) or
(A and B and C)
A ¬A
¬B
¬C
¬A
B Y
C
A
B
C
The real challenge in circuit design…

▪ Given a truth table or A B C Y

description… 0 0 0 1
▪ …find a circuit that 0 0 1 0
implements it. 0 1 0 0
▪ Many ways of tackling 0 1 1 1
the problem 1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1
You are here

Assembly Language

Processors
Arithmetic Finite State
Logic Units Machines
Devices Flip-flops
Circuits
Gates

Transistors
Making logic with gates
▪ Logic gates create an output value, based on
one or more input values.
▪ These correspond to Boolean logic that we’ve
seen before in CSCA08/A48/A67:
AND OR NOT
A Y A
Y A Y
B B

A B Y A B Y A Y
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
Other gates
XOR NAND NOR

A A A
Y Y Y
B B B

A B Y A B Y A B Y
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
Aside: notation
▪ While we’re talking about notation…
 AND operations are denoted in these expressions by
the multiplication symbol.
 e.g. A·B·C or ABC or A*B*C  A˄B˄C
 OR operations are denoted by the addition symbol.
 e.g. A+B+C  A˅B˅C
 NOT is denoted by multiple symbols.
 e.g. !A or ~A or A or A’ or ¬A
 XOR occurs rarely in circuit expressions.
 e.g. A  B
Making Boolean expressions
▪ So how would you represent boolean
expressions using logic gates?

Y = (A or B) and (not A or not B) or C

▪ Like so: A
B
A
B

C
Now you are here

Assembly Language

Processors
Arithmetic Finite State
Logic Units Machines
Devices Flip-flops
Circuits
Gates

Transistors
Creating complex circuits
▪ What do we do in the case of more complex
circuits, with several inputs and more than
one output?
 If you’re lucky, a truth
table is provided to
express the circuit.
 Usually the behaviour of
the circuit is expressed in
words, and the first step
involves creating a truth
table that represents the
described behaviour.
Circuit example
▪ The circuit on the
right has three A X
B
Logic
inputs (A, B and C) Circuit Y
and two outputs C
(X and Y).
▪ What logic is needed to set X high when all
three inputs are high?
▪ What logic is needed to set Y high when the
number of high inputs is odd?
Combinational circuits
▪ Small problems can be solved easily.
A A
B B
X Y
C C

▪ Larger problems require a more systematic approach.

 Example: Given three inputs A, B, and C, make output Y high in the
case where all of the inputs are low, or when A and B are low and C is
high, or when A and C are low but B is high, or when A is low and B
and C are high.
Creating complex logic
▪ How do we approach
problems like these (and
circuit problems in general)?
▪ Basic steps:
1. Create truth tables.
2. Express as Boolean expression.
3. Convert to gates.
▪ The key to an efficient design?
 Spending extra time on Step #2.
Example truth table
▪ Consider the following A B C Y
0 0 0 0
example: 0 0 1 1

 “Given three inputs A, B, and C, 0 1 0 1

0 1 1 1
make output Y high wherever any
1 0 0 1
of the inputs are low, except when 1 0 1 0
all three are low or when A and C 1 1 0 1
are high.” 1 1 1 0

 This leads to the truth table on

the right.
 Is there a more compact way
to describe this function?
Warm-Up Exercise
For each of the following logic expressions, what are the
A, B, C values that make the expression evaluate to 1 ?

A’B’C’

ABC

A’BC

ABC’

51
Answers to Warm-Up Exercise
For each of the following logic expressions, what are the
A, B, C values that make the expression evaluate to 1 ?

A’B’C’
▪ A=0, B=0, C=0 , and only this!
ABC
▪ 111 and only this!
A’BC
▪ 011 and only this!
ABC’
▪ 110 and only this!

52
 Maxterms, informally
▪ Assume a standard truth table format.
 Sort rows as if input ABC is binary number.
▪ Maxterms tell us which rows have low output.
 These rows are referred to as maxterms.
▪ Express circuit behaviour by listing those rows.
 In this example, we only need maxterms M0 M5 M7

Row index A B C Y Maxterm Y

0 0 0 0 0 M0 0
1 0 0 1 1 M1 1
2 0 1 0 1 M2 1
3 0 1 1 1 M3 1
4 1 0 0 1 M4 1
5 1 0 1 0 M5 0
6 1 1 0 1 M6 1
7 1 1 1 0 M7 0
Minterms, informally
▪ A more popular alternative:
list which input rows cause high output.
 These rows are referred to as minterms.
 In this case we have the minterms m1 m2 m3 m4 m6

Row index A B C Y Minterm Y

0 0 0 0 0 m0 0
1 0 0 1 1 m1 1
2 0 1 0 1 m2 1
3 0 1 1 1 m3 1
4 1 0 0 1 m4 1
5 1 0 1 0 m5 0
6 1 1 0 1 m6 1
7 1 1 1 0 m7 0
Minterms and maxterms
▪ A more formal description:
 minterm = an AND expression with every input
present in true or complemented form.
 maxterm = an OR expression with every input present
in true or complemented form.
▪ For example, given four inputs (A, B, C, D):
 Valid minterms:
 A·B·C·D, A·B·C·D, A·B·C·D
 Valid maxterms:
 A+B+C+D, A+B+C+D, A+B+C+D
 Neither minterm nor maxterm:
 A·B+C·D, A·B·D, A+B
Naming
▪ Given n inputs, there are 2n minterms and
maxterms possible (same as rows in a truth table).
▪ minterms are labeled as mx
maxterms are labeled as Mx
 The x subscript indicates the row in the truth table.
 x starts at 0 and ends with n-1.
▪ Minterms are about when output is 1:
 From m0 for A·B·C to m7 for A·B·C
n=3
▪ Maxterms are about when output is 0:
 M0 (A+B+C) to M7 (A+B+C)
m0 vs M0

▪ Minterm m0 is A and B and C

 m0 = 1 if and only if: A = B = C = 0 (row 0)
▪ Maxterm M0 is A or B or C
 M0 = 0 if and only if: A = B = C = 0 (row 0)
▪ Minterms tell us when the output is 1
▪ Maxterms tell us when the input is 0
Examples
For example, given four inputs (A, B, C, D):
▪ Valid minterms: m (because 1101 = 13)
13
 A·B·C·D
 A·B·C·D m10 (because 1010 = 10)
 A·B·C·D m15 (because 1111 = 15)
▪ Valid maxterms: (because 0010 = 2)
 A+B+C+D
M2
 A+B+C+D M5 (because 0101 = 5)
 A+B+C+D M0 (because 0000 = 0)
▪ Neither minterm nor maxterm:
 A·B+C·D mixes AND and OR
 A·B·D
 A+B missing some of the inputs
Quick Exercises
▪ Given 4 inputs A, B, C and D write:
 m9 => A·B·C·D
 m15 => A·B·C·D
 m16 => N/A for four inputs we go up to m15
 M2 => A+B+C+D

▪ Which minterm is this?

 A·B·C·D => m4

▪ Which maxterm is this?

 A+B+C+D => M1
What is This For?
▪ Recap:
 Minterms and maxterms are a shorthand to refer
to rows of the truth table.
 minterms describe rows where output is high.
 maxterms describe rows where output is low.
▪ Use minterms and maxterms to go from truth
table to logic expression
 Define output by OR-ing minterms or AND-ing
maxterms.
 Don’t mix them both
Using minterms and maxterms
Row index A B C D m2
▪ What are minterms 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 1 0
used for? 2 0 0 1 0 1

 A single minterm 3 0 0 1 1 0
4 0 1 0 0 0
indicates a set of inputs 5 0 1 0 1 0
that will make the 6 0 1 1 0 0

output go high. 7 0 1 1 1 0
8 1 0 0 0 0
 Example: m2 9 1 0 0 1 0

 Output only goes high 10 1 0 1 0 0

11 1 0 1 1 0
in third row of truth 12 1 1 0 0 0
table. 13 1 1 0 1 0
14 1 1 1 0 0
15 1 1 1 1 0
Using minterms and maxterms
A B C D m2 m8 m2+m8
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
▪ What happens when 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

you OR two minterms? 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1

3 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
▪ Result is output that 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0 0 0
goes high in both 5
6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
minterm cases. 7 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
8 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
▪ For m2+m8, both third 9 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

and ninth rows of truth 10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

11 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
table result in high 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

output. 13 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
14 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
Creating Boolean expressions
▪ Two canonical forms of Boolean expressions:
▪ Sum-of-Minterms (SOM):
 Since each minterm corresponds to a single high
output in the truth table, the combined high outputs
are a union of these minterm expressions.
 Also known as: Sum-of-Products.
▪ Product-of-Maxterms (POM):
 Since each maxterm only produces a single low output
in the truth table, the combined low outputs are an
intersection of these maxterm expressions.
 Also known as Product-of-Sums.
Y = m2 + m6 + m7 + m10 (SOM)
A B C D m2 m6 m7 m10 Y
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
3 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
6 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
7 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
11 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
14 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Y = m2 + m6 + m7 + m10 (SOM)
A B C D m2 m6 m7 m10 Y
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
3 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
6 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
7 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
11 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
14 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Y = M3· M5· M7· M10· M14 (POM)
A B C D M3 M5 M7 M10 M14 Y
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Y = M3· M5· M7· M10· M14 (POM)
A B C D M3 M5 M7 M10 M14 Y
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Using Sum-of-Minterms
▪ Sum-of-Minterms is a way of expressing which inputs cause the
output to go high. Product-of-Maxterms is a way of expression
which inputs cause the output to go low.
 Assumes that the truth table columns list the inputs according to some
logical or natural order.
▪ Minterm and maxterm expressions are used for efficiency reasons:
 More compact that displaying entire truth tables.
 Sum-of-minterms (SOM) are useful when very few input combinations that
produce high output.
 Product-of-maxterms (POM) useful when expressing truth tables that have
very few low output cases.
Converting SOM to gates
▪ Once you have a Sum-of-Minterms expression, it is easy to
convert this to the equivalent combination of gates:

¬A
¬B
¬C
m0 + m1 + m2 + m3 =
¬A
¬B
C
A·B·C + A·B·C + ¬A Y
A·B·C + A·B·C = B
¬C
¬A
B
C