The Essence of Computer System Engineering

Prabhas Chongstitvatana
Department of Computer Engineering
Chulalongkorn University

It is my attempt in this book to put a whole picture to students, to ask them to build a whole system by themselves.  The essences of computer system engineering are the ability to understand components and compose them into a system.  To tackle a project of this size is not possible without critical assessment of the system we intend to build.  My selections are: language, compiler, code generator, processor and operating system.  All these components are implemented under one language which itself is also a subject to be studied. Each component is carefully designed so that it is as simple as possible and yet is able to demonstrate the principle of its operation.

Building a whole computer system always gives a good insight to understand the current technologies. The ability to ask “what if” questions throughout all levels of a computer system is a great benefit.  Students can discover many principles by themselves.  They can also gain a large factor of confidence in handling a complex system.  They will understand how components interact, how to make tradeoff between various constraints and how to choose among alternatives.