Programming and Simulation of Electronic Systems

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Design testbenches to verify electronic design.
• Use simple numerical programs to solve physical problems
• Build and debug a digital circuit.
• Design, write and debug Object-Oriented programs

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Model software systems before implementation.
• Address novel design challenges by choosing appropriate analysis and design methods.
• Demonstrate working knowledge of state-of-the-art commercial software tools for digital system design.
• Select an appropriate numerical approach for different simple mathematical problems.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop CPLD and FPGA implementations of combinational and sequential digital systems.
• Analyse, enhance and debug existing OO programs.
• Describe state machines of moderate complexity in SystemVerilog, simulate and synthesise into hardware.
• Effectively integrate reusable OO libraries.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The use of programs for numerical solution of mathematical equations.
• The principles of Object-Oriented programming, including the concepts of inheritance, abstraction and polymorphism.
• Sequential digital system design for implementation in CPLDs and FPGAs.
• The principles and application of Design for Test

Advanced Programming

• Introduction to Object Oriented Programming (C++)
• Encapsulation; Classes; Objects; Inheritance; Polymorphism
• Programming in C++: The software lifecycle; Source code control; Testing
• Use of OO modelling tools, including UML
• Exception Handling; Storage (Files & Databases); Dynamic memory allocation
• Introduction to data structures; Trees and Graphs; Stacks queues and linked lists; Searching and sorting
• Programming Skills; Use of high-level program development tools; Collaborative programming

Numerical Programming

• Introduction to numerical simulation
• Numerical solution of ODEs
• Numerical simulation of PDEs for field equations

Digital Electronic Systems

• Analysis and Design of Synchronous State Machines
• RTL synthesis of standard Combinational and Sequential Building Blocks
• Introduction to SystemVerilog assertion-based verification
• Software tools for CPLD and FPGA synthesis
• Implementation of Basic Microprocessor-Core Blocks:
• Registers, ALU, SRAM, IO ports, Instruction Decoder
• Synthesis of a simplified MIPS microprocessor on FPGA
• Design for Testability:
• Testing combinational and sequential digital systems
• Boundary Scan
• Build-in self-test

The content of this module is delivered through lectures, module website, directed reading, pre-recorded materials and practical sessions.

Students work on their understanding through a combination of independent study, preparation for timetabled activities and tutorials.

Students work on their practical skills and professional skills through laboratory sessions and discussion tutorials.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.