diff --git a/sections/abstract.tex b/sections/abstract.tex index 61425ba..812adaa 100644 --- a/sections/abstract.tex +++ b/sections/abstract.tex @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ anschaulich den Aufbau eines Computersystems in Hard- und Software zu veranschaulichen sowie diesen zu erklären. Dafür wurde auf einem XILINX FPGA ein RISC-V32I Prozessor in VHDL -implementiert sowie diverse Parallelbus gebundene Hardwareperipherie entwickelt +implementiert, sowie diverse Parallelbus-gebundene Hardwareperipherie entwickelt und gebaut. Als Harwareperipherie wurde ein 8-Bit 2-Kanal DAC und eine serielle Schnittstelle mit TIA-/EIA-232 Pegeln gewählt. Der Prozessor implementiert das RISC-V32I base instruction set. Aufgrund der starken Verwendung von Englisch im @@ -17,14 +17,14 @@ Menschen mit einem grundlegenden Verständnis für Elektronik sowie der Hardware Beschreibungssprache VHDL verständlich sein. \end{otherlanguage} \\\\ -This diploma thesis deals with the operation of processors and their -corresponding peripherals in modern and traditional forms. It attempts to -illustrate the structure of a computersystem in hard- and software. To reach -this goal a RISC-V32I processor has been implemented in VHDL on a XILINX FPGA -as well as some peripherals bound to the parallel bus. These peripherals -include a 2-channel 8-bit Digital to analog converter as well as a TIA-/EIA-232 +This diploma thesis demonstrates the operation of processors and their +corresponding peripherals, both in modern and traditional forms. It attempts to +illustrate the structure of a computer system in hard- and software. To reach +this goal, a RISC-V processor was implemented in VHDL on a Xilinx FPGA and some +parallel bus peripherals were designed using discrete hardware. These peripherals +include a 2-channel 8-bit digital-to-analog converter as well as a TIA-/EIA-232 compliant serial interface. Due to the common use of english in the hardware and -software engineering field this thesis is written in english, which -enhances readability as well. The written documentation should be comprehensible -for everyone with a basic understanding of electronics as well as the +software engineering field, and in a resulting effort to increase readability, +this thesis is written in English. The written documentation should be comprehensible +for anyone with a basic understanding of electronics as well as the hardware description language VHDL. diff --git a/sections/intro.tex b/sections/intro.tex index 258e44a..5b90f9f 100644 --- a/sections/intro.tex +++ b/sections/intro.tex @@ -1,22 +1,23 @@ In early 2018, more than a year before the official start of the project, after searching for a subject for the diploma thesis, the idea of building a computer -from scratch has come up. Multiple suggestions on how to implement it and the -scope of the project were gathered. Originally the goal of the project was to -have a computer which would consist of seperate plug-in cards on each of which -one instruction would reside. This would debunk the mystery behind the ``black -box`` which processors are today. +from scratch had come up. Multiple suggestions on how to implement it and the +scope of the project were gathered. Originally, the goal was to +design a computer consisting of seperate plug-in cards, one instruction would +residing on each. This would open up the ``black box`` of modern processor +design, showing the basic components at a macroscopic scale. -Most processors today are only documented on the execution of their programs and -not on their internals. The projects aim was later redirected, due to concerns -about the difficulty of the project, to build a processor in VHDL instead. After -several months of implementation time the project was split into two parts: the -peripherals and the core processor. During the development processes and after -rememberingthe original goal to make a processor understandable, the -peripherals changed from being implemented in VHDL back to hardware, which came -with increased work but would result in a far more understandable final product. - -The decision for a RISC-V based processor was made at the beginning of the -project, because the core architecture is well documented, modular and almost -any part not implemented inside the processor(if not specifically -required by the software) should be emulateable in software. +For most of today's processors, documentation only exists for the execution of +programs (the runtime), not for their internals. The project's aim was later +redirected due to concerns about difficulty, and an FPGA-based design was opted +for instead. After +several months of implementation time, the project was split into two parts: the +peripherals and the core processor. During the development process, and to get +back to the original goal of making a processor understandable, the +peripherals changed from being implemented in VHDL back to hardware. +This increased the required effort, but would result in a far more +understandable final product. +The decision to use a RISC-V based processor was made at the beginning of the +project because the core architecture is well documented and modular, and because +almost any feature not implemented inside the processor can be emulated using +software instead. diff --git a/sections/result.tex b/sections/result.tex index 3f6dc86..32ca08e 100644 --- a/sections/result.tex +++ b/sections/result.tex @@ -1,12 +1,13 @@ The project is fully implemented with all functionality originally targeted. -The system has been tested and verified. All example codes have been +The system has been tested and verified. All example code has been documented and tested. Hardware implementations were created using -Free software programs, while the RISC-V processor can be compiled with a Free -toolchain. The completed project can be found on the USB stick, which accompanies +Free software\footnote{See \autoref{sec:free-software}} programs, while the +RISC-V processor can be compiled with a Free +toolchain. The completed project can be found on the USB stick which accompanies this thesis, or in the git repositories at \url{https://git.it-syndikat.org/tyrolyean/dipl.git} and \url{https://gitlab.com/YARM-project/}. The completed hardware peripherals can -be seen in Figure \ref{fig:all_mod} +be seen in \autoref{fig:all_mod}. \begin{figure}[H] \centering