CS 630: Advanced Microcomputer Programming (Fall 2006)

Lecture: Tuesday-Thursday 7:30pm-9:15pm (235 Harney Science Center)


Instructor: Allan Cruse
Email: cruse@usfca.edu
Phone: (415) 422-6562
Office: 212 Harney Science Center
Office Hours: (see my homepage)


Synopsis:

This course explores fundamental capabilities of Intel's Pentium
microprocessor, regarded as a "bare machine" for which the basic
software components of an operating system are to be constructed
in a context of standard PC-BIOS firmware and peripheral devices
(a.k.a the 'Pre-boot eXecution Environment').

Topics appropriate to this goal include:
- crafting a bootstrap loader
- identifying the processor model and stepping
- segmented real-mode memory-addressing
- peripheral device detection and initialization
- the CMOS memory and real-time clock
- keyboard, monitor, and interval-timers
- the programmable interrupt controllers
- building protected-mode segment-descriptors
- entering and leaving 16-bit or 32-bit protected-mode
- creating exception-handlers and interrupt-descriptors
- building page-tables for virtual-memory support
- privilege-level transitions and multitasking mechanisms
- emulation of the legacy 8086 execution environment
- support for debugging and performance monitoring
- initialization and communication among multiple CPUs
- the memory controller hub and system management mode

Throughout the course small software-component prototypes will be
written using the GNU/Linux program development tools (including
assemblers and C/C++ compilers). The course is open to graduate
students in computer science (and to qualified undergraduates or
non-degree students when the Instructor has granted permission).
Students are assumed to be familiar with Linux or UNIX, and with
programming in C/C++ and to be acquainted with the Intel Pentium
processor's registers, instruction-set, and assembly language.

Learning Outcomes:


Class meetings will be held in the Michael D. Kudlick computer classroom
(Room 235, Harney Science Center) which affords convenient opportunities
for combining formal instruction with "hands-on" programming exercises.
This facility, a gift of USF alumnus Alfred S. Chuang ('82), opened in Fall 2002.


Textbook:


Resources


Readings


Systems Software


Handouts

  • 0203-630-01: Course syllabus(.pdf-format)
  • lesson1.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: bootmsw.s a 'boot-sector' program that display's the Pentium's Machine Status Word
  • lesson2.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: memsize.s a boot-sector program to show the extent of real-mode memory (in KB)
  • Demo program: viewrbda.s boot-sector program giving a dynamic look at the ROM-BIOS DATA-AREA
  • Demo program: viewivt.s a boot-sector program that shows the Interrupt Vector Table's 256 entries <-- revised 8/30/2006
  • lesson3.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: tickdemo.s illustrating the basic elements of a (real-mode) Interrupt Service Routine
  • lesson4.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: finalpte.s reads the Master Boot Record and shows its final Partition-Table Entry
  • Demo program: greeting.s for use when testing our programs that transfer code from disk to memory
  • lesson5.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: sysregs.s a boot-sector program that shows the values in several 'system' registers
  • lesson6.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: pmhello.s shows segment-register usage when entering and leaving protected-mode
  • Classroom tool: quikload.s a 'boot-loader' that launches binary-executables from our disk-partition
  • lesson7.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: tryring1.s to show how a processor 'privilege-level transition' may be accomplished <-- modified on 09/15/2008
  • lesson8.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: twotasks.s demonstrates the Pentium's ability to do 'context-switching' between tasks
  • lesson9.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: pmtimer.s showing how you can handle the 'timer-tick' interrupts in protected-mode
  • lesson10.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: whycrash.s uses a protected-mode fault-handler to show some system-crash diagnostics
  • lesson11.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: notready.s uses the 'Segment-Not-Present' exception to simulate 'loading-on-demand'
  • lesson12.ppt (PowerPoint Slides) <-- two extra slides added on 10/10/2006
  • Demo program: minikybd.s illustrates basic steps in handling interrupts from the Keyboard Controller
  • lesson13.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: reporter.s to illustrate the 'reprogramming' of the two 8259A Interrupt Controllers <-- bug fix 10/14/2008
  • lesson14.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: arrows.s illustrating "polled-mode" keyboard programming and CRT cursor movements
  • lesson15.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: manydots.s (a Linux application that we want to execute without using Linux)
  • Demo printout: manydots.opd (dump of the 'manydots.o' object-file, showing its ELF sections)
  • CS630 utility: loadmap.cpp (a tool for studying the sections in a relocatable ELF object-file)
  • Demo program: try32bit.s (it executes the 32-bit code in a linkable ELF-file named 'hello.o') <-- bug-fixes on 10/18/2006
  • Demo program: hello.s (source-text for the Linux program used with our 'try32bit.s' demo)
  • lesson16.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: timeoday.s implements the steps that convert 'tick_count' into time-of-day
  • lesson17.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: trydebug.s (illustrates single-stepping through code in an ELF application)
  • lesson18.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: ideload1.s a replacement for our 'quikload.s' boot-loader that uses Programmed I/O
  • Demo program: ideload2.s a replacement for our 'quikload.s' boot-loader that uses Bus Master DMA
  • Include file: platform.inc for the platform-specific parameters needed by 'ideload1.s' and 'ideload2.s'
  • lesson19.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: mixcalls.s illustrates long calls and returns between 16-bit and 32-bit code-segments
  • Test program: queryA20.s this program checks to see if the A20 address-line is enabled at boot-time
  • Demo program: alphabet.s (The source-text for a Linux application to be adapted for use in Project 2)
  • CS630 utility: elfinfo.cpp (a tool for studying the sections in a relocatable or an executable ELF file)
  • Exercise solution: elfexec.s we rewrote 'try32bit.s' so it runs our ELF executable file named 'hello'
  • lesson20.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: trypages.s it builds and activates a page-directory with just one page-table entry
  • Demo program: showCR4.s it shows one possible way to answer Question V on Midterm Exam II
  • lesson21.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: tryvm86.s it executes a "real-mode" procedure in virtual-8086 emulation mode
  • Demo program: emulate.s it executes ROM-BIOS routines in virtual-8086 mode, but with IOPL<3
  • lesson22.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: rtcdemo.s to illustrate programming of the Real-Time Clock's 'update' interrupt
  • lesson23.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: cpuid.cpp illustrates use of the 'cpuid' instruction (to detect cpu's capabilities)
  • Demo program: apictick.s to demonstrate programming of the cpu's Local-APIC timer interrupt
  • Demo program: smpinfo.cpp shows the MP Floating Pointer Structure and Base Configuration entries <-- modified on 12/26/2006
  • lesson24.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: cpuslice.s uses APIC's Timer to implement processor timesharing among several tasks
  • Demo program: smphello.s illustrating the MP protocol for awakening any auxilliary processors
  • lesson25.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Utility program: pciprobe.cpp showing how software can identify a system's PCI device-functions
  • lesson26.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: activity.s it produces a dynamic display of all interrupt-activity at boot-time
  • Demo program: activity.cpp shows a similar display of interrupt-activity under the Linux OS
  • Kernel module: activity.c this driver is needed for running the Linux 'activity.cpp' application
  • lesson27.ppt (PowerPoint Slides)
  • Demo program: try64bit.s offers an illustration of the role played by some Model-Specific Registers

  • Utility program: newasapp.cpp it quickly creates the 'boilerplate' text for a new protected-mode demo

  • Demo program: smpwatch.cpp shows a real-time display of dual-CPU interrupt-activity under Linux
  • Kernel module: smpwatch.c this driver is required when running our Linux 'smpwatch.cpp' application


    Announcements

    • Midterm Exam 1: Tuesday, October 3
    • Project 1: Due by Tuesday, October 31, 7:30pm
    • Midterm Exam 2: Tuesday, November 7
    • Project 2: Due by Tuesday, November 28, 7:30pm
    • FINAL EXAMINATION: Tuesday, December 12, 7:30pm

    Last updated on 10/14/2008