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Back to Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course)

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course) by Hebrew University of Jerusalem

4.9
stars
3,494 ratings

About the Course

What you’ll achieve: In this project-centered course* you will build a modern computer system, from the ground up. We’ll divide this fascinating journey into six hands-on projects that will take you from constructing elementary logic gates all the way through creating a fully functioning general purpose computer. In the process, you will learn - in the most direct and constructive way - how computers work, and how they are designed. What you’ll need: This is a self-contained course: all the knowledge necessary to succeed in the course and build the computer system will be given as part of the learning experience. Therefore, we assume no previous computer science or engineering knowledge, and all learners are welcome aboard. You will need no physical materials, since you will build the computer on your own PC, using a software-based hardware simulator, just like real computers are designed by computer engineers in the field. The hardware simulator, as well as other software tools, will be supplied freely after you enroll in the course. Course format: The course consists of six modules, each comprising a series of video lectures, and a project. You will need about 2-3 hours to watch each module's lectures, and about 5-10 hours to complete each one of the six projects. The course can be completed in six weeks, but you are welcome to take it at your own pace. You can watch a TED talk about this course by Googling "nand2tetris TED talk". *About Project-Centered Courses: Project-centered courses are designed to help you complete a personally meaningful real-world project, with your instructor and a community of learners with similar goals providing guidance and suggestions along the way. By actively applying new concepts as you learn, you’ll master the course content more efficiently; you’ll also get a head start on using the skills you gain to make positive changes in your life and career. When you complete the course, you’ll have a finished project that you’ll be proud to use and share....

Top reviews

AI

Jun 13, 2021

Undeniably one of the best computer science courses. The advertising isn't false! This course permanently changed my perspective on hardware and software along with the relationship between the two...

MM

Feb 17, 2017

An excellent course provided by phenomenal professors! Everything is broken down into simple, easily understandable portions, and leaves you with a clear idea how to proceed to solve a given problem.

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1001 - 1025 of 1,058 Reviews for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course)

By foreverip

Dec 29, 2016

I loved this course. Some criticism though is that the course doesn't go into detail on the architecture of modern day computers. Also, some things were simplified in the course, which is a little disappointing. However, I did get to build my own computer, and I learned quite a lot from this course, so it was definitely worth spending time taking the course.

By SATHVIK S

Apr 8, 2020

Digital Design could have been included as a part of the curriculum which would have explained the inner workings of all the memory modules. A more deeper understanding of the clock could have been provided. The fact that we have a different clock for the the execution of the micro instructions could have also been explained.

By Ricardo

Jul 12, 2018

This course is amazing! just the fact that the teachers can explain something that is very difficult and make it feel that is easy, it's pretty impressive and helpful. The only reason why a don't give all starts is because the teachers sometimes repeat the same thing over and over and make the videos feel a little bit slow.

By Emilio A P

Nov 5, 2023

It's a little bit dense, specially for people who are not to deep in this part of hardware development sector like I was, I needed a lot of help from other sources not only the course and the book, but so far a great course to understand the basics of how the hardware of the computer work. Great Job!

By Hugo F F L

Oct 4, 2022

Might say it's really an eye opener on how a Computer is fundamentally built. I personally always had a hard time understanding mathematical abstractions and digital circuits, but i must say this course opened up the doors to these areas as well. Looking forward to Part 2.

By Chris K

Jan 26, 2017

The HDL syntax I felt was a bit fiddly, and sometimes hard to find the relevant technical details such as language definitions in the videos, but overall a very interesting and enjoyable course. Happy to pay for it despite it essentially being available free.

By Enrique S

Sep 30, 2019

O curso tem a proposta de servir para qualquer pessoa que deseja aprender arquitetura de computadores sem ter nenhum conhecimento prévio. Creio que um leigo completo no assunto talvez tenha dificuldades. Fora isso, é uma excelente ferramenta de aprendizado!

By Alex M

Jun 19, 2016

I was skeptical of HDL at first, and wished that the course had used a more industry-friendly language. I'm glad the instructors addressed this in the course. The HDL language used in the course is simple enough that hardly any time is "wasted" learning it.

By lixsee@yahoo.com

May 2, 2021

Amazing course! I learned a lot. A bit of a downside: It is much harder than you might think if you are not in a STEM background. Getting my head wrapped around the binary inputs and outputs is driving me crazy. But to finish it is very rewarding!

By Ben D

Aug 15, 2020

A thoroughly enriching and illuminating tour of the fundamentals of computation. After completing this course I am now able to better understand how computers function which provides a tangible benefit when writing software.

By Kit B

Nov 21, 2019

I've really enjoyed this course. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to part 2.

It can be a little tough to simply write HDL though and without the Nand Game (nandgame.com) I would have found this much more difficult.

By Manogna

Apr 5, 2017

The course was very informative and interesting , I had a tough time doing the assignments but it was worth learning.Definitely a interesting insight into the building blocks of a computer.

By jaume

Jan 15, 2022

It's such a cool way to learn the subject! Although the lectures and the teachers were great, some assignments were difficult, even burdensome. Anyways, I really recommend this course.

By Aniswar S K

May 19, 2019

Great course to know about the fundamentals about the hardware of the computer is built. Though most of it is abstracted out, you still get a better picture than just doing programming

By Sanjeev S

Aug 17, 2016

one of the best courses one can take to understand how computers are build from ground up

The course is organized in such a way such that its very easy to understand and relate

By Edwin H

Nov 20, 2016

Fun course to take. Makes you realize how much we depend on abstraction in our world. A few notes on documentation (your own code) and version-control would complete it...

By Jonathan G

May 27, 2021

Very informative book, although does not seem to go into great depth. The projects were not super difficult either. A great way to start learning how computers work.

By 佐藤弘崇

Dec 25, 2023

Extremely well-designed course; it's a little pity that what can be downloaded from the website is slightly out of sync from what the testing on Coursera expects.

By ECS038_ A

Jul 1, 2022

This course has touched all the aspects of creating a computer from digital logic to a game emulator. Thanks to the instructor for bringing such course

By Sergio J G O

Apr 19, 2021

Muy interesante, me gustó mucho. Sin embargo, siento que en las tareas más difíciles debería haber otro tipo de apoyo. Pero en general, excelente curso.

By PLN R

Feb 15, 2019

It is an amazing course for people at any level!! The instructors go right from basics, until the high level stuff. Definitely recommend the course!

By R.L C

Feb 13, 2017

participation by the professors in the discussion forums , would in my opinion get this 5 star rating, overall a very innovative & fun course

By Rashed A

Aug 1, 2022

Interesting course, it's cover the base of computer architectures and help me understand whats going under the hood. Totally recommend it

By Wyler Z

Sep 24, 2017

Good, but not very challenging. If you wanted to learn you could but if you were just doing it for the grade you could skate by.

By Ayaz A

Feb 9, 2022

So much infromative interesting and knowledgeable course also the instructor is so nice and the way of teaching is always good.