Digital Logic, Computer Architecture, and Dev Containers: Supporting Schools from Little to Large

Maintaining resources for courses in Digital Logic and Computer Architecture can be challenging at any scale or institution, especially if such courses are intended to provide authentic experience with contemporary tools, like Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). A recent redesign of an introductory Digital Logic and Computer Architecture course at Washington University in St. Louis leveraged modern containerized environments, Codespaces and Development Containers, along with open-source tools to create a custom environment suited for hardware-focused courses in digital logic and computer architecture. This demo will introduce the system, which can easily be adopted by others. (Participants can create a full instance during the demonstration!) The environment is aligned with commonly used computer architecture texts and includes everything needed for a variety of assignments, including simulating designs (digital logic and assembly language) and deploying digital logic to low-cost FPGA platforms (<US\40 each). The environment is intended to overcome a variety of barriers encountered in such courses, such as: Authenticity: allow students to use contemporary tools and run work on real hardware; Cost: leverage low-cost, readily available hardware platforms, sufficient for both large scale or small, resource-constrained institutions; Complexity: use familiar tooling with easy or no local installation; Focus: provide tools and affordances needed for education without the distracting complexity of commercial tools; and Portability: provide multi-platform, open-source tools rather than commercial tools requiring licensing and often only supporting a single platform.