[PRL] Fwd: Talk by Shimon Schocken

[Matthias Felleisen]

Is there any interest in this topic here? -- Matthias


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Schocken Shimon" <schocken at idc.ac.il>
> Date: November 3, 2005 12:02:34 PM EST
> To: <matthias at ccs.neu.edu>
> Subject: Talk by Shimon Schocken
>
>
> Dear Prof. Felleisen:
>
> I am approaching you following Greg's kind introduction.  Below is an 
> abstract of the seminar that I will be very happy to give at 
> Northeastern.
>
> Since I will be in the USA only till the end of the year, time is an 
> issue. 
>
> Looking forward to hearing from you -- Shimon
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
> Shimon Schocken
>
> Dean, Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, IDC Herzliya
>
> Visiting Professor of Computer Science
>
> Harvard University
>
> Maxwell-Dworkin 206
>
> 33 Oxford Street
>
> Cambridge MA 02138
>
> 617-495-8460 (office)
>
> 617-495-2809 (fax)
>
> shimon at eecs.harvard.edu
>
>
> From Nand to Tetris in 12 Steps
>
> Shimon Schocken
>
> Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, IDC Herzliya, Israel, and 
> Harvard University (visiting)
>
> Abstract: We present a new course that aims to demystify the 
> integrated function of computer systems, using a hands-on approach. 
> The course synthesizes many abstractions, algorithms, and data 
> structures learned in CS courses, and makes them concrete by building 
> a complete computer system from the ground up. As the semester 
> progresses, we guide the students through a modular series of projects 
> that gradually construct and unit-test a simple hardware platform and 
> a modern software hierarchy, yielding a surprisingly powerful computer 
> system.
>
> The hardware projects are done in a simple hardware description 
> language and a hardware simulator supplied by us. The software 
> projects (assembler, VM, and a compiler for a simple object-based 
> language) can be done in any language, using the API's and test 
> programs supplied by us. We also build a mini-OS. The result is a 
> GameBoy-like computer, simulated on the student's PC. We start the 
> course (and this talk) by demonstrating some video games running on 
> this computer, e.g. Tetris and Pong.
>
> Building a working computer from Nand gates alone is a thrilling 
> intellectual exercise. It demonstrates the supreme power of recursive 
> ascent, and teaches the students that building computer systems is -- 
> more than anything else -- a triumph of human reasoning. We are able 
> to squeeze all this into a single course since we deal with neither 
> efficiency nor advanced features, leaving these subjects to other 
> courses in the program. The resulting approach is completely 
> self-contained, requiring only programming as a pre-requisite.  In the 
> Fall 2005 semester Shimon Schocken is teaching this course at 
> Harvard's CS program, where it is coded CS-101.
>
> A book based on the approach was recently published by MIT Press.  
> Joint work with Noam Nisan. For more details see www.idc.ac.il/tecs
>