This textbook introduces readers to the fundamental hardware used in modern computers. The only
pre-requisite is algebra so it can be taken by college freshman or sophomore students or even
used in Advanced Placement courses in high school. This book presents both the classical
approach to digital system design (i.e. pen and paper) in addition to the modern hardware
description language (HDL) design approach (computer-based). This textbook enables readers to
design digital systems using the modern HDL approach while ensuring they have a solid
foundation of knowledge of the underlying hardware and theory of their designs. This book is
designed to match the way the material is actually taught in the classroom. Topics are
presented in a manner which builds foundational knowledge before moving onto advanced topics.
The author has designed the content with learning goals and assessment at its core. Each
section addresses a specific learning outcome that the learner should be able to do after its
completion. The concept checks and exercise problems provide a rich set of assessment tools to
measure learner performance on each outcome. This book can be used for either a sequence of two
courses consisting of an introduction to logic circuits (Chapters 1-7) followed by logic design
(Chapters 8-13) or a single accelerated course that uses the early chapters as reference
material.
