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Back to Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course)

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course) by Hebrew University of Jerusalem

4.9
stars
510 ratings

About the Course

In this project-centered course you will build a modern software hierarchy, designed to enable the translation and execution of object-based, high-level languages on a bare-bone computer hardware platform. In particular, you will implement a virtual machine and a compiler for a simple, Java-like programming language, and you will develop a basic operating system that closes gaps between the high-level language and the underlying hardware platform. In the process, you will gain a deep, hands-on understanding of numerous topics in applied computer science, e.g. stack processing, parsing, code generation, and classical algorithms and data structures for memory management, vector graphics, input-output handling, and various other topics that lie at the very core of every modern computer system. This is a self-contained course: all the knowledge necessary to succeed in the course and build the various systems will be given as part of the learning experience. The only prerequisite is knowledge of programming at the level acquired in introduction to computer science courses. All the software tools and materials that are necessary to complete the course will be supplied freely after you enrol in the course. This course is accompanied by the textbook "The Elements of Computing Systems" (Nisan and Schocken, MIT Press). While not required for taking the course, the book provides a convenient coverage of all the course topics. The book is available in either hardcopy or ebook form, and MIT Press is offering a 30% discount off the cover price by using the discount code MNTT30 at https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/elements-computing-systems. 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 15 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

DP

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tough journey but what I learned in this course worth it. excellent design of course and provides basic foundation for understanding high level language.

LP

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Course materials and project assignment are well-organized, demanding but also motivating. I felt so lucky to have taken both of the courses and really enjoyed them! Thanks!

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151 - 158 of 158 Reviews for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course)

By Himanshu M

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Jul 4, 2020

gg

By Stuart H

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Jul 6, 2022

A very good and thorough course.

One downside when compared to the first part however, was the lack of the book chapters. In the first part of the course, many of the chapters were available, and I found them extremely helpful. However, while I frequently wanted the written material in this part, only one or two were available. The required material was findable in the videos, but searching through videos, and reading big tables of grammars, api contracts etc which I need to implement, is much less convenient than having a written document.

By Nathan B H

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Feb 6, 2022

It was a fun course, yet it's super involved! Please be sure to have a solid understanding of computer programming and computer science before you take this course!

By Benedek R

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Sep 3, 2018

It was a bit superficial. Homework helped to practice the basics. I prefer more detailed and more deep lectures.

By Knowledge M

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Apr 15, 2021

The Exercises were a bit hard, but everything else was fantastic!

By Ehud K

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Feb 2, 2017

very interesting, good lectures,

By Eslam Z

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Mar 19, 2024

Rich in content course

By Tudor J

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Mar 1, 2022

Overall, the course was good. But it has problems:

First, there are technical issues with the automatic grader (the program that checks the assignments' correctness). Despite the proffessors' sympathy for the Java programming language, the grader uses a very old version of the language. I found that out the hard way after already writing the first programming assignment in Java. I had to spend 2 hours refactoring the newer Java features out of my code. And yet, the grader still didn't accept my submission because it could not find the main file, despite it literally being there! (Problem that was only reported after the Java compiler succssefully parsed all of my refactored code). I ended up giving up on Java and I translated the assignment into Python. This time, I had learned my lesson and I began with a dummy submission that printed the version of the Python language the grader was using to the standard output, which also confirmed that the grader was indeed working properly. At the time of writing this, the version was Python 3.8.6.

Second, despite reporting, and posting about, the issues, nothing has been done to address the problem. And this is not ok. The maintainers of a supposedly high quality course such as this should regularly update the programming languages their grader supports to the latest versions, as well as inform the course taker about which versions are currently supported.