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Meeting Summary — CS 315-01 Lecture/Lab (Fall 2025)

  • Date: Oct 15, 2025
  • Time: 05:07 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
  • Meeting ID: 886 4953 2573

Quick Recap

The session introduced foundational concepts and tools for digital design, including: - An overview of digital circuits, Boolean algebra, and the basic building blocks of digital logic. - Demonstrations of digital design software, with explanations of gates, buses, and abstraction in circuit design. - Practical setup guidance for software installation and configuration (Java, Digital, Autograder). - Technical discussions on development environments, running tests, and troubleshooting across different OS and hardware setups.

Next Steps

  • All students: Install the Digital design software on their laptops.
  • All students: Set up the Autograder on their computers.
  • All students: Complete Part 1 of the lab in Digital.
  • Windows users: Install Java in WSL.
  • All students: Create a config.toml file for the Autograder.
  • June: Assist Windows users with WSL setup.
  • All students: Run Autograder tests with Digital on their machines.

Detailed Summary

Digital Design Course Overview

  • Greg introduced the digital design unit, explaining that students will build digital circuits—the foundation of computer operation.
  • Although digital design often spans two semesters in engineering programs, this course condenses essentials into a few weeks, focusing on what is needed to construct a simple processor.
  • Students will use a digital design tool for schematic entry, simulation, and potential hardware implementation.
  • Setup guidance included installing Java and an Autograder for testing. June will support Windows users.

Analog vs. Digital Circuit Fundamentals

  • Analog signals vary continuously; digital circuits constrain signals to binary values (0 and 1) using thresholds.
  • This binary abstraction enables building complex digital systems from simple components.
  • Gates were introduced as the basic building blocks of digital circuits.

Boolean Algebra Operators Review

  • Boolean algebra operators (AND, OR, NOT) were reviewed using both software symbols and traditional logic notation.
  • Truth tables illustrated operator behavior over binary values (0 and 1).
  • This segment served as a refresher of previously covered material.

Building Digital Logic Circuits

  • The basics of gates and logic circuits were discussed, noting that a RISC-V computer can be composed from a small set of gates.
  • While NAND gates are universal, AND-based designs are used initially for clarity.
  • Early assignments will focus on building gates from first principles, then introduce abstraction and prebuilt components.
  • The book “NAND to Tetris” was referenced as an example of building a processor from primitive gates.

Digital Circuits and Boolean Algebra in Practice

  • Core focus: AND and OR gates, and expressing circuits with Boolean algebra.
  • Abstraction is essential for scaling designs (e.g., constructing an 8-bit adder from smaller subcircuits).
  • Buses were introduced to represent multi-bit signals on grouped wires.
  • Lab goal: Build an 8-bit adder using subcircuits.

Digital Design Tool Introduction

  • The tool “Digital” was introduced, with features, configuration steps, and usage demonstrated.
  • Although the interface may feel dated, it effectively supports course objectives.
  • Phil Peterson’s web-based tool “Golden Gates” was mentioned.
  • Configuration topics included settings, clocks, and optional MIDI components.
  • Advanced possibilities include integrating digital circuits with processors.

Digital Circuit Design Demonstration

  • A live demo covered creating inputs/outputs, placing gates, wiring connections, and running simulations.
  • Simulation color coding: green = 1; dark green = 0.
  • Upcoming sessions will cover more complex circuits and a generalized approach to logic functions.
  • Students will need the Autograder set up for the lab; this configuration was being finalized during the meeting.

Autograder Setup and Support

  • Setup requires installing UV and adding it to the system PATH; a simplified Bash script is available.
  • Greg and June offered support for Autograder setup and Lab 1.
  • WSL was recommended for Windows users to simplify access to the C: drive and tooling compatibility.

Digital Tools Setup and Troubleshooting

  • The team addressed setup issues involving OpenJDK, WSL, and Digital.
  • Guidance included accessing files across Windows/WSL and placing files in correct directories for the Autograder.
  • Students were encouraged to use tools like ChatGPT for troubleshooting configuration problems.

Java App Deployment on ServiceNowdy

  • Greg discussed running a Java application on “ServiceNowdy,” encountering file path and directory access issues.
  • Steps included cloning the lab repository and running tests with the correct directory structure and file explorer.
  • Students were advised to run tests within the specified directory and use Digital for building and verification.