Situated learning on FPGA for superscalar microprocessor design education

Abstract

Microprocessor design education is acquiring critical importance, since highly sophisticated functions are supported by the microprocessors in many products which cannot lose market windows. In our educational environment City-1, 7 out of 39 junior students had succeeded in implementing superscalar RISC processors on FPGA guided by an example hardware description language (HDL) description within 15 weeks in 2001. With another example HDL description, 14 out of 47 junior students had succeeded in implementing superscalar CISC/RISC processors within the same weeks in 2002 featuring devices such as out-of-order completion, multiple-path execution, ect. We noticed that this could be regarded as an excellent, illustration of situated learning on FPGA which can be applied to the prior on the job training (OJT) in companies. The most important thing is the choice of the tasks given as the way in for the beginners.