6.884 Course Resources

6.884 Complex
Digital Systems

• + Course Info
• + Staff
• + Schedule
• + Projects
• + Announcements
• + Handouts
• + Resources

Although there is no text book for this course, there are several books and online resources which may be useful as references. The course locker (/mit/6.884/doc) has user manuals specific to the tools we will be using in the class. The textbooks listed below which are marked with a (*) are available for overnight loan. Please email the TA (cbatten mit edu) if you would like to borrow one of these texts.

Textbooks

• Verilog HDL: A Guide to Digital Design and Synthesis (*)
  Samir Palnitkar, 2nd Ed, 2003
  A good introduction to Verilog-2001 well suited for the beginner.
• HDL Chip Design (*)
  Douglas Smith, 2001
  A great book for the intermediate Verilog designer. Clearly outlines the relationship between Verilog models and the corresponding synthesized circuit.
• Principles of CMOS VLSI Design: A Systems Perspective (*)
  Neil Weste and Kamran Eshraghian, 2nd Ed, Addison Wesley, 1994
  Covers a wide range of digital design topics from circuits to micro-architecture.
• Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (*)
  Michael Smith, Addison Wesley, 1997
  A useful reference on many of the lower-level details about synthesis, place & route, and FPGA mapping.
• Digital Integrated Circuits: A Design Perspective (*)
  Jan Rabaey, Prentice Hall, 1996
  Classic text on desiging digital circuits. Most of the information in this book is below the level of design we will be using in 6.884, but it is a valuable resource for learning more about the circuits we are synthesizing to.
• Logical Effort: Designing Fast CMOS Circuits
  Ivan Sutherland, Bob Sproull, and David Harris, Morgan Kaufman, 1999
  This book introduces a framework for simple back-of-the-envelope calculations useful when designing CMOS circuits. The first chapter is available online.
• See MIPS Run
  Dominic Sweetman, 1999
  A very readable book about the MIPS architecture for assembly level programmers.

Online Links

• Online Verilog HDL Quick Reference Guide
  Very useful online reference for Verilog-1995. It won't have the newer Verilog-2001 constructs but it is still a very convenient way to look up 99% of what you need to know.
• Verilog-2001: What's New
  This white paper by Stuart Sutherland crystalizes the key differences between Verilog-1995 and Verlog-2001.
• Parameterized Models Using Verilog 2001
  This white paper by Cliff Cummings clearly describes the evils of unnamed parameter instations and `defines and shows how the new features in Verilog-2001 provide much safer ways to achieve the same effects.
• Synthesizable Verilog Programming Conventions and Resources
  This webpage is written by fellow MIT graduate student Dave Wentzlaff and it outlines some of his thoughts on writing good synthesizable Verilog.
• MIPS ISA Documentation
  This is the official site for the various MIPS architecture specifications. Much of the information on the MIPS32 architecture is applicable to the SMIPS ISA.