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Back to Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course)

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course) by Hebrew University of Jerusalem

4.9
stars
3,494 ratings

About the Course

What you’ll achieve: In this project-centered course* you will build a modern computer system, from the ground up. We’ll divide this fascinating journey into six hands-on projects that will take you from constructing elementary logic gates all the way through creating a fully functioning general purpose computer. In the process, you will learn - in the most direct and constructive way - how computers work, and how they are designed. What you’ll need: This is a self-contained course: all the knowledge necessary to succeed in the course and build the computer system will be given as part of the learning experience. Therefore, we assume no previous computer science or engineering knowledge, and all learners are welcome aboard. You will need no physical materials, since you will build the computer on your own PC, using a software-based hardware simulator, just like real computers are designed by computer engineers in the field. The hardware simulator, as well as other software tools, will be supplied freely after you enroll in the course. Course format: 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 5-10 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

AI

Jun 13, 2021

Undeniably one of the best computer science courses. The advertising isn't false! This course permanently changed my perspective on hardware and software along with the relationship between the two...

MM

Feb 17, 2017

An excellent course provided by phenomenal professors! Everything is broken down into simple, easily understandable portions, and leaves you with a clear idea how to proceed to solve a given problem.

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251 - 275 of 1,058 Reviews for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course)

By Evan S

Mar 19, 2021

This is an exceptionally good course. Every module was fascinating, clear, and helped me understand better how the pieces of a computer fit together. I have already recommended this class to so many friends. I cannot recommend it enough.

By Michalis P

Nov 14, 2019

One of the best courses I have taken. I am so excited about this course and the instructors are amazing.

The journey in this first part of the course gave me a lot of intuition about how a computer works under the hood.

100% recommended!!

By Joey C

Jan 7, 2021

Brilliant course that taught me so much. I went in as a programmer being naive and thinking it wouldn't be too difficult. I came out with so much more knowledge and the skills needed to think in a more abstract manner to simplify tasks.

By Ned P

May 27, 2017

I didn't know what to expect coming into this course but I was really blown away with the quality of the written content as well as the lectures. It really is the perfect course for any engineer wanting to know what goes into their baby

By Jeffrey J

Apr 4, 2023

I've been wanting to do this course for a few years now, and I've finally have. Really useful and eye-opening. Actually building a CPU that runs assembly or even binary instructions that I can understand is amazing. I highly recommend.

By Cheng W

May 31, 2019

Great design of course content and projects. Personally the class is a fulfilling journey in my exploration of career change. Highly recommend it to STEM background engineers and physicists interested in understanding modern computers.

By Alen V

Mar 27, 2016

The projects/assignments are awesome. Lots of fun. Very clear lectures.

One thing is reading how the Computer works from books/articles. The other is to actually build a working CPU/Computer from nothing but Nand gates. Can't beat that.

By D P

Mar 16, 2020

This is far the best course I've ever taken part in!

A lot of things that I've been thinking about computers are now clear, theoretical part are supported by practical part what is great.

If I could I would rate this course on 10 stars!

By Akash Y

May 19, 2020

A very good and very carefully designed course. Not only you will get the knowledge of computer science, but also you will create a computer which is the most interesting thing about this course. Thanks sir for this excellent course.

By Vivek N

Apr 8, 2017

Fast paced but very interesting course. The teachers are brilliant and teach very clearly. I knew some digital electronics and programming, but this course helped me fill the gaps in my knowledge very well.

Already enrolled in Part 2!

By Daniel C

May 24, 2020

This was a fantastic introduction to Computer Architecture. The explanations were just enough without delving into the low-level details. The projects were challenging yet fun and instructive. I thoroughly recommend this course.

By Alex C

Jun 8, 2019

Absolutely wonderful. I'm a boot camp grad who's been working as a software engineer for about a year now and want to start learning fundamental computer science and this course has been a great help. Thanks for a great course!

By Krešimir D

Jan 12, 2018

I am a mechanical engineer with zero experience in computer architecture. This course was far beyond my expectations. Strongly suggest to everyone who want to get into programming further than just knowing "Hello world" syntax.

By Nicholas F

Aug 8, 2016

This class teaches some very important subject regarding computer hardware design and low level languages. I found it very challenging but not too challenging, except the 4th and 5th week which were very difficult to complete.

By Casey B

May 16, 2020

Wonderful course! I'm hosting a reading group, the Los Gatos Reading Group, to go through the book chapter by chapter. I'm looking forward to the next half of the book and the planned FPGA additional material when it's ready.

By Aidan R

Jun 11, 2019

A great starting point for anyone with an interest in computer programming its easy to follow and well planned although the partner website could be a little cleaner but i found everything i needed fairly quickly. Thanks Guys

By Tudor J

Jan 21, 2022

I heard about this course from a professor at my university and it's safe to say it lived up to my expectations. I had a lot of fun doing it and it feels great to finally have at least a slight idea about how it all works.

By Tan Z

Mar 30, 2020

Rank this course five stars just after first week. Very well designed in a way that beginners can completely understand. Combined with challenging but not impossible projects. I have a great time coding HDL in this course!

By Balasubramanyam E

Jun 30, 2017

Nand2tetris is the course I was searching for, beautifully constructed and explained. The course gives an in depth knowledge of how hardware works and different layers present in it. Looking forward to the second part !!

By Jonathan w

Apr 16, 2020

I did a CS degree in 1990.

Wish I had done this course way back then. It has filled a lot of knowledge gaps.

I have enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you Noam and Shimon.

Really looking forward to the the next half of the course.

By Ramesh N

Jul 20, 2019

Something that I always wanted to do , this course allowed me to do something that I would have never been able to do otherwise . Cannot recommend it enough to the Computer science student as well as the IT professional

By Evan D

Mar 9, 2023

I was able to finish this relatively quickly. Some of the hardware design was difficult but I was able to push through. Writing the assembler ended up being the easy part (since I already am an experienced programmer).

By Avinal K

Aug 10, 2020

One of the best courses I have ever taken. They really taught what they promised. Everything is nicely designed and well versed. Since its a project-centric course, I got to make so many things. This course is awesome.

By Sai K G

May 17, 2020

I absolutely loved this course. i am indebted to Prof. Shimon Schocken and Prof. Noam Nisan for their tremendously simplistic explanation of the course that made it enjoyable. Thank you coursera for having this course.

By Shannon J

Jul 11, 2017

This is a wonderful course. It is very detailed and through. It should be required for every Computer Science major. It not only teaches computer architecture but also how a computer works in an easy to understand way.