Course Description

nand2tetris is an educational platform that provides a self-study course for building a modern computer from scratch using only simple NAND gates. The course is designed to teach the fundamentals of computer science, including the architecture of a modern computer, and the principles of computation. The course is based on the book "The Elements of Computing Systems" written by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken.

The nand2tetris course starts by introducing the basic elements of digital logic and computer architecture such as gates, flip-flops, and registers. It then moves on to building more complex components such as an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) using these basic elements. The course also covers the development of an operating system, a virtual machine, and a programming language to run on the computer.

Throughout the course, you will learn how to design, simulate, and implement various hardware components using the hardware description language (HDL) and software tools provided by the nand2tetris platform. You will also learn how to write low-level assembly code, and high-level languages such as Jack, a simple programming language that is used as the primary programming language throughout the course.

The course provides a hands-on experience of building a computer from scratch, which helps students to understand the inner workings of a computer and the principles of computation. It also provides a solid foundation in computer science and prepares students to move on to more advanced topics in the field.

The nand2tetris course is suitable for both students and professionals who are interested in computer science and want to gain a deeper understanding of how computers work. It provides a unique and challenging learning experience that is both fun and educational. With the help of this course, you will have a solid understanding of computer science and the skills to build your own computer from scratch.

Author: Shimon Schocken, Noam Nisan (Coursera)