Introductory Digital Logic
Altera has developed tutorials and laboratory exercises for use with the Altera®'s DE-Series boards. The laboratory material is targeted for use in a fundamental course on digital logic, which is included in most Computer and Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science programs.
The tutorials are written in a textbook style, at a level that is appropriate for self-study by students. They provide an introduction to the use of the DE-Series boards, the Quartus II software, and other tools. Suitable laboratory exercises are also provided. All source material is available to the instructors. An example of how the tutorials and laboratory exercises may be used in a particular course can be found here.
Tutorials
The provided tutorials enable students to design and implement circuits on DE-Series boards using the Quartus® II software. They are easy to read and are intended for self-study.
Click here to view the tutorials.
Laboratory Exercises
Altera provides a number of ready-to-teach laboratory exercises for digital logic courses. Both Verilog and VHDL versions of exercises are provided.
The exercises begin with fundamental concepts and show simple operations on the DE-Series boards, such as using switches and controlling LEDs and seven-segment displays. They assume that students are just beginning to learn about digital logic concepts and require solutions that use simple logic expressions. Subsequent exercises progress to more advanced topics such as arithmetic circuits, flipflops, counters, finite state machines, datapaths, and a simple processor.
As an aid for instructors, a complete solution for each lab exercise is available in Verilog and VHDL. Unformatted text versions of these exercises and the source files for the figures are also available. Professors and lecturers may request access to the solutions material by clicking the link below.
Click here to view the lab exercises.
Computer Organization
Altera provides tutorials, the Altera Monitor Program, and lab exercises for use in computer organization courses.
Tutorials
The tutorials provide the basic knowledge needed to develop and run programs on DE-Series boards. They are easy to read and are intended for self-study.
Click here to view the tutorials.
Altera Monitor Program
The Altera Monitor Program allows students to easily compile and debug both assembly language and C programs. It displays the status of the Nios II processor as programs are executed, such as the contents of processor registers and system memory. It allows the user to single step through a program and set breakpoints.
Click here to go to the download page for the Altera Monitor Program.
Laboratory Exercises
Altera provides a number of ready-to-teach laboratory exercises for computer organization courses. The exercises address the basic concepts of computer organization, which include assembly language programming, subroutines, stacks, input/output techniques, bus structure, and arbitration.
Altera has developed a new set of laboratory exercises for computer organization, listed in the table below. The introductory exercises make use of the DE-Series Basic Computer. These exercises illustrate the programmer's view of a computer. They include the assembly language, stacks, subroutine linkage, and input/output transfers.
Some of the exercises require the use of the SOPC Builder software to design and implement a Nios II system, instead of using the DE-Series Basic Computer. There is also an exercise that introduces the student to the processing of sound signals, and another deals with the elements of graphics and animation. These exercises use the DE-Series Media computer, which incorporates facilities for dealing with sound and video applications.
As an aid for instructors, the complete solution for each lab exercise is available, including the appropriate Nios II assembly language or C source code. Unformatted text versions of these exercises and the source files for the figures are also available.
Click here to view the lab exercises.
