Please refer to the respective ILIAS course for the specific dates.

Aims

The aim is to teach theoretical principles.

Contents

Lecture

This lecture is an introduction to important theoretical principles of digital technology, which is intended for students of the 1st semester of electrical engineering. Since it therefore cannot build on knowledge of circuit technology, the focus is on abstract modeling of behavior and structures. In addition, the lecture is also intended to teach the basics that are used in other lectures.

First of all, the lecture deals with the important concept of information and shows that digital technology is a special technical solution for handling information. Then the concept of systems is introduced and it is made clear that complex systems always require a hierarchical division in order to be able to understand and design them. On this basis, it can then be concluded that design can always be understood as a repeated transformation of behavioral descriptions into structural descriptions.

The concepts of message and signal are the subject of a further chapter. Starting from signals that are continuous in time and amplitude, the time- and value-discrete binary signal and more complex signal forms composed of these are then introduced as a particularly simple representation.

The representation of information by technical signals always requires an agreement on the assignment between distinguishable elements of the information and signal representation, the so-called codes. Therefore, the lecture introduces basic concepts of codes and coding and describes some important classes of codes that are used for analog/digital conversion, for interfaces, for error detection and error correction, for numerical purposes and for optimal representation. Code conversion and code switching conclude this consideration.

An extensive chapter deals with formal/mathematical basics. First of all, sets, operations on sets and relations between set elements are the subject of the lecture. This is followed by some basics of graph theory. Finally, it is shown that Boolean algebra can serve as the basis for a special switching algebra. Building on the associated rules, the concept of the switching function, its graphical representation and typing up to the normal form theorems are derived and important basic systems for the representation of switching algebraic expressions are considered. Development theorems, calculating with assignment blocks and terms as well as minimization measures are further topics in this chapter.

Once the formal foundations are available, suitable technical components and structures are developed on the basis of binary switches, which allow formal relationships to be directly implemented in technical solutions. Switching elements (gates), switching networks and synchronous switching systems as well as special functional units derived from these, such as counters, (shift) registers and digital memories, then lead on to composite structures, whereby the universal computer according to J. von Neumann is dealt with in particular.

Exercises

In addition to the lecture material, exercises and the corresponding solutions are handed out and discussed in lecture hall exercises. In the last third of the semester, however, these are replaced by small group exercises on the computer in which digital circuits are modeled and their behavior simulated with the help of the LogikWorks program.

General information

The material for the digital technology lecture can be found on ILIAS, which you can access at https://ilias.studium.kit.edu. There you will find the lecture "Digital Technology" in the course area.

To access the content, you need an account for the platform. You can create one in the Login field at the top left of the page. You will also need the access password that you received in the lecture and/or exercise.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact Julian Höfer.