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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
3,675 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

DF

Sep 5, 2022

P​rofs Shimon Schocken and Noam Nisan are amazing instructors. This course was so fun and I have learned a huge deal about how computers work under the hood. Looking forward to taking on Part 2 now!

RD

May 23, 2021

Thanks to the instructors for bringing forth such an amazing course. The way the course is strucured makes it very interesting and easy to learn. Loved and enjoyed the course and learnt a lot from it

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1026 - 1050 of 1,116 Reviews for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (Project-Centered Course)

By Pyltsin M

•

Dec 27, 2020

Awesome!

By Alexander S

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Dec 29, 2019

Awesome!

By Dimitry

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Jun 29, 2019

So nice!

By Santiago C J

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Apr 18, 2022

Great!!

By Abdo K

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Jan 25, 2021

amazing

By SALAMI F Z

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Oct 27, 2020

awesome

By Maks P

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Oct 16, 2019

Amazing

By Anton a

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Jan 6, 2019

Amazing

By wangsanjia

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Dec 30, 2016

perfect

By Vivek P

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Sep 12, 2016

awesome

By Elías G

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Jul 27, 2021

Nice!

By Ariful A

•

Aug 7, 2022

great

By 刘宇豪

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Jul 23, 2021

great

By Md. R Q S

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Aug 19, 2020

great

By Sarthak D

•

Oct 14, 2018

Great

By Charles G

•

Jun 20, 2025

good

By 김도현

•

May 2, 2024

goat

By Kiran A

•

Mar 24, 2021

nice

By Mike

•

Mar 26, 2019

Good

By Victor B

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Aug 16, 2018

good

By S V k

•

Dec 11, 2017

good

By JY

•

Feb 9, 2020

极好!

By Jorge R

•

Nov 12, 2020

si

By Aalap S

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May 3, 2020

Being a student of Electrical Engineering (with background in programming), this course helped me fill the gap between combinational/sequential digital circuits and a full-fledged computer that can run assembly programs. The instructors have put in a lot of effort in developing this course, and it shows in the course assignments (esp. the sheer amount of supporting software), the structure of the course, and most importantly the elegance of the computer architecture designed for this course. The assignments have a nice balance between being challenging yet completely do-able after just watching the lecture videos. I also liked the perspectives unit at the end of each week, though I wish they covered a bit more there. Maybe I'll start with Princeton's Computer Architecture course after this one.

Things that can be improved: There was some overlap of content between week 4 and 6 and also within week 6 itself (unit 6.4 and 6.5 seem like basically the same thing said by different instructors). Also, maybe a bit more focus on electronics during the first few weeks wouldn't hurt. Concepts of delay (which ultimately govern clock frequencies) could have been covered while discussing sequential circuits.

By Martin S

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Mar 31, 2024

This is a great course. Congratulations. I learned a lot and it was hard work but also a lot of fun. I needed ca. 3-5 times the estimated project time, but that was okay. Great learning by doing. What should be better (and therefore only 4 stars) is how you handle the discussion forum. Nobody really cares about it. My questions are not answered, my suggestions are ignored. There are problems with some of the projects (project 6!) which were reported years ago and they are still not solved. This makes me furious. Normally, when I pay the fee for a Coursera course, and I post some problem on the forum, max 36 hours later I receive an email that there is an answer and I can look it up in the forum. That's the way to do it. Initially, I wanted to do part 2 as well. But now... bye.