Computer Organization and Embedded Systems

The sixth edition of this book covers the key topics in computer organization and embedded systems. It presents hardware design principles and shows how hardware design is influenced by the requirements of software. The book carefully explains the main principles supported by examples drawn from commercially available processors.

The book is suitable for undergraduate electrical and computer engineering majors and computer science specialists. It is intended for a first course in computer organization and embedded systems.

Naraig Manjikian is Associate Professor for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

Zvonko Vranesic received his B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees, all in Electrical Engineering, from the University of Toronto. From 1963 to 1965 he worked as a design engineer with the Northern Electric Co. Ltd. in Bramalea, Ontario. In 1968 he joined the University of Toronto, where he is now a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. During the 1978–79 academic year, he was a Senior Visitor at the University of Cambridge, England, and during 1984–85 he was at the University of Paris, 6. From 1995 to 2000 he served as Chair of the Division of Engineering Science at the University of Toronto. 

He is a coauthor of four other books: Computer Organization and Embedded Systems, 6th ed.; Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design, 3rd ed.; Microcomputer Structures; and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays. In 1990, he received the Wighton Fellowship for “innovative and distinctive contributions to undergraduate laboratory instruction.” 

In 2004, he received the Faculty Teaching Award from the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. He has represented Canada in numerous chess competitions. He holds the title of International Master.


Safwat Zaky (Toronto, Canada) Professor of Computer Engineering at Toronto University, Canada.

V. Carl Hamacher (Kingston, Canada) Professor of Computer Engineering at Queens University, Canada.