Integrating Hardware and Software in a Computer Engineering Laboratory

An experimental interface of a microcomputer with a Vega Universal Testing Machine to retrieve data on test specimens

“…This suggests that the innovative teacher can possibly interweave microcomputer education into an existent course or courses. Glover and Bargainer (1981) further support this suggestion when they observed that many universities have merged the disciplines of computer science and electrical engineering to create the new discipline of computer engineering. Industrial and systems engineers have a critical need for education in application of microprocessors, since the industrial use of microprocessors is growing at a tremendous rate (Capehart et al, 1981) However, the rapid proliferation of microprocessors and their use has presented engineering education with a number of difficult…”

“…A common practical problem in large data processing applications is the identification of records pertaining to a particular individual or entity. If the records are accessible through a key and the value of the key is known, then the retrieval problem is the standard one addressed by data base researchers and practitioners (Johnson, 1983), Glover and Bargainer (1981) observes that the introduction of the microprocessor as an inexpensive, programmable component in electronics systems with application to many areas of our society has challenged universities to offer an undergraduate program which merges the disciplines of computer science and electrical engineering. The new discipline has come to be called computer engineering, and the way in which these programs have evolved in universities is varied.…”