RISC-V CPU Architecture and Hardware Debugging

Understanding how a processor executes code at the hardware level is essential for modern system developers and hardware enthusiasts. This text-only course guides you through the inner workings of the RISC-V architecture by analyzing real-world execution and debugging processor states. What you'll learn: Understand foundational RISC-V assembly instructions and CPU register states; Analyze processor behavior during execution using debugging workflows; Trace memory access, privilege levels, and hardware interrupts; Configure virtual emulation environments to test and debug low-level code safely; Examine modern RISC-V extensions, including vector processing and compressed instructions. Starting with core CPU architecture concepts and assembly basics, you will progress to tracing instructions and resolving execution issues using standard debugging interfaces like GDB and QEMU. This course is designed for beginners interested in computer architecture, embedded systems, or hardware-software co-design, with no prior hardware experience required. Start reading today to demystify how CPUs execute code under the hood.