About «Ershov Computer»

Why «Ershov Computer»?

The project's name reflects its ultimate goal — to build a fully functioning computer with your own hands, step by step. Individual gates and components, like pieces of a construction set, come together into a processor capable of executing real programs. The project is named in honor of Academician Andrei Petrovich Ershov — a pioneer of Soviet programming and creator of the first school computer science curriculum.

Modern software is often perceived as magic that hides the physics and logic of the hardware behind it. The simulator's goal is to make computer architecture transparent and understandable for anyone who wants to look under the hood of computing.

Academician Andrey Petrovich Ershov said: "Programming is the second literacy." Our course extends this idea: to write efficient software and understand the digital world, it helps to know its "alphabet" — from silicon gates and flip-flops to clock generators and registers.

How does the course differ from other projects?

The closest products — NandGame, Turing Complete, Nand2Tetris, CircuitVerse, HDLBits — each cover one part of the task: a gate puzzle, a game sandbox, a university course, circuit modeling or HDL practice. The Ershov Computer joins these approaches into a single route: from the first wire through logic, memory and a processor to assembly, Verilog and a real FPGA board, with automatic checking of every step, theory, datasheets and hints built in.

A detailed comparison with each product, the positioning and the teaching principle of the course are covered in the article "What Makes the Ershov Computer Unique"; it also links the in-depth comparisons with NandGame, Turing Complete and Nand2Tetris.

How the simulator works

«Ershov Computer» is an interactive educational environment that guides you step by step from the simplest circuits to a working 8-bit processor.

  • Visual construction: Build circuits from logic gates (AND, OR, NOT, multiplexers, flip-flops) right on the browser canvas by connecting them with wires.
  • Instant verification: The built-in validation system automatically compares your circuit's behavior against the target truth table for the current level.
  • Gradual complexity: As you progress through levels, new and more complex components unlock. Smaller circuits become reusable chips, and challenges escalate all the way to writing assembly programs for your own processor.
  • Game sub-level: After the introductory levels, learners enter «Transistor Run», a platformer where the logic they've learned is practiced inside the game world: a circuit from source to door is assembled mid-run. The game serves as a learning and engagement element of the course — play Transistor Run.

Who this project is for

The project is designed to be intuitive for beginners while remaining deep enough for specialized use:

  • School students studying computer science who want to go beyond the standard textbook.
  • Undergraduate students in technical fields looking for hands-on practice in computer architecture and digital logic.
  • Curious enthusiasts who want to understand how computers really work — at the level of ones, zeros, and transistors.

From the author: Idea and creation

The creator of the project, Dmitry Kalashnikov, completed postgraduate studies at the A. P. Ershov Institute of Informatics Systems, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the late 2000s, he lectured on computer architecture at the Higher College of Informatics of NSU — and he desperately needed a simulator like this for his students.

The idea for the simulator was largely inspired by the university program "One Student One Chip" (YSYX), where every student travels the path from the first logic circuits to their own working processor — and the most advanced cohorts go as far as taping out a real chip.

Russian engineering education still lacks such an end-to-end track, and it is best to start in high school and the first years of university. When a student assembles an ALU, memory, and an instruction decoder from logic elements with their own hands — and then runs a game on top of them — the abstract diagrams from textbooks turn into a tangible skill. With this simulator, the author contributes to the development of engineering thinking and honors the legacy of Academician Ershov's school.

Dmitry Kalashnikov

For schools and educational institutions

«Ershov Computer» is a free browser-based practicum in digital logic and computer architecture: 47 levels from a NAND gate to an 8-bit processor, an assembler, structural Verilog and an FPGA export project. It works as a practical module for schools (elective, after-school activity, club, engineering or IT class), vocational colleges and first-year university students — details on the page for educational institutions.

What teachers can use right now:

  • Automatic checking: circuits and programs are verified against truth tables, structural and program checkpoints — no manual grading of hundreds of screenshots.
  • Course curriculum and teaching resources: a timeline of all 47 levels with topic, difficulty, time and a measurable outcome, 47 level guides, component datasheets, 46 articles and an assembler guide.
  • Teacher dashboard and classes: invite codes, per-student progress and activity, group analytics, and CSV grade export. Students join a class with an invite code and a nickname — no email or password; progress syncs across devices.
  • Concept checks and an AI tutor: comprehension questions after levels and guiding hints from AI (availability and quotas may vary).
  • Certificates of completion: for each part and for the full course, with public verification.

In development: assignments with deadlines and level gating, working programme templates and an assessment bank, an English version of the dashboards. Basic access to the simulator and the library will remain free.

Teaching materials are gathered in a single teacher hub — from a 30-minute quick start to end-of-term reporting. Course implementation materials are available — a methodology guide for teachers (course philosophy, hardware platform, debugging tools), a project pitch for school administration (value, outcomes, career guidance), a competitive analysis of the project (comparison with Nand2Tetris, Turing Complete, CircuitVerse and HDLBits), and a technical specification for the Ershov Board lab platform (pin mapping, components, Ershov Loader).

For pilot implementation inquiries, see contacts at the bottom of the page.

Contacts

For questions, collaboration proposals, and inquiries about the school version:

If you find the project useful, you can support its development.