54-393 Computer Organization

Dr. Suzanne Buchele

Syllabus, Fall 2008

Daily Schedule: http://www.southwestern.edu/~bucheles/CO/schedulef08.html

Time and Place:  MWF 10:00 -10:50, Olin 111

Instructor:  Dr. Suzanne Buchele

Contact Info:   MBH 304, email: bucheles@southwestern.edu, phone: x1361

Office Hours:  MWF 11-11:50am, TTh 9:00-10:00am, or by appointment.

Texts:  Fundamentals of Computer Organization and Design, by Dandamudi, Springer, 2003 (required).

Course Description and Content:  This course might be titled Computer Organization: Exploring the Hardware/Software Interface.  The overall purpose of the course is to learn how software drives the hardware of the machine to perform tasks, to learn about the basic structure (organization) of a computer, and to learn assembly language programming.  To this end, we will study the machine representation of numbers and data, basic computer organization and architecture, digital logic, the CPU fetch/execute cycle, bus organization, memory and memory hierarchy, and assembly language instruction sets, concepts, and programming (both in general, and issues relating specifically to the Intel 8086 family assembly language).

Prerequisites: CSC 283 Computer Science II, or permission of instructor.

Attendance:  Attendance will be important in this class.  Being present at the lectures assures that you will hear an explanation of the material presented.  It is my job to help and guide you through the material in this class, but I can’t learn it for you. All students are responsible for all material and announcements presented in class.  If you miss a class, see another student for information.

Homework:  There will be homework assignments throughout the semester, both pencil and paper and programming exercises.  Homework will be worth 50% of the course grade (homework assignments may not be weighted equally).  All homework is due at the beginning of the class period in which it is due (at 10:00 and not at 10:05, for example; see late work below).  See the class guidelines for documentation and grading of programming assignments handout for helpful information on how to format your programming assignments.

Exams:  There will be two exams, each worth 15% of the course grade, and a final worth 20% of the course grade.  The exams are tentatively scheduled for Friday September 19, and Friday, November 7.  The final is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9 from 8:30-11:30am.

Grading:  Exams are worth 50% of the course grade, and homework assignments are also worth 50% of the course grade.  Note that you can do very well on the exams, but if you have not completed a substantial portion of the homework satisfactorily your grade will be significantly impacted.  Similarly, an excellent homework score will not make up for a poor exam average.  Each of the exam and homework component grades is a percentage of possible points for that component.  Final grade assignments will be according to the following percentage scale:  98-100%: A+;  92-97.99%: A;  90-91.99%: A-; 88-89.99%: B+;  82-88%: B;  80-81.99%: B-; 78-79.99%: C+;  72-78%: C;  70-71.99%: C-;  68-69.99%: D+;  62-68%: D;  60-61.99%: D-;  below 60%: F.  It is possible (not necessarily likely) that I will adjust the exam grades upward (never downward) if I feel this is necessary.  I do not adjust homework grades.  See How to Succeed in CS 393 for helpful suggestions.

Late/missed work:  If your homework is late due to you coming into class late on the day homework is due (up to 10 min), you may expect up to a 10% penalty to be assessed.  Otherwise, there is a zero-tolerance policy for late homework.  It is your responsibility to start your homework early enough to ensure you complete it, even if some unexpected things occur.  I understand that bad things happen (illnesses, accidents, deaths) and I would like to hear if you are having problems that are preventing you from completing your assignments.  However, I will under no circumstances make any special arrangements after the fact, that is, after (or, 5 minutes before) the homework is due.  Unless you are unconscious at the hospital, you must email me or speak to me before an assignment is due for me to accept it late.  And, I will do so only under extremely unusual circumstances (my computer crashed, I'm not feeling well today,...won't be enough).  If I do accept late homework I reserve the right to assess a penalty, typically 10% every half day up to two days, with no credit given for the assignment thereafter. The same goes for exams: unless you are unconscious at the hospital, you must email me or speak to me before the exam if you will miss it, and I do not guarantee that I will accept your reason for missing the exam as valid.  University excused absences will be honored, of course, but per University policy I will still need to hear from you before the exam or assignment you will miss.

Honor code:  I take the honor code very seriously.  In general, written homework (including any assembly language assignments that are pencil/paper and not implemented) is to be completed completely independently.  If participating in pair programming, you may work freely and fully with your partner on all aspects of the program.  Otherwise, algorithmic design, details, coding, and debugging must be individual.  Obviously, you may not share code with another student (if working independently) or with anyone who is not your partner (if working with a partner).  I expect your programs to differ from each other in significant ways. In addition, obtaining homework or code from another student from a previous semester, or from any outside source, is a violation of the honor code.  Please ask if you have questions about what constitutes honor code violations for this class.  I do reserve the right to ask each of you about your programs to ensure that you fully understand the coding and details of the implementation.

Accommodations for Students with disabilities:  Southwestern University is committed to assisting students with disabilities.   Reasonable accommodations may be made once a student has registered his/her disability and has the appropriate documentation on file with the Office of Academic Services (3^rd floor Cullen).  Professors must be notified of the accommodation at least two weeks before the accommodation is necessary, or as soon as reasonably possible.

Disclaimer:  This syllabus is a guideline.  Particulars may be discussed and changed in class.