Syllabus (Spring 2023)
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Description
Logical structure of computer systems viewed as a hierarchy of levels. Assembly language programming, assemblers, linkers, loaders. Computer architecture including digital logic, processor organization, instruction sets, addressing techniques, virtual memory, microprogramming. Pre: CSC 212 and student must be admitted to a degree-granting college.
Course Info
- Instructor: Prof. Marco Alvarez
- TA: Nicholas Mendes
- Lectures: TTh 5:30-6:45p @ Tyler 55
- Lab: W 5-5:50p @ ZOOM
- Office Hours: W 4-5p @ ZOOM
Support Tools and Technology
Students in this class will use the following platforms for communication, assignments, and grading. All students are required to use their primary email from eCampus for entering EdStem and Gradescope. We automatically register students.
Recommended Textbooks
- Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware/Software Interface, 2nd edition, David Patterson and John Hennessy, 2020 (required)
- Computer Organization and Architecture, 11th Edition, William Stallings, 2019
- Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 3rd Edition, Randal E. Bryant and David R. O'Hallaron, 2016
- Introduction to Computing Systems: From Bits & Gates to C/C++ & Beyond, 3rd edition, Yale Patt and Sanjay Patel, 2020
Homework Assignments
Homework assignments are individual work, unless stated otherwise in the assignment's instructions. Students will have roughly 7-10 days to work on each assignment. Each assignment has a specific due date/time listed on the course website. Late submissions will not be accepted. Students are strongly encouraged to bring their code to instructor's office hours prior to the due date.
Grading
| Task | How Many? | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | ~5 | 25% |
| Midterm Exam | 1 | 25% |
| Presentation | 1 | 25% |
| Final Exam | 1 | 25% |
Final letter grades are calculated using the cutoffs below. These values might be lowered, but they will not be raised. A final letter grade will be the letter corresponding to the highest cutoff value less or equal than the final grade. Consider that those values are strict. For example, a final grade of 93.99 is an A- and not an A.
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D F
94 90 87 83 80 77 73 70 67 60 0
Academic Honesty
Discussions with peers to gain more insights on coursework and lectures is strongly encouraged. However, when working on assignments, all written work and source code must be original. Students might not look at anyone's written solution. Copying another individual solution is plagiarism, a serious offense, and the one most common in computer science courses. Anyone that provides homework answers, source code for a programming assignment to another individual is also guilty of academic dishonesty. Students caught plagiarizing will be prosecuted in accordance with the University's Policy of Academic Honesty.
Disability Accommodations
Any student with a documented disability is welcome to contact me as early in the semester as possible, so that we may arrange reasonable accommodations. As part of this process, please be in touch with Disability Services for Students Office.
Religious Holidays
It is the policy of the University of Rhode Island to accord students, on an individual basis, the opportunity to observe their traditional religious holidays. Students desiring to observe a holiday of special importance must provide written notification to each instructor.