Winter 1999, Instructor: Dean Tullsen

•     Midterm February 9! (here's an old midterm)

Lab Assignments

Lecture slides

Basic Course Information:

• Instructor: Dean Tullsen
• AP&M 4250
• tullsen@cs
• office hours: M 2-3, W 10-11
• 141 TA: Beth Simon
• esimon@cs
• office hours: TuTh 10:30-11:30, AP&M 3337A
• 141L TA: John Seng
• jseng@cs
• office/lab hours: M 3-4, W 1-2, in the basement Mac lab
• 141 and 141L TA: Dongning "Colin" Liang
• dliang@cs
• office/lab hours: TuTh  4-5 in AP&M 3337A
• Meeting times and places -- please note that the distinction between the class and the lab will be somewhat fuzzy. I reserve the right to discuss the lab during lecture, or to make lab assignments due during lecture times. Please contact me if this is going to be a problem.
• Lecture
• HSS 1330, TuTh 2:20-3:40
• discussion:
• CSB 2, F 12:20-1:10
• Lab
• Center Hall 214, F 1:25-2:15
• Course textbook

Patterson & Hennessy, "Computer Organization and Design -- The Hardware/Software Interface", Morgan Kaufmann, Second Edition

• Other recommended reading
• Stallings, "Computer Organization and Architecture --Designing for Performance", 4th edition, Prentice Hall
• an alternate perspective
• Hennesy&Patterson,"ComputerArchitecture:AQuantitativeApproach",MorganKaufmann
• a more advanced treatment of many of the same topics in the textbook
• CPU Info Center
• everything you'd ever want to know about available commercial CPUs
• WWW Computer Architecture Home Page
• a comprehensive guide to research and general information on computer architecture available on the web.
• Computer Organization and Design, the website
• Assignments:
• Homeworks will usually be assigned on Tuesday and due Thursday of the following week.
• Labs will be due two weeks after they are assigned.
• Once it is set up, the class mailing list will be used by the instructor and the TAs for announcements, etc. All students will be held responsible for announcements and information that go out over the class mailing list. Make sure you are on it. If you are not getting email by the second week of class, send mail to esimon@cs.
• I will lecture using overhead transparencies, and will try to make copies of them available to you before class online in postscript format (we've had a lot of problems with doing this in the past, but we'll try again).

I. Instruction Set Architecture

II. Computer System Performance and Performance Metrics

III. Computer Arithmetic and Number Systems

IV. CPU Architecture

V. The Memory/Cache Hierarchy

VI. Pipelining

VII. Superscalars

VIII. Parallel Machines

• The grade for 141 will be based on homeworks, one midterm, and a final, as follows:
• homeworks: 20%
• midterm: 30%
• final: 50%
• subjective influences like class participation will have an impact in the margins -- it does pay to let the professor know who you are!
• The final will be inclusive of all course material.
• The grade for 141L will be based solely on 4-5 lab reports. I expect that most students will complete the lab assignments as specified; thus the quality of the lab reports will likely be the most important factor in determining grades.
• Late assignments are not encouraged. You will have two grace days during the quarter. I.e., you can turn one assignment in two days late, or two assignments in one day late. That is combined for both homeworks and labs. I recommend not spending those days frivolously early in the quarter. After you have spent your grace days, late assignments will be accepted, but with no guarantees that they will be graded, and with significant penalties if they are. We will make every effort to return assignments to you in a timely manner -- limiting your ability to turn things in late is, unfortunately, critical to that goal.  Anytime after the end of class counts as a day late.  The second day begins 24 hours later.
• You have the right of appeal for grading on all tests; however, an appeal (except for scoring errors) covers the entire test, and may result in an unfavorable judgment on another problem. You have one week from the time the midterms are returned to make appeals, including addition errors on your score. Check it over carefully when you get it.
• There is no appeal on homeworks, except for addition errors. No single problem will have a significant impact on your grade.

• Cheating WILL be taken seriously. It is not fair to honest students to take cheating lightly, nor is it fair to the cheater to let him/her go on thinking that is a reasonable alternative in life. Don't test me on this one.
• The following is not considered cheating:

-discussing homework in groups.
• The following is:

-discussing homework with someone who has already completed the problem, or looking at their completed write-up.
-finding textbook hw solutions on the web or anywhere else.
-Copying lab designs from someone who is not your partner, or lab report text from anyone.
-Receiving, providing, or soliciting assistance from another student during a test.
-Altering timing data produced by LogicWorks, e.g. to make a non-working design appear to be working.
• Homework is not intended to be a grade-maker, but to prepare you for the tests, which are the grade-makers. Cheating on the homeworks is just stupid.

• There will be 4-5 lab assignments. Each will require a written report. There will be no midterms or finals associated with the lab portion of the class. The final grade will be determined by the quality of the lab reports and the completeness and quality of the lab work (as demonstrated in the reports).
• Some but not all of the labs will require LogicWorks, which everyone should be familiar with.
• Labs can be done in groups of 1 to 3. Lab reports are to be done collaboratively with your fellow group members, except when specifically instructed otherwise.  Changing, splitting, merging of groups is only to be done with the permission of the instructor.
• Lab resources:
LogicWorks is available in
APM 325, APM 337, and APM 2101 have 10 copies shared between them
EBU2-338, has 10 copies of logic works
The following labs have 10 copies shared between them:
Univ. Ctr. Bldg. 201
Center Hall 315
Warren Activity Center
Geisel Library Basement
Undergraduate Library
S&E Library
-personal copies of LogicWorks are available in the bookstore.
Suns will be available in the uAPE lab in the AP&M basement.