Syllabus for CSC 345
Principles of Computer Organization
Weekend College
Winter 2008

An introduction to computer organization, processors, instruction sets, and assembly language programming. (Prereq: CSC 210.)

General Information.

 

Instructor:

Noel Petit

 

E-mail:

petit@augsburg.edu

 

Phone:

612 330-1061

 

Office:

203D Sverdrup

 

Office Hours:

To be announced

 

 

 

 

Classroom:

205 Sverdrup

 

Classroom Hours:

6:00 PM-10:00PM Friday

I'm often in my office at other times during the day, not just during my regular office hours. You may visit my office (almost) any time I am there. You may also phone or send email at any time.

Textbook.

David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy. Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware-Software Interface. Third Edition. Morgan-Kaufmann Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, 1998. (ISBN 1-55860-604-1)

This textbook comes with a CDROM. If you buy a used copy of the textbook, make sure you get the CDROM with it. The CDROM contains information you will need for the course.

Software.

Some assignments in this class will use SPIM, a software simulator that runs assembly language programs for MIPS computers. SPIM is already installed on the Macintoshes in Sverdrup 204, but you may wish to install it on your own computer.

SPIM is available on the CDROM that comes with the textbook. SPIM is also available for free from its author, James Larus, at http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~larus/spim.html. The version on Larus's website may be newer than the one on the CDROM.

Assignments.

I'll usually assign homework at the end of every class. It will be due at the beginning of the following class. I hand out answers to homework after it's turned in, so I can't accept late assignments. Sorry.

Homework may involve written exercises and assembly language programming projects. If an assignment involves writing a program, you must turn in a listing of your program, and a copy of the actual output produced by your program. Your programs will be graded both on correctness (are they free of errors?) and on style (are they easy to understand?).

If you turn in homework by email, you must attach it as a plain ASCII text file. Please don't use proprietary file formats (like Microsoft Word).

Honesty.

Students are expected to be familiar with Augsburg College's policies on academic honesty. Although you may exchange ideas with other students, everything you turn in must be your own work. Copying assignments, or parts of assignments, is not permitted!

.

Schedule.

This schedule is approximate. I might change it slightly during the term. I will refer to Appendix A (Assemblers, Linkers, and the SPIM Simulator) and Appendix B (The Basics of Logic Design) throughout the course. These appendices are on the CDROM that comes with the Patterson and Hennessy.

 

Session        Topic                   Homework (due next session)

 

1                Introduction          1.47

                  TTL                    1.54

                  Computer Math     3.1 - 3.7

                                             3.30

                                             3.37

                                             3.40

                                             3.42 - 3.43

 

2                Instructions           2.15 (implement in MIPS)

                                             2.30

                                             2.34

                  MIPS                   A.6

                                             A.7

 

3                Instructions           2.37

                  MIPS                   A.9

                  Performance         4.1

                                             4.7

 

4                Data Path             5.8

                                             5.14

                                             5.43

                  MIPS                   A.10

 

5                Pipeline                6.3

                                             6.4

                                             6.14

 

6                Memory               7.2 - 7.4

                                             7.12

                                             7.14

                                             7.52

 

7                Storage/Networks  8.3 (due one week after class)

                                             8.8

                                             8.13

                                             8.14

                                             8.19

                                             8.20

                                             8.33

 

Grades will be based upon completion of the above homework and programming projects. Additional MIPS programs will be discussed and assigned as the course progresses.