Computer Architecture

CS 240
Spring 1999

Instructor:

Thomas P. Kelliher
Hoffberger 140
Office phone: 337-6189
Home phone: 931-2946
Send mail to kelliher AT DOMAIN goucher.edu
http://phoenix.goucher.edu/~kelliher/
Office hours: MWF 9:00--10:00am. Th 12:00-2:00pm. Other times by appointment.

Class:

Hoffberger 153
MWF 11:30am--12:20pm
Three credits.
http://phoenix.goucher.edu/~kelliher/cs240/

Objectives:

The main objective of this class is for you to learn how a computer is organized to execute programs. A secondary objective is learning how the organizational building blocks of a computer are constructed from smaller building blocks (i.e., combinational gates and memory elements).

We will consider the major organizational components of modern computer systems: arithmetic logic unit (ALU), control, memory hierarchy, and I/O. We will study things such as binary numbering systems, addition circuits, ways of implementing control logic, pipelining, caches, and paging hardware. Some of these are basic requirements of all general purpose computers, while others, such as pipelining and caches, are performance enhancements.

We will study digital design so as to understand how computers are constructed from logic gates and memory elements and study enough assembly language to appreciate how a high level language (HLL) source is translated and run on a target computer system.

Textbooks:

1. D. A. Patterson and J. L. Hennessy, ``Computer Organization & Design: The Hardware/Software Interface,'' 2nd ed., Morgan Kaufmann, 1998. Required.
2. P. W. Abrahams and B. R. Larson, ``Unix for the Impatient,'' 2nd ed., Addison Wesley, 1996. Recommended for those with no previous Unix experience.

Grading:

Grade Distribution

A = [92--100], A- = [90--92), B+ = [88--90), B = [82--88), B- = [80--82), etc.

Course Point Distribution

There are tentatively 550 total points for the course:

1. Assignments --- There will be approximately five written assignments. Each assignment will be worth 50 points. Late assignments will be accepted only by prior arrangement.

2. Exams --- There will be two midterms and a final. Each midterm will be worth 75 points. The final will be worth 100 points. Tentatively, the midterms will be February 24 and April 14.

3. Attendance, participation. 50 points.

Course Handouts:

Most course handouts will be made available once in class. After that, they may be obtained from the class home page on the World Wide Web (see the class URL above). Some course handouts will only be distributed through the class home page.

Attendance:

Attendance of classes is expected and is a part of your grade. It is your responsibility to catch up on missed class work.

Integrity:

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. We are all bound by the Academic Honor Code.