0706.205.01 Computer Organization

Instructor: Stewart M. Clamen

Office:

Computer Science Department, Robinson Hall, 3rd Floor

Phone:

(856) 256-4500 x3884

URLs:

http://elvis.rowan.edu/~clamen/
http://elvis.rowan.edu/~clamen/classes/CO/

Office Hours:

Mon	14:00-15:00; 18:00-18:30
Wed	14:00-15:00; 18:00-18:30
Fri	11:00-12:00

Other times by appointment

Section Times

Section 1:

W

18:30-21:00

Rob 101A

Important Dates

Tuesday, January 22

First day of classes

Monday, January 28

Last day to add/drop

Monday, March 11

Last day to withdraw from class with signature of instructor

Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22

Spring Break

Friday, March 29

Good Friday (no classes)

Tuesday, May 7 - Monday, May 13

Finals Week

Catalog Description

0706.205  3 s.h.
Computer Organization

This course provides an introduction to computer organization. Students are exposed to the register level architecture of a modern computer and its assembly language. The topics include machine level data representation, Von Neumann architecture and instruction execution cycle, memory hierarchy, I/O and interrupts, instruction sets and types, addressing modes, instruction formats and translation.

Prerequisites

0704.103 Computer Science and Programming (C- or higher)

1703.150 Discrete Mathematics

0701.205 Computer Lab Techniques (Co-requisite)

Grading

Homework	20%
Quizzes	20%
Midterm	30%
Final	30%
Class Participation	tbd

Ground Rules

1. There will be one midterm exam in class, and a final exam. The final exam will likely not be comprehensive.
2. If a student cannot make a scheduled exam, they must notify me beforehand.
3. Make-up exams will likely be more difficult.
4. Attendance in class in strongly encouraged. While I will try to make as much available on the Web as possible, you are responsible for everything said in class. Students are responsible for tracking when exams are scheduled and when assignments are due.
5. Students are responsible for material presented in class and/or assigned as required readings. Optional readings might also be suggested from time to time.
6. Students will be assumed to be checking their students.rowan.edu email at least every other weekday. Homework assignments are likely to be announced — and emergency announcements made — via email. This is of particular importance for students in this night-time section. If checking your students.rowan.edu emailbox is inconvenient for you, configure it to forward to a convenient emailbox.
7. Students who have been attending class regularly and have been making a serious effort are welcome to see me for additional help during office hours.
8. While it is alright to seek help on assignments from others, copying or plagiarizing assignments (or being an accomplice to it) will not tolerated. If you do not understand the difference between plagiarism and permissable help, please ask me for elaboration.
9. Homework assignments will be due one week after they have been assigned. Completed homeworks submitted late will be penalized 5% each weekday, and will not be accepted after one week.
10. There are three deadlines for withdrawal during the semester. Each deadline further into the semester demands one more signature and is more difficult to get. If you are thinking of withdrawing, timely action is necessary. The university's policy on course withdrawals during the last four weeks of the semester is that a student may withdraw only if there are circumstances beyond their control which prevent them from completing the course requirements.

Text Book

Patterson, David A. and Hennessy, John L. Computer Organization & Design: the Hardware / Software Interface. 2nd edition

Required.

Topic Outline

The course of study will closely follow the text. Here is the selection of the topics we will focus on. The item numbers correspond to chapter numbers from the text. Chapters/sections omitted from this list may be studied if time permits.

1. Computer abstractions and technology
2. The role of performance
3. Instructions: Language of the machine
   • The MIPS assembly language
4. Arithmetic for computers
   • Signed and unsigned numbers
   • Addition and subtraction
   • Logical operations
   • Arithmetic logic unit
7. Memory hierarchy
   • Caches
   • Virtual memory
8. Interfacing processors and peripherals
   • I/O performance
   • I/O devices
   • Buses