Department Of Computer Science

Georgia State University

SYLLABUS Summer 2008
 

CSC 4210/6210 Computer Architecture

Computer Number 50257/50261

Time & Room:  10:00 - 1:40pm TR  400-CS                          

Instructor:         J. L. Bhola  

E-Mail:              jbhola@cs.gsu.edu

Phone:              404-413-5720

Office:              2123 Credit Union Building, 34 Peachtree Street

Office Hours:   2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. TR ( and by appointment)

"The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary."

PREREQUISITES: Reference p.363 2007-08 GSU General Catalog: CSc 3210 or equivalent is enforced.

TEXTS:      (Must Have) M. Morris Mano. Computer System Architecture. 3rd Ed. Prentice Hall 1993.

                 

CONTENTS: Logic design, combinatorial and sequential circuits, micro-operations, computer organization and design, programming a basic computer, controllers and micro-programmed control, central processing unit, bit slicing, input-output devices, memory. Additionally, as time permits, pipelining, reduced instruction sets (RISC), and VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word).

ATTENDANCE:

  1. See p.62 of the 2007-08 GSU General Catalog. Students are expected to attend all of all classes; attendance will be takeen. Religious holidays as identified by the Provost and Academic Vice President are one exception; if this is your case, please identify yourself to me.
  2. Important: I ask your cooperation in maintaining a good learning environment for all. This includes but is not limited to: not throwing things in class, not passing notes in class, not carry on conversations among small cliques of students in class, and not leaving and entering the classroom at will, AND most important -- turning off all electronic devices during class which includes (but is not limited to) lap top computers, cell phones, etc. If you must leave temporarily, the following policy is used. Leave and reenter as quietly as possible. Attendance may be taken at the beginning or the end of a class. If you have medical problems that you believe pertain to this policy, bring a letter from a physician on the physician's letterhead stationary and signed by the physician. Be considerate of your fellow students and of the learning process. If you are not mindful, I shall remind you once in private,once in public, and after that refer the matter to the department Chair.
  3. Regular completion of reading assignments and the preparation of project materials is necessary to succeed in the course. Anyone missing class for a two-week period without notifying the instructor in advance and obtaining the instructor's concurrence may be withdrawn from the course or receive a lower (possibly failing) course grade at the discretion of the instructor. Anyone receiving V.A. benefits will be reported to the Dean's Office in these circumstances.
  4. The last day to withdraw with a chance for a W or WF is Tuesday, July 1st, 2008.
    5.

CLASSROOM/LAB USAGE

Food and Drinks are not allowed at any time in the classroom and/or computer lab. Before leaving the classroom and/or lab students should make sure to log off from the computers and leave the area neat. Students found misusing or abusing the computer systems may lose access to the computer systems and/or be subjected to any other any other necessary action to preserve, conserve, and maintain the room and the equipment.

Your time in the classroom should be spent only on class-related activities. For example, you should not check your e-mail during class, nor read books unrelated to the topic, nor work on homework from another class. You may be asked to leave otherwise.

GRADING:

      (a)   For CSc4210 students, the course grade will be composed of:

                     (1) assignments - 40% (see handouts on projects for details, especially peer review)

                     (2) mid-term exam - 30% (tentative date on 6/26/08)

                     (3) final exam - 30% (Thursday - 7/31/08 at 10:15 am)

         (b)    For CSc6210 students, the course grade will be composed of:

                     (1) assignments - 40% (see handouts on projects for details, especially peer review)

                     (2) mid-term exam - 25% (tentative date on 6/26/08)

                     (3)  library assignment (written report on an assigned published article) - 10% (due on  7/16/08, 10:00am)

                          Note: 0% if turned-in after 7/16/08, 10:00am.

                     (4) final exam - 25% (Thursday - 7/31/08 at 10:15 am)

           Nominally, 100-90 is an A, 89-80 a B, 79-70 a C, 69-60 a D, and 59-0 an F.  Any scaling ("curving") of either the mid-term or the final or the project grade or the course grade is solely at the discretion of the instructor.
 

(b)  PLAGIARISM:  ALL work turned in for credit toward a grade MUST be done ONLY by the student submitting it.  If the instructor determines that work was copied, the work of all students
 involved will be graded solely at the discretion of the instructor.  The ONLY EXCEPTION to this policy is that collaboration among the student members of a project team is REQUIRED for team activities involved in the preparation of the project deliverables and presentations.  Note, however, that collaboration or copying of work outside of a project team is not allowed and will be considered plagiarism by the whole team.

(c)    If for any reason class does not meet on an exam or a project deliverable deadline date, the exam will be help or the deliverable will be due on the next day that the class does meet.