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Syllabus

COEN 173 Computer Architecture
Course Syllabus

 

 

Instructor:

Office Hours:

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Bulletin description:

Prerequisites:

There should be enough overlap with COEN 171 that you recognize we are talking about similar issues. If you see too much overlap, let me know.

Text: We will follow the book fairly closely.

I really like the authors' style. They are hard core architects, but they start with considering what real applications need, they recognize no boundary between hardware and software, and they close with economic/business trade-offs. They worry about the size of the cabinet into which the boards must fit, and they worry that one backhoe not take out your entire network. They are good engineers, in the best sense. They were primary architects of SPARC and SGI. They have done work for Sony PlayStation and Nintendo. They are DOERS of computer architecture, not hearers only. One is also President of Stanford.

Recommended supplement: John Paul Shen and Mikko H. Lipasti, Modern Processor Design: Fundamentals for Superscalar Processors, McGraw-Hill, 2003. Hennessey and Patterson emphasize "quantitative." Shen and Lipasti emphasize distilling of foundational principles. Text for similar courses at Carnegie Mellon and UW - Madison.

Goals: To provide students the ideas and concepts required to understand the architectures of modern microprocessors, including instruction set principles, instruction-level parallelism, memory hierarchy designs, and I/O; to provide students the analytical tools for assessing processor performance; and to provide students the opportunity to become familiar with the Internet and the technical literature as sources of current information on the topics of the course. See course goals and objectives

English: Correct English grammar, style, usage, and spelling is expected in homework, programming comments, exam solutions, emails, and any other communication. You must write anyway, so why practice writing poorly? To help you practice writing well, we recommended: William Pfeiffer, Technical Writing: a Practical Approach (6th Edition) Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2005. ISBN: 978-0131198166. This is the book you'll use in Senior Design. 5th Edition is fine, too. See Corliss's advice: We Expect Good English

Schedule (tentative): We will spend 2 - 3 weeks on each of Chapters 1 - 6. This class covers a lot of material. You will average 60-80 pages of technical reading per week. You will be tested in homework and examinations on only a small subset. Your career may test you on some of the rest.

Design project: Each student will complete a design project during the last half of the semester.

Grades: Scale: A - 90; A/B - 85; B - 80; B/C - 75; C - 70; C/D - 65; D - 60.

  • 30% Design project
  • 40% Individual homework assignments
  • 10% Midterm exams,
  • 20% Final exam,

Assignments handed in later than the beginning of the class period assigned may be subject to a penalty of 20% for each class period late.

Students taking this course for graduate credit will complete additional work as arranged with the instructor.

Hard work? I am told I have a reputation as a difficult instructor. As in most things, you get out in relation to what you put in. Yes, I do expect you to work. You should expect to learn a lot that may advance your careers. If you complete assignments in a timely and satisfactory manner, you will probably get a decent grade, too. See Why take a Corliss class?

Assignments: Your written assignments must be neat and typed to the extent that is practical. I will make copies of homework papers public through either electronic or physical means. You should prepare each assignment so that you will be proud to have it displayed for public scrutiny.

Assignment 0: If you did not complete the "Who Am I?" form in class, you should complete it on line at www.eng.mu.edu/corlissg/173.08F/oneAssign00.html.

Assignment 1: Fundamentals. Due Wednesday, September 3.

Attendance: expected. Excessive absences may be penalized. It is the responsibility of the students to obtain missed lecture material. Assignments are due as scheduled, although I can be understanding when necessary.

Classroom etiquette: In class it is expected you will demonstrate respect for your fellow classmates and your instructors. This is accomplished by:

  1. Being to class on time (on those rare occasions when you may be late, please enter quietly);
  2. Waiting until the speaker (student, instructor, or guest) has completed the lecture before you begin packing up (if it seems the topic is not wrapping up, courteously remind them of the time);
  3. Turning off audio settings of cell phones, pagers, and watches (and any other sound making devices that have been created since the time of this writing);
  4. Cell phones? Silence them, please. Once in a while, you might have something more important than this class. Please excuse yourself and talk out in the hall;
  5. E-mail, texting, etc.? While you are in this class, we expect you to pay attention to this class. Otherwise, we may ask you to stop. If you distract classmates or speakers, we may ask you to leave.
Simply put, common courtesy, manners and respect is expected.

Communications: We will rely heavily on electronic communications, and we encourage you to do the same. Homework assignments, hints, and items of interest will be distributed by e-mail and on the class Web site. You should check daily for electronic mail.

Ethics: Students and faculty are expected to abide by the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and the IEEE Code of Ethics.

Academic honesty: Unless specified otherwise, assignments will be a solo effort. If the assignment calls for you to work together, the assignments are considered the product of the team. Credit the sources you consult. The risks of plagiarism are too great to justify the possible rewards. Do your own work. You ARE strongly encouraged to discuss that work with your instructors and with appropriate content experts as it proceeds. If you are in doubt about what is appropriate, you should consult with us in advance. In general, you are OK if you have added value to any assistance you receive, provided you make it clear in your reports what assistance you received and its source. See Corliss's advice on scholarship.

Class Policy (adapted from Dr. Povinelli): ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OF ANY FORM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN THIS CLASS. ANY STUDENT FOUND TO BE PERFORMING ANY ACT OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR THE PARTICULAR OFFENSE.

Over the last few years, academic dishonesty has become a significant problem here at Marquette University. We will not tolerate any form of dishonesty in any of our classes, and we hope you feel the same. If you become aware of any form of dishonesty taking place in any activity concerned with any of your classes it is your duty to make sure that the offense is made known to the proper authority. This is a problem which affects all of us, and we are asking for your help in keeping the standards of education here at Marquette University as high as they deserve to be.

See College of Engineering policies on

Colloquia: Departments have regular research colloquia to give you a chance to hear from experts. Some talks are advanced research; others are about current practice in industry. Some speakers are former students; some are known around the world; some are both. We strongly encourage you to participate in departmental colloquia, and we will often call your attention to coming events of special notice. Usual colloquium times: MSCS - Friday 4:00 in Cudahy 401, EECE - Tuesday 3:00 in Olin 202, BIEN - Friday noon in Olin 202, all subject to change.

Electronic resources: Everyone who accesses or uses Marquette University's electronic resources (as defined in the policy) are bound by the responsibilities and limitations outlined in the Marquette Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources policy. We encourage you to review this policy.

 

 

 

 
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