CS-3432 Computer Architecture I

Course Info and Lab Notes

TA ScheduleManuel CoronaAdrian Veliz
Arch lab        MW 4:30 TR 4:30
Main lab
 W 8-9 Sat 4-5
Office hours
 MW 6 R 2-3

  • Course Outline: topic sequence including lecture notes
  • Lab manual: http://robust.cs.utep.edu/arch1-manual
  • Texts
    • Absolutely required: Kerningham, Brian W & Ritchie, Dennis M. "The C Programming Language, Second edition," Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-115817-1.
    • MSPGCC cross-tools manual (55 pages): pdf, web
    • Recommended by students (and by no way required): Android app "Programmer Mental Math" by Joel Jurix.  
  • Labs
    • Students must enroll in a lab section (typically meets MWF or TR)
    • Lab sessions and assignments managed by TA
    • There may be scheduled or unscheduled quizzes in lab course
    • Online: Lab Notes
  • Attendance
    • Mandatory at all  all sessions of lecture & lab course unless special circumstances arranged ahead of time with instructor

Assignments and key dates: Fall 2011 semester

  • Key dates:
    • Final exam:  ,Monday, Dec 5th, 1:00 pm – 3:45 pm
  • Assignments 
    • Mon 22 Aug
      • Begin reading: Chapter 1 of K&R
      • review of prerequisite concepts related to digital design
        • conbinational logic, 
        • (signed) binary representations
        • flip-flops 

Exams and assignments

  • Exams and quizzes
    • Intention
      • Exams and quizzes assess individual students' abilities to demonstrate knowledge, to design solutions to realistic problems, and to present these solutions in a clear and professional fashion.
    • Rules
      • reference information listing instructions and addressing modes will be provided to students
      • answers must be prepared individually without communication with or assistance from anybody except the instructor or proctor.  
    • Exams 
      • Students may bring one double-sided letter-sized reference sheet of their choice or design.  It may contain any information whatsoever except an answer key to the exam or a mechanism for collaborating with other students. 
      • The dates of exams will be announced during the term and enumerated here.
      • The final exam will be on the date specified by the university.
  • Assignments and labs
    • Intention:
      • Assignments and labs provide an opportunity for students to practice and explore concepts presented in class.
      • Students are expected to act professionally 
        • By helping each other select and design problem-solving approaches
        • By reading whatever resources they find relevant
        • By attributing credit to any person or reference materials that substantively contributed to their solutions  
        • By only submitting solutions they fully understand.
        • Professionalism includes honesty, clarity, and accuracy.
    • Types:
      • Most class sessions will conclude with an assignment due at the beginning of the next class session unless otherwise indicated.
      • Labs will be assigned during the lab course.  Due in 1 week unless otherwise indicated.
    • Rules
      • Students must only submit solutions that fairly reflect their own understandings.     
      • Solutions must clearly and fairly attribute credit to  people and resources that contributed to their design or preparation.  
      • Descriptive text included with solutions must be composed by the student submitting it.  
    • Implications
      • It is academic dishonesty for a student to submit a solution they cannot replicate individually or to not fairly credit their sources.

Resources

Policies

  • Exams and grading
  • Accommodations for Students with Disabilities and Exceptional Circumstances
    • Individuals with disabilities have the right to equal access and opportunity. Please contact Dr. Freudenthal or the UTEP Office of Disabled Student Services (DSSO) if you have a special circumstance such that an accommodation would be helpful in permitting you to excel or demonstrate mastery of the material covered in this course.
  • Standards of Conduct and Academic Honesty
    • Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner, as prescribed by the Standards of Conduct: http://hoop.utep.edu/Student_Affairs_Chapter_One-HOP.htm Graded work should be unmistakably your own. You may not transcribe or copy a solution taken from another person, book, or other source ( e.g., a web page). Copying other's work will not be tolerated. Professors are required to report academic dishonesty and any other violation of the Standards of Conduct to the Dean of Students
    • Permitted collaboration: Students may discuss requirements, background information, test sets, and the output of their programs. However, implementations and documentation must be prepared individually.
    • If academic dishonesty is suspected: You will receive an incomplete for the lab, and your case will be referred to the Dean of Students for adjudication. The Dean of Students has published a website with complete details concerning the UTEP Academic Honesty policy. The website has been been posted to the following arcane URL: http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=4386.