This is the home page for CS 4412 Computer Architecture, offered at the University of Minnesota, Duluth by Professor Ted Pedersen.  

This course will focus on three key moments in the history of Computer Architecture - the Analytical Engine of the 1830s, the minicomputer of the 1970s, and the Quantum Computer of the future. We will spend approximately 5 weeks on each of these topics. In addition to discussing the underlying architecture and technology of these machines, we will also discuss their larger impacts on individuals, organizations, and society. 

This class will include a good bit of reading - we have three required textbooks (pictured below) and various supplemental readings (see Syllabus for details). Our assigned reading each week will typically be 50 to 100 pages. While this sounds like a lot, note that our "textbooks" are written for non-specialist audiences and so are not unusually demanding. That said, our supplemental readings will be more technical. If you do not enjoy reading this class may not be a good fit for you. 

Lecture is scheduled from from 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Tuesday and Thursday (in person) and a lab session (Zoom) is scheduled 3:00 - 3:50 pm on Monday. 

• The Zoom link for our Monday lab is : https://umn.zoom.us/j/99809441497

During our online Zoom meetings on Mon it is important that you attend via a reliable internet connection that allows you to participate fully both speaking and using your camera. Please be ready to have your camera on during break out room discussions and some of our class-wide discussions. You may want to consider the use of a blurring filter or virtual background to keep your surroundings more private.

You will also need to be able to type in order to participate in the chat and to complete group activities. You should also be in a relatively quiet location where there is not a lot of background noise, since we will be having quite a few discussions that will involve your participation. If you are on-campus you may want to consider the use of a library study room to attend class. 

Note that attendance and participation both in person and on Zoom are a part of your grade. This is not meant to be a burden, it it meant to say that your active involvement in the class is important for you and your classmates learning.  Our class sessions will be devoted to discussions and not lecture-based and will not be recorded. 

Our Syllabus contains all the administrative details about the course and provides details about our textbooks and other readings.

Please see the Class Schedule for our daily plans for class and our assignments. 

We will use Canvas to submit assignments, record grades, and we'll take advantage of the Discussion feature it offers. I will also sometimes make materials available to you via Canvas Files.

Finally, this offering in Spring 2024 represents a significant revision as compared to my previous offerings of this class. While you may still find class information from previous semesters, please disregard that as it is no longer valid.