Computer Organization: Syllabus

Goal

This course introduces the student to foundational mechanisms of computer architecture including combinational and sequential circuits, microarchitecture and instruction set architecture, assembler programming, internal data representations and essential hardware components that support operating systems.

Books

William Stallings, Computer Organization and Architectures: Designing for Performance, 8th edition, Prentice Hall, 2010.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with using computer applications.

CSC 241 recommended.

Instructor

Name Wayne A. Smith
Office Richardson Room 129
Email wasmith
Phone (864) 833-8194

Office Hours

I don't have precise office hours.  However, the best times to catch me are Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 2-5pm.

Note: If you need to know I am in, make an appointment.

Grading Policy

Labs (3-4) 12%
Tests (3-4) 63%
Final Exam 25%

Make-up tests and labs will be allowed for excused absences only. There is no late policy for lab reports. Labs will include programming projects as well as circuit design projects. Letter grades will be assigned according to the following scale: A is 90-100, B is 80-89, C is 70-79, D is 60-69, F is below 60. There will be no plus/minus grades given.

Honor Code

All work should be your own work! It should be completed in accordance with the PC Honor Code. This means you may share ideas, but not answers for homework assignments. Answers that are very similar will become evidence of too much collaboration and, therefore, a violation of the Honor Code.  Your answers should be distinctive enough from another student's answers.  Lab work is expected to have similarities (and may even be identical) among members of the same group.  However similarities across groups may be construed as too much collaboration.

Absence Policy

No more than 8 classes missed, excused or not excused.  Anyone with 9 absences will lose a letter grade for the final grade for the course. Any absences after the 9th will also result in losing a letter grade on the final grade for the course.  If you come late to a class, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor after the class to avoid being counted as absent.  The instructor reserves the right to count three (3) tardies as one (1) absence.