CS 265
Assembly Language Programming
Summer 2005
Dr. D. Nordstrom
361 Sci. & Tech. II
dnordstr@mason.gmu.edu
(703) 993-1565
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:30 and by appointment.
The course website is at
http://cs.gmu.edu/~dnord/cs265
Text
John Waldron, Introduction to RISC Assembly Language
Programming, Addison-Wesley, 1999.
What you should know
The prerequisite for CS 265 is a grade of C or better in CS 211. I
will expect you to have a strong programming background in one or more
high-level language (such as Java or C++), to be familiar with basic data
structures, and to possess a degree of sophistication in solving
programming problems.
The course
This is a course in assembly language using MIPS/RISC assembly for the
example language. We will emphasize, however, concepts which apply to
assembly languages in general and will use assembly language as a
means of understanding the workings of a computer more than as a
vehicle for writing programs. Topics to be covered include: computer
organization, computer arithmetic, data representation, addressing
modes, interrupts, stack frames and parameter passing, object code
representation and linking, as well as the MIPS/RISC instruction set
and programming techniques.
Grading
There will be a number of programming assignments. Programs are due
at the beginning of the class period on the due date. Late programs
will be accepted but with a penalty of 10 points (out of a total of
100) per day. We will have two quizzes each week (at the beginning of
class on Tuesday and Thursday), a midterm, and a final
exam. No late exams or make-ups will be given except in extreme and
well-justified (as judged by me) cases and only when arranged in
advanced. Grades will be computed from a score weighted by:
- Final Exam 35%
- Midterm Exam 25%
- Quizzes 15%
- Programs 25%