INFS 515 - Computer Organization [Credits: 3], Fall 2010

Computer hardware architecture concepts: number systems, machine representation of numbers, instruction set formats, addressing techniques, memory organization, internal processor structure and operation. Fundamental operating systems concepts: process synchronization and scheduling, interprocess communication, memory management, virtual memory, deadlocks, file I/O and disk management, LINUX and open source operating system case studies.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate courses or equivalent knowledge in structured programming in a high-level language.

The course includes but is not limited to the following topics:

• Computer Architecture
• Computer hardware architecture concepts include number systems;
• Machine representation of numbers;
• Instruction set formats;
• Addressing techniques, memory organization, 
• Internal processor structure and operation;
• Symbolic assembly language.
• Operating Systems
• Process synchronization and scheduling,
• Inter-process communication,
• Memory management,
• Virtual memory,
• Deadlocks,
• File I/O and disk management,
• Virtualization
• Additional computer architecture and OS topics as time permits

Textbooks:

Required:
Computer Organization and Architecture: Designing for Performance, 8/E
William Stallings
ISBN-10: 0136073735
ISBN-13:  9780136073734
Publisher:  Prentice Hall
Copyright:  2010
Textbook Web Site: http://williamstallings.com/COA/COA8e.html

Required:
Operating System Concepts with Java, 8th Edition
Abraham Silberschatz, Yale University
Peter B. Galvin, Corporate Technologies
Greg Gagne, Westminster College
ISBN: 978-0-470-50949-4 ©2010
Publisher: Wiley
Textbook Web Site: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&itemId=047050949X&bcsId=5375

Course dates: Monday August 30 through Monday December 6
Location: Robinson Hall B224
Meeting day & time: Mondays, 7:20pm to 10:00pm. Please arrive at class on time. We will start on time, have a short break in the middle of each class session, and will finish by 10:00pm.

Blackboard: http://courses.gmu.edu  All assignments, class announcements, schedules, files and presentations will use Blackboard

Instructor Information: David Tahmoush, Ph.D.

Emails: dtahmous@mail.gmu.edu  In the Subject line of your email, use the prefix INFS515
For example:  Subject: INFS515: Question about Homework #1

Office location: Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 4300 (see administrator)

Office hours:  By appointment.

Phone: 

Teaching Assistant:  TBD,

Grading Policy

Student grades will be determined based on class participation, homework assignments, research papers, and final exam:

Grade Component	Weight
Class Participation (in class, online discussions)	10%
Homeworks (programs, problems)	30%
Research Paper	30%
Final Exam	30%

Grading Guidelines: Some assignment components are evaluated subjectively

A: consistently above and beyond the course/assignment requirements
B: meets and occasionally exceeds the course/assignment requirements
C: minimally meets the course/assignment requirements
F: fails to meet the course/assignment requirements

Some assignment components are evaluated objectively:

A  : 95-100%
A- : 90-95%
B+ : 85-90%
B  : 80-85%
C  : 70-80%

Honor Code

All work performed in this course will be subject to GMU's Honor Code. Students are expected to do their own work in the course unless a group project is approved by the instructor. In papers and project reports, students are expected to write in their own words, rather than cutting-and-pasting from sources found on the Internet. When you do use material from books, articles, and the Web, enclose the material in quotes and provide a reference. If a paragraph is used then it should be indented in the text (both left and right margins). [See Format below]

Assignments

Format

PDF required; if you create a file in plain text, HTML, StarOffice/OpenOffice, Open Document Format, or MS format, convert them to PDF before uploading. Upload all assignments to Blackboard. Papers should be formatted double-space, 10 or 12 point font, 1" margins. Use Chicago Manual of Style for guidance on citation style, usage, etc. (Don't buy the big CMS. See the smaller A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian).  File names should be of the form Lastname_FirstInitial_AssignmentName.pdf.  For example, Smith_J_Homework2.pdf.

Writing Style

When grading papers and assignments, I generally assign 40% to the quality and thoroughness of the description, discussion, or explanation of the specific topic; examples and diagrams to clarify the text are strongly encouraged. Another 40% is assigned for the discussion of relevance to course concepts and technologies. That is, the paper must make clear its relevance to the course material. The final 20% relates to the quality and proper use of references. Reference other work within the text of your paper, and list the references at the end of the paper in a bibliography. Proper references are essential for crediting the work of others, and to help your readers locate the referenced material. See cs.gmu.edu/~menasce/papers/cmg00.pdf for one example of how to cite and list references.

Assume that the audience for your paper or assignment is an intelligent reader with some computer knowledge but who is not familiar with your specific paper topic.

• Do not use slang or colloquialisms; some readers whose first language is not English may not understand phrases such as "the system was wedged", or "the program went for a toss"
• Do not misuse terms nor use terms whose meanings are not clear, like "increased exponentially", or "steep learning curve"
• Check your grammar and spelling; if you need help expressing yourself, get help from GMU's Writing Center at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu  Read the paper aloud to yourself or to a friend to help you indentify misused words and phrases.
• Avoid jargon. Explain and reference concepts critical to your topic.
• Expand NTAs [Non-Trivial Abbreviations] upon first use
• Avoid meaningless marketing terms (like "seamless integration")

Programming Assignments:

When an assignment says "Write a program in C or Java that (whatever)", you must provide the

• source code,
• compile instructions,
• relevant comments within the code,
• listing and explanation of the output.

Student programming projects must adhere to the CS Honor Code.

There a several Computer Labs available for general use by IT&E students, which are located on the Fairfax campus.  For more information go to the web site at http://ite.gmu.edu/labs.

Course programming environment for lectures & assignments will be Linux: RHEL5, Fedora, CentOS, etc, and OpenSolaris 2009.06
You can set these up in a variety of ways:

• direct install,
• multi-boot install,
• as guest VMs using VirtualBox or other virtualization environments (RECOMMENDED)

Class Participation:  Contribute to the in-class discussions, participate in online discussion topics posted on Blackboard.  Some Blackboard discussion topics may be graded.

Other Notes:

• There will be lots of reading assignments along with the assumption that you have actually read them.
• Lectures will augment reading material; lecture material will be asked about on homeworks and on final exam.
• Lecture slides (from textbook authors and from instructor's additional material) will be posted on Blackboard.
• We will focus on why concepts are important and relevant to modern and future computing.
• Some material you may already know (good!  that's review!)  Some material you may have learned before and forgotten (good!  you'll be reminded)  Some material you may know more than instructor (good!  share it!)
• Turn cell phones to silent mode; if you need to make a call, quietly leave the classroom.  If you need to text, check emails, or other activity during class, do not disturb other students!
• Call or email the instructor if you anticipate being late or absent
• Credit for this course cannot be applied to a graduate degree in the Volgenau School or the BS degree in computer science.
• See the GMU Graduate Catalog note about Provisional Admission
• Personal Safety and Security: The Mason Alert system provides emergency information of various sorts.  Students can sign up for it by visiting the website https://alert.gmu.edu.  Students are also reminded that an emergency poster exists in each classroom explaining what to do in the event of crises and that further information about emergency procedures exists on http://www.gmu.edu/service/cert.
• Computer and IT Security: Visit GMU's IT http://itu.gmu.edu/security/  and  computer security http://itu.gmu.edu/security/desktopsecurity/ web sites regularly.  Norton AntiVirus Software is free to download for all GMU students/faculty/staff.
• You are not penguins!

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