CS465 - 001: Computer Systems Architecture (Fall
2022)
1 Course Basics
Meeting Time and Location:
- Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-2:45pm,
Music/Theater Building 1005
Instructor: Dr. Yutao Zhong
- Email: yzhong (at) gmu (dot) edu
- Office: ENGR 4433
GTA: Mr.
Sina Yari-karin
- Email: syarikar (at) gmu (dot) edu
- Office: ENGR 4456, check piazza for office hour time
Course Outcomes:
- Be able to analyze and compare performance characteristics of
a computer.
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of instruction set
architectures; be able to show how instructions are represented
at both the machine level and in the context of a symbolic
assembler; be able to read and write small assembly programs.
- Be able to manipulate low-level data representations and
understand the implementation of computer arithmetic operations.
- Be able to explain how an instruction is executed; be able to
explain the role of datapath and control; be able to explain
pipelining and the relevant improvement technologies.
- Be able to understand the effect and implementation of memory
hierarchy, in particular, the role of cache and virtual memory.
- Become familiar with advanced topics and the latest evolvement
in computer architecture.
Prerequisite:
C or better in CS 367.
Textbook:
- Required - Computer Organization and Design: the
Hardware/Software Interface, 5th edition, John L. Hennessy and
David A. Patterson, Morgan Kaufmann, 2014. Companion
Material
Other Useful Resources:
- Blackboard:
Course schedule, announcements, lecture slides, assignments,
and quizzes. Grades release and exercises submission. We
will use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra for lectures and office
hours.
- Piazza: Discussion forum. Follow the link on Blackboard
to sign up.
- Gradescope: Homework submission. Link will be available
from Blackboard.
2 Grading
Category
|
Percent
|
Homeworks
|
40%
|
Quizzes
|
10%
|
Exercises
|
5%
|
Midterm
|
20%
|
Final exam
|
25%
|
2.1 Assessment
Grade cutoff percentages (Cutoffs will be applied without
rounding):
- A+ (>= 98.0%) A (>= 92.0%) A– (>= 90.0%)
- B+ (>= 87.0%) B (>= 81.0%) B– (>= 79.0%)
- C+ (>= 76.0%) C (>= 70.0%) C– (>= 68.0%)
- D (>= 60.0%)
- F (< 60.0%)
2.2 Homework
- Homework assignments might require some programming.
- Homework assignments must be done on an individual basis
unless stated otherwise.
- All assignment grades are normalized and each contributes to
your final grade evenly.
- Incorrect/broken submissions:
- Turning in the wrong files or corrupted files will likely
result in a zero.
- Code that doesn't compile/run will likely get a very low
score.
- If you turn in the wrong files, the ONLY way you MIGHT
receive credit is by showing your professor a backup where the
modified date on the files is outside of
your control. Modified dates on personal computers
and/or public computers are NEVER accepted as proof
of work. Backups which WILL ALWAYS be considered are: backup
copy on zeus; prior submissions to Gradescope/Blackboard; or
emails to your Professor/GTA. Backups which MIGHT be accepted
include: emails from your GMU email to yourself, uploading to
certain backup services (such as OneDrive or a private
GitHub repo), and uploads to the discussion forum.
- Late Policy:
- Homework can be turned in at most 24 hours late, no
exceptions.
- Submitting an assignment late
incurs a 25% ceiling penalty so that RecordedGrade =
min(75%, RawGrade).
- Each student gets two "Emergency Day" tokens, which
are automatically used by late submissions to avoid
the 25% penalty. Only one token can be applied to each
assignment.
- Unused emergency-tokens will be worth 0.25% bonus to a
student's overall grade at the semester's end.
- Blackboard/Gradescope being unavailable is not an excuse for
turning in a late assignment; in the rare situation that the
website is somehow unavailable or giving the student an error,
the student MUST email their submission to their Professor/GTA
before the deadline, otherwise it will be considered late.
- Catastrophic computer failure will not be cause for an
extension. Use a backup service such as OneDrive (or any cloud
service), emailing yourself, making multiple rounds of
submissions to Blackboard/Gradescope, whatever it takes.
2.3 Quizzes
- There will be weekly online quizzes on Blackboard for most of
the weeks.
- The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
- Late Policy: no late
submission accepted for quizzes.
2.4 Exercises
- There will be in-class exercises and grading will be based on
participation.
- The lowest exercise grade will be dropped.
- Late Policy: no late
submission accepted for exercises.
2.5 Exams
- Exams are closed book unless specified otherwise by the
instructor. They will be entirely paper and pencil - no
computers.
- All students must have their GMU identification available on
testing days.
- Early or Late/Makeup Exams require exceptional circumstances
(as judged by the professor) and must be arranged in advance.
Vacation plans are not exceptional circumstances.
-
Missing an exam due for any non-university-accepted reason (such
as not paying attention to when the exam is), will result in a
zero.
- If you miss an exam due to a university-accepted excused
absence (such as an illness or car accident the day and time of
the exam), you must notify your professor within 24 hours of
your absence to make arrangements for a makeup, and bring
approved documentation with you when you take the make-up exam.
Failure to follow either of these policies will result in a
zero.
-
We may elect to replace a missed midterm with some (or all) of
the final exam grade rather than offering a makeup exam.
- We reserve the right to give oral makeup exams in lieu of
written.
- The final will not be given early. You are starting the course
with knowledge of the schedule (see GMU's Final Exam Calendar
for the latest schedule, updated as weather events require).
2.6 Discussion Board
- Students are encouraged to use the discussion board, Piazza,
to ask and answer questions. Link/access code to
Piazza will be available on Blackboard.
- No sharing answers to homework assignments on the discussion
board.
- Under no circumstances should your code of assignments be
posted publicly to the discussion board. Students can post
questions and code privately, although the instructor reserves
the right to make any post public, so that other students can
see the responses.
2.7 Other
- Contested Grades: Contesting of grades on any/all
submissions must be requested within one week of receiving the
grade. No grade changes will be considered subsequent to that
deadline.
- There will be no make-up or extra-credit assignments at the
end of the semester; your grade should be a measure of your
semester-long progress.
- IN (Incomplete) policy as indicated in the catalog will be
strictly adhered to. You must provide the necessary back-up
documentation (e.g. medical certificate) for your application to
be considered favorably. In all circumstances, the written
request, with all the back up documentation, must be received
before the final exam week.
3 University and Departmental Policies
3.1 Honor Code
- All students are expected to abide by the GMU Honor Code.
This policy is rigorously enforced. The computer science
department has an CS Honor Code
Policies that you are subject to particularly for our
course. Cheating on any assignment will be
prosecuted and result in a notification of the Honor Committee
as outlined in the GMU Honor Code. Sharing,
collaboration, or looking at any code, algorithm, or solutions
of assignments that is not your own (or outside the group for
group assignments), including resources from Internet, is
considered cheating.
- We take the honor code quite seriously. Any attempts at
copying or sharing code, algorithms, or other violations of the
honor code simply will not be tolerated. We use automated
software to flag suspicious cases, and then review them to find
the cases that must be submitted to the Office of Academic
Integrity. The penalty for cheating will always be far worse
than a zero grade, to ensure it's not worth taking the chance. Confirmed
cases of cheating almost always translate into course failure.
3.2 Privacy
- All course materials posted to Blackboard or other course
sites are private; by federal law, any materials that identify
specific students (via their name, voice, or image) must not
be shared with anyone not enrolled in this class.
- Video recordings of class meetings that include audio or
visual information from other students are private and must
not be shared.
- Live Video Conference Meetings (e.g. Collaborate or Zoom)
that include audio or visual information from other students
must be viewed privately and not shared with others.
3.3 Non-Discrimination and
Inclusiveness
- We are committed to providing an educational environment
free from any discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status,
sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age,
marital status, pregnancy status, or genetic information.
- Gender identity and pronoun use: If you wish, please share
your name and gender pronouns with us and we will attempt use
them to address you in class and via email. You can address
any professor as "Prof. [LAST NAME]" in email and verbally if
you aren't sure of their personal preferences.
3.4 Sexual Harassment, Sexual
Misconduct, and Interpersonal Violence
- All faculty members are designated "Responsible Employees",
and are required to report all disclosures of sexual assault,
interpersonal violence, and stalking to Mason’s Title IX
Coordinator per university policy 1412. If you wish to speak
with someone confidentially, please contact the Student Support
and Advocacy Center (703-380-1434) or Counseling and
Psychological Services (703-993-2380). You may also seek
assistance from Mason’s Title IX Coordinator (703-993-8730;
titleix@gmu.edu).
4 Campus Resources
4.1 Disability Services
- Due to the size of the class, individual professors and
graders cannot support students with injuries or disabilities
on an ad-hoc basis. We ask that all accommodations for such
conditions be arranged through GMU's Office of
Disability Services.
- Students with a physical or learning disability which is already
documented with the Office of Disability Services)
should speak with the professor ASAP to discuss their approved
accommodations. Even if you don't know whether you plan on
utilizing the accommodations for any assignment/test, you need
to make sure you and your professor are working together from
the beginning of the semester to ensure your success in the
class.
- Students with a physical or learning disability who have not
yet registered with the Office of Disability Services
should register with that office as soon as possible. Even if
you don't know whether you'll need to utilize the
accommodations, it's in your best interest to prepare ahead of
time and get your condition documented as accommodations are
not retroactive. They have a quick and easy registration
process. All you need is documentation for your condition.
- The Office of
Disability Services also handles services for many
temporary disabilities (for example, if you break your
arm, they can arrange note taking services). Please contact
them if you discover any sudden impairment that affects your
ability to function in class and/or on your projects. They
have a quick and easy registration process. All you need is
documentation for your condition.
4.2 Other Resources