Computer Systems and Programming (CS 367)
Syllabus - Spring 2020

CS367 provides an introduction to the field of Systems Programming. This is an area of programming wherein the software written generally provides services to other software. Examples of Systems Programming are Operating Systems, Game Engines, Embedded Systems Programming, Industrial Automation, and Networking.

This course will prepare you for CS471 (Operating Systems), CS465 (Architecture), CS455 (Networking), and various other courses with systems level programming.

Topics for this semester will include.

• Data and Number Representation
• Machine Level Representation of Data and Programs
• Processes
• Exceptional Control Flow
• Linking and Loading
• CPU Architecture
• Virtual Memory and Caching
• Dynamic Memory Allocation

• The planned course schedule can be found on Blackboard under Schedule.

Lecture	Professor	Email	Class Time	Class Location
001	Prof. Kevin Andrea	kandrea (at) gmu (dot) edu	MW 9:00am - 10:15am	Sandbridge Hall 107
002	Prof. Kevin Andrea	kandrea (at) gmu (dot) edu	F 10:30pm - 1:10pm	Innovation Hall 132
003	Prof. Yutao Zhong	yzhong (at) gmu (dot) edu	TR 12:00pm - 1:15pm	Innovation Hall 204
004	Prof. Yutao Zhong	yzhong (at) gmu (dot) edu	TR 9:00am - 10:15am	Innovation Hall 132

Your lecture Professor will be responsible for all lecture and course material, as well as grading your quizzes and examinations.

Recitation	Recitation Time	Recitation Location
301	F 9:30am-10:20am	Innovation Hall 129
302	F 10:30am-11:20am	Innovation Hall 129
303	F 11:30am-12:20am	Innovation Hall 129
304	F 12:30pm-1:20pm	Innovation Hall 129
309	F 1:30pm-2:20pm	Innovation Hall 129
306	F 2:30pm-3:20pm	Innovation Hall 129
307	F 3:30pm-4:20pm	Innovation Hall 129
308	F 8:30am-9:20am	Engineering Building 1505

Your Recitation Instructor (GTA) will be responsible for grading both your recitation exercises and the course projects.
Their Contact Information and Office Hours will be available on Piazza (link in section 1.7).

This is a 4-credit course.

Office Hours locations and times are available on Piazza (link in section 1.7).

You may visit any Professor or GTA for questions about course material.

• For Exam and Quiz Grading Questions, see your Professor
  
• For Recitation and Project Grading Questions, see your Recitation GTA

The prerequisites are automatically and strictly enforced.

• Grade of C or better in MATH 125, and
• Grade of C or better in CS 262 (or CS 222), and
• Grade of C or better in CS 110

The CS department has identified these outcomes as ones that must be met throughout the semester.

1. Demonstrate understanding of data representation at machine level, including binary numeric encodings, data structures, and Boolean operations.
2. Demonstrate understanding of program representation at the machine level using assembly language, including control flow, procedures, and file linking.
3. Demonstrate practical techniques of system tools to understand low level behaviors of programs, including debuggers.
4. Understanding of basic CPU design including circuits, pipelining, and digital logic.
5. Demonstrate understanding memory concepts including virtual memory, caching, and dynamic memory layout.
6. Demonstrate understanding of computer processes, including its lifecycle and communications with the system.

Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective (3rd ed.). Randal Bryant and David O'Hallaron (Prentice Hall).

• You can access our textbook in the Gateway Library (JC), by using the call number QA76.5.B795 2016 .
• Note - we've updated to the third edition, which is a significant update to 64-bit throughout the text.
• Do not get the Global Edition (or Paperback Version)
  
• The sample problems are wrong and their answers are wrong. 
  
• Link to Author's Warning: Author's Errata
  
• This is one of those text books that can actually make a big difference in a pivotal course; actually read it!

Piazza Course Link: https://www.piazza.com/gmu/spring2020/cs367/home
Sign-up Link: https://www.piazza.com/gmu/spring2020/cs367


• All correspondence will go through Piazza. You can send private messages to the instructors (professors, GTA, UTA) as well as post public questions visible to all students, collaborate on responses, and tag everything by topic.
• Assignments will be posted to Blackboard.

• http://mymason.gmu.edu
• All digital work is submitted to Blackboard by the given deadlines.
• Grades are posted on Blackboard for all assignments.

• All work must compile and run on Zeus. This is the reference machine architecture and all projects will be tested and graded on the Zeus server.
• Zeus is an x86-64 Architecture server running Linux (CentOS 7.6).
• All grading occurs on this system; other systems might be more forgiving for memory errors, and you don't want to find that out with your grade!
• To access Zeus from off campus, you will need to set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
• Instructions for accessing Zeus in general, and from off campus, are in the following link.
• https://labs.vse.gmu.edu/index.php/Systems/Zeus

Weighting of Assessments:

Category	grade %	notes
Projects	36%	Four Projects (P0 - P3)
Quizzes	7%	Approximately 14 Quizzes
Recitation	7%	Participation-based
Midterm	20%
Final Exam	30%	Cumulative

Grades will be assessed on the following scale:

Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off
A+	98 %	B+	88%	C+	78%	D	60%
A	92 %	B	82%	C	72%	F	0%
A-	90 %	B-	80%	C-	70%

• You should always be able to calculate your semester grade at any point in the semester with the weightings and the scales above.
• 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.
• This is not a course that receives a magic, gigantic curve at the end. Wherever your grade is headed, that is the outcome you should expect after continued efforts.

• All project grades are normalized (your project score / project possible points) and each contribute to your final grade evenly; there aren't many of them.
• Projects are more involved than in previous classes.
• • Start your projects early. You will need extra time to design your solution before programming.
  • You will need time to design test cases for your projects as well. Test cases will not be provided.
• Projects are due at a specific time on a specific day.
• No work is accepted 48 hours after the deadline (even if you're using late-day tokens!)
• • Submit your projects early and often.
  • Do not wait until the last minute, submission may take extra time at the deadlines.
  • Always submit at least a few minutes before the deadline.
• Late work (with no late tokens left) incurs a 25% ceiling penalty each 24-hour period entered after the deadline.
  • example: one day of penalty would mean:

    RecordedGrade = min(75, Raw_Score)
    

• You begin the semester with three One-Day-Late tokens available that each add 24 hours to the deadline of a project.
  
• These are automatically applied to late work. 
  
• Any submissions after the deadline will use one of these tokens automatically.
  
• Since no work is ever accepted more than 48 hours after the official deadline, you can use at most two tokens on a project.
  
• The final project might not be allowed to be turned in late at all, to facilitate grading by the deadline.
• Code that doesn't compile will likely get a very, very low score. It specifically must compile on the zeus server.
• Turning it in on BlackBoard: You can submit your work an unlimited number of times to BlackBoard, and only the last version (within 48 hours of the posted deadline) will be graded. tokens are automatically used based on submission timestamps. You should also download your submitted attempts, and verify that you turned in a working copy and what was intended to be submitted.
  • Turning in the wrong files will likely result in a zero.
  • Backup your work! Catastrophic computer failure will not be cause for an extension.
    
  • Use a backup service such as DropBox (or any cloud service), emailing yourself, storing to a USB drive, whatever it takes.
    
  • Just don't put it in a public git repository where others can find it (this has happened before).
    
  • Every semester multiple students' computers die, are stolen, or otherwise 'lose' programs and digital work. Don't be the student who forgot to (frequently) back up your work!

• All students are registered for a recitation as well as their lecture.
• The recitation sections are mixed between the lecture sections, so you may see different students there.
• All lectures and recitations are coordinated.
• There will be work to complete either during recitation or by some short duration after recitations are complete.
• Attendance and effort are the main components of your recitation grade - this is where you practice and get the most feedback.
• Your effort will contribute to the course recitation grade. 
  
• If you show up late or do not participate, you will not get any points for that recitation.
  
• You will be given a score between 1 and 3 for each recitation submitted. This is for your feedback only, you will receive the same number of graded points regardless of how you score on the recitation itself, for any recitation in which you participate during the recitation meeting.

• There will be weekly quizzes, to bridge the gap between recitation-level work and test-level work.
  
• The quizzes will be on Blackboard. 
  

• There will be one Midterm and one Final Exam.
• They will be entirely paper and pencil - no computers, books, etc.
• • You will be allowed one handwritten page of notes.
  • You may use both the front and back of the page.
  • You will be turning the notes page in with the exam.
• All students must have their GMU identification available on testing days
• If you know you will miss a test, let your Professor know as soon as possible to coordinate an alternate time.
• • The reason for missing a test must be verified with documentation and may not be automatically granted.
• If you miss a test (without prior approval), and a valid reason is verified with documentation (ER visit, traffic accident, etc.), we may elect to allow the final exam to count the extra amount to give you a sort of do-over. This policy is not automatic, however.
• If you miss the final, there is very little I can do for you. Don't miss the final!
• • The Dean has to approve any requests to take missed final exams.
  • This is only granted for medical or other extraordinary circumstances.
• The final can 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).

• If you feel points have been incorrectly deducted, contact the grader.
• • Tests and Quizzes: Contact your Professor.
  • Recitation Scores and Projects: Contact your Recitation Instructor.
    
• If you have not initiated contact within one week of the grade being made available, it is permanent.
  
• No grade-hunting in the last couple of weeks!
• We strive to grade each student's work fairly and uniformly, often through specific test cases and grader-group-discussions, which might even be automated as part of the grading process.

• There is a limit of three graded attempts for this course.
• A Withdrawal (W) does not count as a graded attempt.
• Please see AP. 1.3.4 in the University Catalog and consult with your academic advisor if you have any questions.

• All students will abide by GMU's Honor Code.
• All work must be your own. If you are caught cheating, you and every other involved student will be turned in to the honor court.
• See the CS Honor Code Policies to understand better what constitutes cheating in the CS setting. It clarifies some scenarios that are unique to our sorts of assignments.
• Here are Prof. Snyder's thoughts about the Honor Code in a CS classroom.