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Coursebook Description: Introduction to the organization and architecture of computer systems, including aspects of digital logic, data representation, assembly level organization, memory systems and processor architectures.
Prerequisites: CSCI 1300 and MATH 1660.
3.0 credit hours.

Class Information:

Instructor: Prof. Jason Fritts

Textbook:: zyBooks interactive edition of "Computer Organization and Design (ARM edition)", David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessey.

Grading:: Final grades are based on a class curve.; Late Policy: There is a 10% penalty for the first weekday late. There is a 25% penalty for up to one week late. Assignments later than one week late may not be accepted.; Regrade Policy: All requests to have an assignment/exam re-graded must be made within one week of receipt of the grade for the assignment/exam. No regrade requests will be accepted after one week.; Note: The grading system may be adjusted as needed at the discretion of the instructor.

Topics/Course Outline:

Student Learning Outcomes:

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

Perform arithmetic in arbitrary number systems (binary, octal, hex, etc.)
Utilize signed integer, unsigned integer, and floating point representations as appropriate
Understand how software executes on the processor hardware so as to be able to write programs in both assembly and a higher-level language, and convert between the two
Identify active processor components in the execution of an instruction and discern the intermediate values produced in a processor
Understand the organization and tradeoffs in the various levels of the memory heirarchy, and be able to demonstrate the workings of a processor cache
Contrast sequential and pipelined processor execution, associated benefits and hazards, and be able to complete a pipelined datapath analysis

Face Mask Policy:: As directed by the university's Face Mask policy, face masks will be required in this class any time a University-level face mask requirement is in effect.

Attendance Policy:

While class attendance is not mandatory, attendance is strongly encouraged. Successful students attend all or mostly all class sessions. This is true in my experience and has been demonstrated in large scale studies as well. In that study, even students who attended nine out of ten class periods had measurably lower class performance than those who attended all classes.

Note, some class sessions will require students' attendance and participation, as per the Class Participation portion of the course grading. While the instructor will commonly inform students of these participatory sessions in advance, the instructor may hold these sessions without any prior forewarning.

The instructor will attempt to record most class sessions with Zoom, both because students may need to attend remotely due to COVID illness or quarantine and also so students can re-visit class sessions later outside of class. However, Zoom is not being used for hybrid in-person and online teaching. Less emphasis will be given to Zoom interactions (and much more to in-class interactions), so students should plan on attending class in-person, excepting COVID illness or quarantine.

As indicated above, this course will be following the university-mandated guidelines for attendance and participation for COVID related illnesses and/or quarantines. Students unable to attend in-person should inform the instructor so that assistance can be provided for remote attendance and/or providing assistance and course extensions as appropriate.

Academic Integrity:

Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic endeavors. Students are expected to adhere to such conduct, as defined in the university's Academic Integrity policy.

In particular with regards to this class:

Students are NOT allowed to use code or solutions from outside sources (e.g. other students, the Internet, other textbooks, etc.) unless approved or otherwise noted.
Students ARE allowed to use tutorials, information, or instructional materials from outside sources (e.g. the Internet, other textbooks, etc.) that cover the process for solving the problem, provided they do note give the solution to an assignment or exam problem.
Cooperation on assignments is allowed, even encouraged, provided that:
- students only discuss the problem, not the solution
- students only guide each other in the PROCESS of solving the problem, and each student TURNS IN THEIR OWN ANSWER
- students MUST indicate who they collaborated with when submitting their assignment

Disability Accomodations:: For students who may need academic accomodations for disabilities, the instructor will be happy to accommodate those needs, provided the student appropriately registers with Disability Services and informs the instructor of the needed accommodations, as stated in the university's Disability Accomodations statement.

Title IX:: Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment. We encourage you to report any misconduct to the instructor or university, as noted in the university's Title IX statement.

Student Success:

Please contact the instructor if you need additional support for the course. We offer a variety of support outside of the classroom, ranging from:

instructor office hours (or via scheduled appointments, as needed),
tutoring through the computer science department, as described here,
university-level resources available for enhancing student success through the Student Success Center, and/or providing student counseling at the University Counseling Center.

Email:
Website:	http://cs.slu.edu/~fritts
Office:	ISE 234A
Office phone:	977-7001
Office hours:

Midterm Exam:	15%
Final Exam:	25%
Assignments (6-8):	40%
zyBooks Activities:	15%
Class Participation:	5%

Time:
Location:
Website:

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