CSCE 230: Computer Organization, Spring 2010

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

11:00-12:15 PM, Tu-Th, Avery Hall, Room 119

Quick Links: Web Handin Scores Distribution  UNL BlackBoard

News & Announcements

May 4: Good luck with the final today! As you enjoy the freedom from worrying about processors, caches, and critical paths, here is a mathematical puzzle you might consider when you have nothing better to do.

May 3: Thanks to Keith luchtel for bringing to my attention this interesting recent article in the Forbes magazine by Bill Dally of NV
January 13: A bit more about UCARE from an invitation celebrating its 10th anniversary: "Over the past 10 years, UCARE has supported more than 2000 students, and more than 800 faculty have participated in the program. 75-78% of UCARE students go on to graduate or professional school and 95% of all UNL students who receive nationally competitive scholarships have been involved in UCARE.

February 9: The TAs and I will be available on the following weekly schedule at the SRC to answer your questions; if you signed up to help or be helped, you might consider synchronizing your meeting times with this schedule:

Tuesday: 1-2 pm:    Sharad Seth
Wednesday: 10:30-11:30 am:    Scott Robinson
Thursday: 1-3 pm:    John Tooker  

Instructor:  Sharad C. Seth, Avery Hall, Room 359

Phone: 472-5003
Email: seth at cse dot unl dot edu
Office Hours:  1:00-2:00 pm Tuesdays @SRC and Thursdays @AvH 359 (send email to see me, otherwise)

Teaching Assistant: John Tooker

John is responsible for the 230 recitation and 230 lab sessions and may provide help with grading for the course.

Email: jtooker at gmail dot com
Office Hours: @SRC, 1:00-3:00 pm Thursdays (by appointment, otherwise)

Teaching Assistant: Scott Robinson

Scott will help with grading for the lab  and the course.

Email: s dot w dot robinson at gmail dot com
Office Hours: @SRC, 10:30-11:30 am Wednesdays

Required Text Book: Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Fourth Edition, by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, Morgan Kaufmann 2009, ISBN: 978-0-12-374493-7 (pbk).

Important: The fourth edition is a substantial revision of the third edition therefore beware that buying the third edition will be to your disadvantage. The second and earlier editions are  even more outdated and  not recommended. Here is a link to the Companion Website for the textbook.

Syllabus: Often, answers to your questions about grading etc. can be  found in the syllabus, therefore make it a habit of  reviewing it from time to time


Tentative Course Schedule

Lecture Schedule

Week of Tuesday Thursday
Topics
Assignment Topics
Assignment
1/11 First-day administrivia, Chapter 1 - Part 1
(Computer Abstractions and Technology - v1)
Read Sections 1.1-1.4; Test yourself on prerequisite
preparation
and peruse web sources for missing background;
ask questions during recitation on Thursday. After you try the practice
problems, you may check the solutions here.
Computer abstractions and technology
Prerequisite - check in
Chapter I - Part 2 (Performance)
Read Sections 1.5-1.8;
Try Ex. 1.3 and 1.5 on performance
1/18 Prerequisite Test (30 minutes), Chapter I - Part 2 (Performance)
Summary
Review the slides for Chapter 1 - Part 3 (Technology Trends) for the next class.
I intend to go over this material quickly in the next class.
Chapter 2 - Part 1 (Introduction to MIPS Assembly Language) for updated version, see below.

Summaries: Background and lecture summary
Review Ch. 1 and the end-chapter
problems on Sections 1.4  through 1.8. There will be a 15" quiz on this material next week.
Homework 1 (Ch. 1) Due 1/27/2010 before class
1/25 (Lecture by John Tooker)
Chapter 2 - Part 2 (MIPS instructions for data transfer and program control)
Review Sections 2.3, 2.7, apply the concepts to Lab 3 assignment. Endian-ness (byte order) further explained (see updated Chapter 2 Part 1 overheads)
Quiz on Chapter 1 (15 minutes) based on Homework 1 problems
Chapter 2 - Part 3 (Procedure calls in MIPS)
Review Section 2.8, apply the concepts to Labs 3 and 4. There will be an in-class test on Chapter 2 during the week after next.
2/1 Quick review of Chapter 2 - Part 2
Chapter 2 - Part 3 (Procedure calls in MIPS). Here is a link to the example recursive procedure we will discuss in class today. This procedure uses simplified stack frames. This version  of the procedure follows MIPS stack frame conventions described in Section B.6 but otherwise uses identical logic.
Homework 2 (Ch. 2) Due 2/9/2010 before class (you may use web handin to submit, otherwise bring hard copy to the class).
There will be an in-class test, Thursday, 2/11, on Chapter 2 (about 35 minutes) with problems related to this homework and prelab problems in 230L on MIPS assembly language.
Read Appendix B.6 (pp. B-22 to B-33) on procedure call conventions explained by two examples.
1. Recursive procedures (continued from the last class)
2. Chapter 2 Part 4 (Synchronization instructions in MIPS)
3. A summary of MIPS assembly language (Read it yourself)


2/8 Chapter 3 (Arithmetic for Computers) Part 1
Summary
1. Review signed number representation from web sources (here is a link to a Wikipedia entry)
2. Review Sections 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4. Section 3.3 will be particularly useful to you for your next lab assignment.
3. Test your understanding of Ch. 3 material by trying Ex. 3.3, 3.4, and 3.7.
Test on Chapter 2 (35 minutes)
Chapter 3 (Arithmetic for Computers) Part 1 (updated)
2/15 Chapter 3 (Arithmetic for Computers) Part 1 (v2) To test your understanding of signed number representation and arithmetic try, e.g., Problem 3.3.  1. Quiz 2 (on Chapter 3)
2. Arithmetic for Computers Part 1 (Continued)
Homework 3 updated (Ch. 3). Due 2/25/2010, before class
2/22 Chapter 3 Part 2 (Floating Point)
Summary
The web has many good sources of information on the FP
representation and arithmetic. Here is a good starting set.
Chapter 3 Part 2 (Floating Point)-v1
Apps. C&D (Logic Design) Part 1
Examples to illustrate roundoff bits used in IEEE-754 Standard (Ex 1, Ex 2)
Make sure you are able to carry out floating-point arithmetic in a given format (e.g. IEEE-754 or NVIDIA) rounded correctly  based on the three extra bits: guard, round, and sticky. Ex. 3.13 on Homework 3 is an instance of this; another one is Ex. 3.14.
3/1 Appendix C&D Part 1: Building an ALU
Summary (Building an ALU)
Quiz 3 (on Floating-Point numbers) - Review class overheads and the following pages from the textbook: 242-258, 266-270 (Accurate Arithmetic)
Appendix C&D Part 2: Sequential logic components
The project overview document is now available here and under the Project heading below. John will distribute hard copies in the recitation today and go over it.
3/8 Midterm Test (Scope: All material covered in class until and including the class on 3/2, except Chapter 1 topics)
3/15 SPRING VACATION
322 Return of Midterm Test
Appendix C&D Part 3: RTL Design & Introduction to VHDL
Homework 4 (Apps. C & D) - due 3/30/10

1. Appendix C&D Part 3 (Updated): RTL Design & Introduction to VHDL
2. Appendix C&D Part 4: Boolean Algebra
3/29 1. Appendix C&D Part 4: Boolean Algebra (Updated)
2. Chapter 4 (Processor Design)
Scope of Test 2 Chapter 4 (Processor Design, Part 1 - updated)  Test on Apps. C&D material during the recitation on 4/1/10.
4/5 Chapter 4 (Processor Design, Part 2) Ethics assignment
4/12 Chapter 5: Memory Hierarchy, Part 1 Homework 5 (Ch. 4) - due 4/20/10 Chapter 5: Memory Hierarchy, Part 1 (updated)
4/19 Chapter 5: Memory Hierarchy, Part 2 (John Tooker substituting for me) Memory Hierarchy Exercise
4/26 Chapter 6: Input/Output Scope and Study Guide for the Final Examination Critical-path and slack analysis: Examples
FINAL EXAM, 3:30-5:30 PM, TUESDAY, MAY 4

Reference Material

MIPS Green Card
Boolean Identities

Homework

1 (Chapter 1)
2 (Chapter 2)
3 updated (Chapter 3)
4 (Apps. C & D)
Ethics assignment
5 Homework 5

Project

Overview (posted 3/4/2010)
Part 1 (due 3/25)
Part 2 (due 4/8) (Description, Zip File)
Assembler (assembler.jar, Assembler_Source_Code.zip)
Part3a (Due 4/11)
Part3b-iv
Part-v-vi
Part-Final (Due May 3, 4 pm)

Web Links


Last updated January 11, 2010