CIS/CMSC 220A
Introduction to Computer Systems
Syllabus - Fall Semester 2007
TEXT:
Comer, D.E., Essentials of Computer
Architecture, Pearson Prentice Hall (2005), ISBN 0-13-149179-2
CLASS MEETINGS:
Tuesday and Thursday, 8 - 9:15 am, Scholl-223
DESCRIPTION:
Basic data representation, logic design,
memory organization, CPU organization, bus structures, assembly language, arithmetic
calculation, addressing modes, data organization, subprogram mechanisms, integer
and floating point representations, instruction representation, pipelining, microprogramming,
input and output, and interrupts. Fall. IAI CS 922. Prerequisite: CIS-C200 or
CMSC-C200.
GOALS:
After successfully completing this
course, students will evidence understanding of:
- basic concepts of computer architecture
- techniques for representation
of data
- basic concepts of assembly language
programming
- procedure call and return mechanisms
- input/output processing, including
interrupt handling
The secondary goal is to give students
exposure to topics that will be covered in detail in subsequent courses, such
as:
- data communication and networking
- application development
- operating systems
- file management
IDEA OBJECTIVES:
Near the end of the term, students will
be asked to evaluate this course using the IDEA survey tool. The survey is designed
to measure achievement of the following objectives:
- Gaining factual knowledge (terminology,
classification, methods, trends)
- Learning to apply course material
(to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions)
- Developing specific skills, competencies,
and points of view needed by professionals in the field most closely related
to this course
- Acquiring an interest in learning
more by asking questions and seeking answers
WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSE:
The Writing Program at Benedictine
University subscribes to the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) philosophy:
writing is central to students' education and future success and belongs to
every discipline. The program requires two writing-intensive (WI ) courses of
all incoming students: one in the Humanities Cultural Heritage sequence (HUMN
250) and one in the major. WI courses are defined as not only requiring substantial
writing, but as providing instruction in writing as well. One of the distinctive
features of WI courses is a focus on writing process, including at least one
draft critiqued by either instructor or peers. The course will also pay attention
to grammar, style, structure, and higher order analytical skills, as well as
other elements of good writing in the discipline.
CIS/CMSC 220 serves as the required writing-intensive course for Computer Information
Systems and Computer Science students.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Homework assignments, article reviews,
technology project, system project, two hour exams, and final exam.
GRADING:
| Requirement |
Point
Value
|
| Textbook problems
and other homework assignments |
100
|
| Article Reviews |
50
|
| Technology Project |
100
|
| System Project
Paper |
100
|
| System Project
Presentation |
50
|
| Test 1 |
100
|
| Test 2 |
100
|
| Final Exam |
200
|
|
A
|
720-800
points
|
|
B
|
640-719
points
|
|
C
|
560-639
points
|
|
D
|
480-559
points
|
|
F
|
0-479 points
|
Note: It
is the responsibility of any student who is unsure of the grading scale to ask
the instructor for clarification.
ARTICLE
REVIEWS:
The Article Reviews are intended
to identify additional resources (web sites, industry/IT/trade publications,
academic journals, …) on computer organization and architecture topics and
update what we know about computer systems. Many trade publications and newspapers
are available on the www or in the Benedictine University Library. You will
submit five article reviews relating to course material as follows:
| Topic |
Article Due Date |
| Data Representation |
13 September |
| CISC Processors |
2 October |
| Memory Technolgoies |
23 October |
| Storage Technologies |
13 November |
| I/O Technologies |
4 December |
- Find relevant and recent articles,
generally not more than one-year old.
- Submit a photocopy of the published
article or printed copy from the Web, as appropriate.
- Write a summary and critique,
outlining how and why the article is appropriate to the course material and
your own assessment as to the quality of the article (limit two pages of single-spaced
text, 12-point Times Roman or Arial font, 1-inch margins).
- Discuss the article in a two-minute
oral summary during class, describing how the information contained in the
article furthers knowledge about computer systems.
TECHNOLOGY
PROJECT:
The goal of this assignment is to
get some practice in investigating a new or emerging hardware or software technology.
More specifically, the objectives are to:
- Gain a fundamental understanding
of the technology.
- Locate sources of information
on the technology.
- Assimilate the information.
- Evaluate the information given
the requirements of the business problem.
- Communicate findings in written
and oral form.
Guidelines for the Technology Project
are posted on the Blackboard course site.
SYSTEMS
PROJECT:
In this assignment, the goal is to
describe a real, functioning computer system. Find an organization (a small
company, a sole proprietorship, a department within a larger organization, etc.)
and one or more individuals at the organization that will be willing to spend
some time discussing their computer system. The description should include identifying
the system hardware, operating system software, and primary applications software.
The emphasis should be on how the hardware and software system components interact
to produce a functioning system addressing its business objectives.
You must:
- submit the topic, that is, your
setting, a one or two-sentence description of the organization, and the scope
of the computer system to be described
- submit a preliminary outline,
including a preliminary bibliography (comments will be given)
- present findings in written form
(at least eight pages)
- presents findings in an in-class
presentation (details will be given in class)
Guidelines for the System Project
are posted on the Blackboard course site.
TOPICAL OUTLINE:
| 1. Introduction
and Overview |
| 2. Basics |
|
a.
|
Fundamentals of
Digital Logic |
|
b.
|
Data and program
Representation |
| 3. Processors |
|
a.
|
Variety of Processors
and Computational Engines |
|
b.
|
Processor Types
and Instruction Sets |
|
c.
|
Operand Addressing
and Instruction Representation |
|
d.
|
CPUs |
|
e.
|
Assembly Language |
| 4. Memories |
|
a.
|
Memory and Storage |
|
b.
|
Physical Memory
and Physical Addressing |
|
c.
|
Virtual Memory
and Virtual Addressing |
|
d.
|
Caches and Caching |
| 5. Input/Output |
|
a.
|
I/O Concepts and
Terminology |
|
b.
|
Buses and Bus Architectures |
|
c.
|
Programmed and
Interrupt-Driven I/O |
|
d.
|
A Programmer's View of I/O
|
| 6. Advanced Topics |
|
a.
|
Parallelism |
|
b.
|
Pipelining |
|
c.
|
Performance |
|
d.
|
Architecture Examples
and Hierarchy |
TEST SCHEDULE:
| |
Test
1 - Thursday, 4 October |
| |
Test
2 - Thursday, 8 November |
|
Final
Exam - Thursday, 13 December, 8:00 - 10:00 am |
All exams will be in class, starting at the beginning of the class period. The
final exam must be taken during the time scheduled by the Registrar as announced
in the course schedule booklet and noted above. There will be no make up exams,
except in documented emergencies. Missed exams will result in a grade of zero.
You are expected to contact the instructor as soon as possible in case of an
emergency, so that alternate arrangements can be made. Do not wait until the next
scheduled class session.
TECHNOLOGY:
This course will require students
to use technology in at least the following ways:
- Access course materials from the
Blackboard course management system.
- Use word processing for assignments
(where practical).
- Send and receive e-mail as necessary
for course communication.
COMPUTER SYSTEMS:
This course uses the Blackboard course
management system to facilitate distribution of various course materials. Access
the Blackboard course site using a standard Web browser at webctce6.ben.edu:8080.
Students may use personal PCs from campus residence halls or off-campus locations
and student computer laboratory PCs located in Scholl 218, in 228 Kindlon, and
in many open areas throughout campus.
Access to the university computer network
and to the university e-mail system is gained through the use of Login IDs. Each
person's Login ID is unique and access is controlled by a password of your choosing.
Go to www.ben.edu/it/support.asp
for instructions on obtaining your login IDs and e-mail address and to download
a personal copy of the Technology Information Packet for Students (T.I.P.S.) document.
E-mail is excellent way to interact
with me about any class-related information, as long as you check it frequently
for responses. My e-mail address is listed above.
CLASS ATTENDANCE:
Students are expected to attend each
class meeting as class participation is an essential ingredient for success in
the course. Students are responsible
for all material covered in class, even when absent.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignments are due on the date announced
at the time assignments are made. Late assignments will be penalized 20% of
the point value for the assignment for each calendar day by which the assignment
is overdue.
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
The search for truth and the dissemination
of knowledge are the central missions of a university. Benedictine University
pursues these missions in an environment guided by our Roman Catholic tradition
and our Benedictine heritage. Integrity and honesty are therefore expected of
all members of the University community, including students, faculty members,
administration, and staff. Actions such as cheating, plagiarism, collusion, fabrication,
forgery, falsification, destruction, multiple submission, solicitation, and misrepresentation,
are violations of these expectations and constitute unacceptable behavior in the
University community. The penalties for such actions can range from a private
verbal warning, all the way to expulsion from the University. The University's
Academic Honesty Policy is available at www.ben.edu/ahp
and students are expected to read it.
Academic honesty and integrity will
be upheld in this course. Plagiarism or academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
My responsibility is to ensure that the academic work in this course is challenging,
relevant, useful, fair and unambiguous. Your responsibility is to perform this
work to the best of your ability. Collaboration is allowed and encouraged only
on homework assignments, as discussion among peers is a useful tool for understanding
the concepts. Collaboration on exams and in writing the programs for the programming
assignments is not acceptable, unless otherwise specified. However, discussions
among peers on program understanding and design are desirable to help clarify
the requirements of a particular assignment. Sometimes an algorithm used in a
program is taken from some other source than your own creativity. That source
should be documented in the program. The bottom line is that I expect that all
material submitted for grading represents the efforts of the student submitting
the work. I will follow up on any suspected incidents of academic dishonesty.
If academic dishonesty is found to exist, the first offense will result in zero
credit for the exam or assignment. The second offense will result in an F grade
for the course.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:
The instructor’s goal is to create and maintain a classroom environment
that is conducive to learning. You must do your part to help accomplish this
goal by adhering to certain appropriate behaviors. These include: arriving to
class on time, being prepared for class, being present for the entire class
period, turning off cell phones, and using other electronic devices only when
appropriate.
OTHER INFORMATION:
If you have a documented learning, psychological,
or physical disability, you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations
or services. To request accommodations or services, please contact Tina Sonderby
in the Academic Resource Center, 249 Kindlon Hall, 630-829-6512. All students
are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. The University will not
waive any essential skill or requirement of a course or degree program.
ACADEMIC ACCOMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS
OBLIGATIONS (AAFRO):
A student whose religious obligation
conflicts with a course requirement may request an academic accommodation from
the instructor. Students must make such requests in writing by the end of the
first week of the class.
VARIOUS BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY POLICIES:
- The last day to withdraw from
courses without penalty this semester is Sunday, 18
November.
- Students who are not enrolled
in this class cannot attend the class and cannot receive credit for the course.
- Students cannot submit additional
work after grades have been submitted to alter their grade.
- Students on academic probation
are not eligible for a grade of Incomplete.
RESPONSIBILITY OF STUDENT:
If you are unsure of anything specified
in this syllabus, it is your responsibility to ask the instructor for clarification.
OFFICE HOURS:
Scholl Hall 156 except as noted
| Monday
|
2 -
4 pm (in Scholl-215) |
| Tuesday
|
5 - 6:15 pm |
Wednesday
|
10 - 11 am |
| Thursday
|
10
- 11 am |
| Friday
|
10 - 11 am |
|
|
Other times are available by
appointment. Contact me at 630-829-6561. Please leave a voice mail message
and phone number where you can be reached.
|
Top of page
Back to Dr. Meeker's Home Page
These pages were last updated
on
14 August, 2007
by R. Meeker.