CMSC 411 Course Syllabus
Instructor
Jason Tang (just call me Jason!)
Course Information
Course Title: CMSC 411: Computer Architecture
Time & Place: Monday & Wednesday, 5:30pm –
6:45pm, Sonnheim 108/112
Prerequisites
This class has the following prerequisite:
- CMSC 313, or
- CMPE 212 and CMPE 310
Textbook
The main textbook for this course is Computer Organization and Design: ARM Edition by Patterson and Hennessy. Be sure to get the ARM edition, not the MIPS version.
Course Description
This course covers the design of complex computer systems. All parts of the computer system - arithmetic logic unit, CPU, memory, and peripherals - are discussed in detail. Topics include information representation, floating-point arithmetic, instruction set design, pipelining, memory caches, bus control and timing, input/output mechanisms, and parallel processing.
This course requires several significant programming projects that teach how CPUs are designed. Thus, students should ensure that they have had experience with the C language before taking this class.
Topics
After completion of this course, students will understand:
- Instruction Sets
- Performance Measurements
- Machine Arithmetic
- Processor Design
- Memory Systems
- I/O and Peripherals
- Parallel Processing
Grading
Your final grade will be computed from the following components:
Homework (4 each 7%) | 28% | |
Projects (2 each 11%) | 22% | |
Midterms (2 each 15%) | 30% | |
Final Exam | 20% | |
Total = | 100% |
Your final letter grade will be based on the standard formula:
0 ≤ F < 60,
60 ≤ D < 70,
70 ≤ C < 80,
80 ≤ B < 90,
90 ≤ A ≤ 100.
Curving, if any, will be determined after the final has
been graded.
Grades are given for work done during the semester; incomplete grades will only be given for medical illness or other such dire circumstances.
Attendance
You are expected to attend all classes. If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting the notes and any verbal information given during class from a fellow classmate.
Homework and Projects
Programming assignments are graded not just on correctness (producing the correct output) — neatness counts. Here neatness means that your program is well formatted (see Coding Standards and Indentation Standards), the output from your program is nicely presented, and that the logic in your program is straightforward. Sloppy code will be penalized.
If you cannot complete an assignment, you should still submit as much as possible. Partial credit will be given for reasonable effort. Late work will not be accepted.
You will be submitting your assignments electronically via the submit system. Assignments are normally due at exactly midnight, not several minutes afterwards. The deadline is strictly enforced by the submit system. Details will be explained in class before you need to submit your first assignment.
Once per semester, you may have a late submission, albeit with a 20% late penalty. Additional late submissions will not be graded and will be ignored. The deadline for late submissions is eight hours after the assignment was originally due. Email submissions directly to the instructor.
Be aware that the GL system may go down from time to time. You are given ample time to complete your programs, so system downtimes are not necessarily an excuse for late submission.
Extra Credit
Some assignments will have extra credit portions of them. Whereas you can get partial credit for regular homework assignments, extra credit portions will be held to a higher standard and will have much stricter grading criteria.
Exams
There are three exams scheduled for this class. The first midterm is on Tuesday, October 3, during normal class time. The second midterm is on Thursday, November 2, during normal class time. The final is Thursday, December 14, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Academic Integrity
When you submit your homework, project, and classwork, you are stating that the work was created by your own individual effort, or in the case of a group assignment, created solely by the effort of members of your group.
Receiving help from the instructor or from the teaching assistant does not violate this academic integrity policy.
You may also receive help from other sources. However, this help must be limited to:
- Discussions about the meaning of the assignment.
- Identifying syntax errors in your program.
- Identifying simple logic errors in your assignment.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of actions that clearly violate this academic integrity policy:
- Someone else is typing code in your program.
- You are cutting and pasting more than a single line of code (from a program that was not distributed by the instructor).
- You are looking at someone else's program while you are typing in your code.
- You receive someone else's program by email, hard copy, text message, Discord, TikTok, ...
- You make your assignment available to another student in CMSC 411 directly or indirectly by email, hard copy, text message, Discord, Snap, TikTok, ...
This policy recognizes that students can learn productively from many sources including from other students in the class. Thus, this policy allows small amounts of help but prohibits outright copying. Although, this leaves a gray area between "small amounts of help" and "outright copying", it is better that we live with some ambiguity than to have a clear-cut policy that deprives the students of productive learning opportunities. Students who have doubts about the propriety of an activity should consult the instructor.
Students who violate this academic integrity policy will receive a grade of 0 for that assignment. A second violation will also result in a reduction of one full letter grade in the student's final course grade. In the case where one student copies the program of another student, both students are considered to have violated this policy. Here, copying includes not just programs that are verbatim copies, but also programs that are substantially similar and could not have been produced independently.
Furthermore, all parties concerned will have their prior assignments checked.
Violations of this policy may be reported to the University's Academic Conduct Committee for further action. Egregious cases of cheating will be written up as a more serious infraction. In this case, you will not be allowed to drop the course. Also, a more serious infraction would appear as a permanent part of your student record and would be seen by potential employers when they ask for an official copy of your transcript.
For a more complete description of academic dishonesty, refer to the UMBC Undergraduate Student Academic Conduct Policy.
Accessibility and Disability Accommodations, Guidance and Resources
Accommodations for students with disabilities are provided for all students with a qualified disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA & ADAAA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act who request and are eligible for accommodations. The Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) is the UMBC department designated to coordinate accommodations that creates equal access for students when barriers to participation exist in University courses, programs, or activities.
If you have a documented disability and need to request academic accommodations in your courses, please refer to the SDS website at sds.umbc.edu for registration information and office procedures.
SDS email: disAbility@umbc.edu
SDS phone: 410-455-2459
If you will be using SDS approved accommodations in this class, please contact the instructor to discuss implementation of the accommodations. During remote instruction requirements due to COVID, communication and flexibility will be essential for success.
Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, and Gender Based Violence and Discrimination
UMBC Policy in addition to federal and state law (to include Title IX) prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in University programs and activities. Any student who is impacted by sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, gender-based harassment, or related retaliation should contact the University’s Title IX Coordinator to make a report and/or access support and resources. The Title IX Coordinator can be reached at titleixcoordinator@umbc.edu or 410-455-1717.
You can access support and resources even if you do not want to take any further action. You will not be forced to file a formal complaint or police report. Please be aware that the University may take action on its own if essential to protect the safety of the community.
If you are interested in making a report, please use the Online Reporting/Referral Form. Please note that, if you report anonymously, the University’s ability to respond will be limited.
Disclosure of Sexual Misconduct and Chile Abuse or Neglect
All faculty members and teaching assistants are considered Responsible Employees, per UMBC’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, and Gender Discrimination. Faculty and teaching assistants therefore required to report all known information regarding alleged conduct that may be a violation of the Policy to the Title IX Coordinator, even if a student discloses an experience that occurred before attending UMBC and/or an incident that only involves people not affiliated with UMBC. Reports are required regardless of the amount of detail provided and even in instances where support has already been offered or received.
While faculty members want to encourage you to share information related to your life experiences through discussion and written work, students should understand that faculty are required to report past and present sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, stalking, and gender discrimination that is shared with them to the Title IX Coordinator so that the University can inform students of their rights, resources, and support. While you are encouraged to do so, you are not obligated to respond to outreach conducted as a result of a report to the Title IX Coordinator.
If you need to speak with someone in confidence, who does not have an obligation to report to the Title IX Coordinator, UMBC has a number of Confidential Resources available to support you:
Retriever Integrated Health
(Main Campus): 410-455-2472; Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.; For
After-Hours Support, Call 988.
Center
for Counseling and Well-Being (Shady Grove Campus):
301-738-6273; Monday-Thursday 10:00a.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00
a.m. – 2:00
p.m. (virtual) Online
Appointment Request Form
Pastoral Counseling
via The
Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being: 410-455-6795;
i3b@umbc.edu; Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Women’s Center (open to
students of all genders): 410-455-2714; womenscenter@umbc.edu;
Monday – Thursday 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4
p.m.
Child Abuse and Neglect:
Please note that Maryland law
and UMBC
policy require that faculty report all disclosures or
suspicions of child abuse or neglect to the Department of Social
Services and/or the police even if the person who experienced the
abuse or neglect is now over 18.
In order to facilitate email communication, please observe the following guidelines for email sent to the instructor.
- Make sure that the subject line of the email message clearly identifies its content (e.g., mention CMSC 411).
- Use your UMBC email account. I really shouldn't discuss your grade with some random person on the Internet just because the sender has an email address that resembles your name.
- Use your full real name.
- Submit your program instead of attaching it to your message, unless you are submitting it late.