CSCE 614, Fall 2019
Computer Architecture

Professor: Daniel A. Jiménez, djimenez@tamu.edu
Office: HRBB 509D
Office Hours: By appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Luna Backes Drault, csce614@gmail.com
Office Hours Location: EABB (follow the sign to TA cubicles)
Office Hours: Fridays, 8:00am to 10:00am

Class Times: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10:20am to 11:10am in HRBB 124

Textbook: Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, Sixth Edition by John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson

Prerequisites:

Course Description:

From the Graduate Catalog:
614. Computer Architecture. (3-0). Credit 3. Reviews of von Neumann architecture and its limitations; parallel computer structures and concurrent computation; pipeline computers and vectorization methods; array processors, multiprocessor architectures and programming; dataflow computers. Prerequisite: CSCE 350/ECEN 350
From the professor:
This is a graduate level computer architecture class. We'll learn about computer architecture with an emphasis on microprocessor microarchitecture. We'll see how software and hardware cooperate to run programs, and we'll think a lot about improving computer systems.
Course Requirements: (This list of requirements is tentative and may be modified during the first or second week of class based on class size and other factors.)

Grading

Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A is ≥ 90%; B is ≥ 80%; C is ≥ 70%; D is ≥ 60%; F is < 60%.

Policy on Assignments and Tests

Late assignments are not accepted. If you have not completed an assignment by the time it is due, turn in what you have for partial credit. Make-up tests are generally not given except for university sanctioned reasons, such as religious holidays, documented illnesses, or other grave situations. You must inform the professor before missing the test.

Academic Dishonesty

Unless a programming project or problem set is specifically assigned as a group project, students are not allowed to work together on assignments. You may discuss general ideas related to the assignment, but you may not e.g. share program code or read each others writeups. Instances of such collaboration will be dealt with harshly, but the real cost comes when a student doesn't know how to answer questions on a test about issues involved in doing an assignment. In writing assignments, you may not copy or paraphrase work in whole or in part from other sources without giving proper attribution and making it clear which passages of text are from other sources. Failure to do so is considered plagiarism.

Academic Integrity Statement

"An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do."

Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor System. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the Texas A&M University community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor System. For additional information please visit: http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.

On all course work, assignments, and examinations at Texas A&M University, the following Honor Pledge shall be preprinted and signed by the student: "On my honor, as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work."