CS 3853/3851, Spring 2010
Computer Architecture

Professor: Daniel A. Jiménez, dj@cs.utsa.edu
Office: SB 4.01.58
Office Hours: By appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Khalid Z. Bijon, kbijon@cs.utsa.edu
Office: Office hours will be held in Main Lab.
Office Hours: To be decided.

Class Times:
CS 3853: Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:00pm to 5:15pm, BB 3.02.06
CS 3851: Mondays, 5:30pm to 6:20pm, SB 3.01.04

Textbook: Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, Fourth Edition by John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson, ISBN 978-0-12-370490-0

Prerequisites:

Course Description:

From the Undergraduate Catalog: Instruction set architecture, datapath and control unit design, advanced computer arithmetic, pipelining, memory hierarchy and I/O subsystem, performance issues. (Formerly CS 4753. Credit cannot be earned for both CS 3853 and CS 4753.)
From the professor: 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.)

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 not consult solutions manuals or any other source outside your textbook or resources explicitly listed by the professor for the homeworks. 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. Students found engaging in any form of academic dishonesty will be penalized harshly up to and including receiving an F in the course, plus whatever other penalty is applied by UTSA's office of Student Judicial Affairs.

Course and University Policy

Class attendance is required to receive credit for participation. Students who are observing a religious holy day or are participating in a University-sanctioned event may be excused, when prior notice is given to the instructor.

This syllabus is provided for informational purposes regarding the anticipated course content and schedule of this course. It is based upon the most recent information available on the date of its issuance and is as accurate and complete as possible. The instructor reserves the right to make any changes deemed necessary and/or appropriate. The instructor will make his or her best efforts to communicate any changes in the syllabus in a timely manner. Students are responsible for being aware of these changes.

University wide policies and services regarding disabilities may be found online at: http://www.utsa.edu/disability/student s.htm.

You are also responsible for knowing UTSA's policies regarding academic dishonesty. Plagiarism (see Section 203) will not be accepted. If you are in doubt be sure to make a proper citation to the author.

The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a course of action designed to enhance student learning and is a required component of the accreditation process conducted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The UTSA QEP Quantitative Scholarship: From Literacy to Mastery provides you with the skills needed to evaluate and interpret data, understand risks and benefits, and make informed decisions in your personal and professional lives. The plan focuses on integrating quantitative reasoning and communication skills in existing courses across the undergraduate curriculum.

The SACS team will visit UTSA during March 23-25, 2010 to review the reaccreditation plan. All UTSA students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to learn more about the QEP by visiting the website www.utsa.edu/qep.

Note: (a) Students are not automatically dropped from a class if they stop attending the class. (b) University policy does not permit visitors in a class. (c) University policy does not permit faculty or office staff to report grades by telephone, fax, or email.