Computer Organization and Architecture

Dhofar University

School of Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Computer Organization and Architecture – Course Guide

EECE 320

1. Course Details:

Course Title:	Computer Organization and Architecture
Level	Seniors
Course Reference	EECE 320
Lectures	SMW 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
Room	Q 109
Laboratory	TBA
Office Hours	TBA
Student Study Hours Per Week	9
Contact Hours Per Week	3
Private Study Hours Per Week	6
Year and Semester	2007 - 2008 (Spring)
Lecturer	Dr. I. Damaj
Contact Details	i_damaj[@]du.edu.om - Remove the brackets [ ]
Summary of Assessment Method	2 Quizzes, Assignments, Project, and a Final

Textbook	David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design: the Hardware/Software Interface, Third Edition, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2004.

References	Computer Architecture: From Microprocessors to Supercomputers, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-515455-X Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, Third Edition, Hennessy and Patterson, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers (Elsevier), 2002. Carl Hamacher, Zvonko Vranesic, and Safwat Zaky, Computer Organization, Fifth Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2002. J. Bhasker, A VHDL Primer, Third Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1999. Advanced Computer Architecture: Parallelism, Scalability, and Programmability. K. Hwang, McGraw-Hill Computer Science Series, 1993. Introduction to Parallel Processing: Algorithms and Architectures. Behrooz Parhami, Plenum 1999. D. Sima, T. Fountain, P. Kacsuk, "Advanced Computer Architectures: A Design Space Approach", Addison Wesley, 1997.
Software Packages	C++/Visual C++, SPIM Simulator, and VHDL.

2. Aims of the Course:

This course covers the organization of modern computer systems. In addition to learning how to program computers at the assembly level, students learn how to design the main components of a von Neumann computer system, including its instruction set architecture, datapath, control unit, memory system, input/output interfaces, and system buses. To consolidate the material presented in class, students work on assembly-language programming and datapath design assignments, and a major computer interfacing project.

3. Short Description:

A course on the organization of modern computer systems. Basic hardware and software components of von Neumann computers. Machine instruction sets and assembly language programming. Fixed- and floating-point computer arithmetic. Processor datapath and control unit design. Instruction pipelining. The memory system. Input/output interfacing techniques. System buses.

4. Schedule:

Details:	Topic	Chap. No.	Assessment
Weeks 1 – 2	Computer Abstractions: Basic Organization of Computer Systems (ISA, Datapath, Control, Memory, I/O, Operating Systems, Compilers, Assemblers, Linkers, Loaders). A Brief History of Computers	1
Weeks 3 – 5	Machine Instructions and Programs: Part I: Instruction Sets and Machine Programming Models Part II: Memory Locations, Addresses, and Operations Part III: Assembly Language Programming (MIPS) Part IV: The MIPS Instruction Set Architecture	2	Assignment
Weeks 6 – 8	Arithmetic for Computers: Part I: Fixed-Point Arithmetic and Numerical Precision Part II: Floating-Point Arithmetic and the IEEE-754 Standard Part III: Floating-Point Operations: addition, multiplication, and division	3
Weeks 9 – 13	The Processor: Part I: Execution Performance Part II: Introduction to Datapath Part III: Datapath and Control Unit Design	4	Quiz I Project Proposal
Week 14	Memory Hierarchy: Part I: The Memory Hierarchy Part II: Cache Memory Part III: Virtual Memory	6	Quiz II
Week 15	Computer Interfacing: Part I: Introduction - Buses and I/O Part II: Bus Arbitration	7	Project Due

5. Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the basic organization of modern computer systems.

Identify the hardware components of a computer system.

Explain how machine instructions and the data they operate on are represented, stored, and executed.

Explain the roles of the operating system, compiler, assembler, loader, and linker.

Identify key milestones in the evolution of computer systems.

2. Understand how computer programs are organized, stored, and executed at the machine level.

Identify the basic components of an instruction-set architecture.

Explain the differences between machine programming models.

Explain how basic arithmetic, logic, memory, and control operations work.

Write simple programs in MIPS R2000 assembly language.

Explain how subroutines are commonly linked.

Explain why interrupts and exceptions occur and how they are handled.

3. Understand the operation of fixed- and floating-point arithmetic units.

Represent real numbers in fixed-point notation.

Explain how fixed-point notations affect the dynamic range of numerical values and the precision of arithmetic operations.

Represent real numbers in the single- and double-precision formats of the IEEE-754 floating-point notation.

Demonstrate how basic floating-point arithmetic operations are performed.

Explain the operation of fixed-point and floating-point arithmetic circuits.

4. Analyze an instruction-set architecture and propose a suitable datapath and control unit implementation.

Identify the factors affecting execution performance.

Identify the steps needed to fetch and execute the machine instructions of a given instruction set architecture.

§         Identify the datapath elements needed to implement a specific instruction set.

§         Explain the principles of hardwired and microprogrammed control.

§         Design the control units for single-cycle and multi-cycle implementations of a given instruction set.

§         Explain how datapath elements and control units are implemented in hardware.

§         Measure the impact of various architectural implementation strategies on performance.

6. Understand the basic organization of the memory hierarchy.

Identify the main components of the memory hierarchy.

Explain the differences between key semiconductor memory technologies.

Explain the organization of a DRAM chip.

Design and expand a simple memory system.

Explain how cache memories increase the apparent speed of memory.

Explain how virtual memory increases the apparent size of memory and supports the enforcement of memory protection mechanisms.

Explain how different secondary storage devices function.

7. Understand the input/output mechanisms used to connect computers to their external environments.

8. Understand how system buses link the components of a computer system.

6. Assessment of the Course:

Attendance	%5
Pop quizzes and assignments	%10
Quiz I	%20
Quiz II	%25
Project	%10
Final	%30

7. Notes

Homework and assignments should be submitted on time; no late submissions will be accepted.
No make up exams will be given, make sure not to miss any exam.

Announcements

[May 22, 2008] Chapters 5 and 6 are posted.

[April 17, 2008] Chapter 4 is posted.

[April 4, 2008] Some solved problems (for chapter 3) are posted.

[March 26, 2008] An Assignment is posted, submission due date is on the19th of April 2008 class time.

[March 20, 2008] Chapter 3 is posted.

[March 6, 2008] Chapter 2 is posted.

[Feb 22, 2008] Chapter 1 is posted.

[Feb 22, 2008] Welcome to course website.