cs470 - Fall 2007

Syllabus

Homeworks and Exams

Make sure you always show your work. This way you may get partial credit in case the final result is wrong. In any event, please try to prove your statement(s).

Failure to prove things earns you only 50% of the maximum for that particular problem in case the answer is correct, and nothing in case the answer is wrong. In case you can't prove something, then at least show your attempts or try to give an explanation of why you gave that particular answer.

• Hw1 Posted 9/1, due 9/13
  • Hw1 results: max=95%, min=43%, avg=71%, std_dev=15.3
• Hw2 Posted 9/1, due 9/27
  • Hw2 results: max=95%, min=85%, avg=92%, std_dev=3.1
• Hw3 Posted 9/1, due 10/11
  • Hw3 results: max=90%, min=60%, avg=77%, std_dev=10.5
• Hw4 Posted 9/1, due 11/1
  • Hw4 results: max=87%, min=50%, avg=71%, std_dev=11.4
• Hw5 Posted 9/1, due 11/15
  • Hw5 results: max=100%, min=66%, avg=87%, std_dev=12.6
• Hw6 Posted 9/1, due 12/6
  • Hw6 results: max=100%, min=30%, avg=68%, std_dev=27.2
• Midterm
• Midterm results: max=89%, min=52%, avg=69.6%, std_dev=12.7
• Final
• Final exam results: max=87%, min=72%, avg=79.5%, std_dev=7.5

Labs

A number of simulators will be used for your labs, such as SPIM (a MIPS32 simulator), dinero (a Trace-Driven Uniprocessor Cache Simulator), CAMERA (a memory tutorial software package) and VMSIM (a virtual memory simulator). You are required to install the software on your own computer and become familiar with using it.

Your textbook comes with better SPIM documentation than the one in the original SPIM distribution. You can find the documentation on the companion CD, under the Tutorials. For your convenience the same documentation is also available below:

• Assemblers, Linkers, and the SPIM Simulator: An overview and reference manual for spim and the MIPS32 instruction set
• Getting Started with spim: overview of the console version of spim (both Unix and Windows).
• Getting Started with xspim: overview of the X-windows version of spim.
• Getting Starting with PCSpim: overview of the Microsoft Windows version of spim.
• SPIM Command-Line Options: overview of the command line options of spim (all versions).

You are required to install the SPIM on your own computer and become familiar with using it. You can download the software and get additional information about the simulator from the official SPIM web page.

You must print out the lab documentation below, fill out the sections dedicated to your work and then turn it in to your Lab Instructor following the lab schedule outlined in the syllabus:

• Lab1 (Getting Started with SPIM)
• Lab2 (MIPS: The Virtual Machine)
• Lab3 (Control Stuctures in MIPS)
• Lab4 (Register Usage and Procedures)
• Lab5 (Memory Issues)
• Lab6 (Arithmetic in MIPS)
• Lab7 (Exceptions in MIPS)

Other Class Materials

• A slide presentation (PowerPoint) you can download and run on your IBM-PC
• Class notes (PDF format)
  • Table of contents
  • Chapter 1 (Fundamentals of Computer Design)
  • Chapter 2 (Basic Organization of a Computer)
  • Chapter 3 (Instructions Set Design)
  • Chapter 4 (Addressing Modes)
  • Chapter 5 (CPU Implementation)
  • Chapter 6 (Interrupts)
  • Chapter 7 (The Memory Hierarchy (1))
  • Chapter 8 (The Memory Hierarchy (2): the Cache)
  • Chapter 9 (The Memory Hierarchy (3): Main Memory)
  • Chapter 10 (Virtual Memory)