Computer Organization (EENG 3710) Spring 2008

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Instructor: Parthasarathy (Partha) Guturu
Faculty Office: NTRP B-235
Phone: 940-891-6877
Email: guturu@unt.edu
Teaching Assistant: Pratima Krishna
Class Hours: M/W 4:00 PM - 5:20 PM
Class Room: NTRP B-242, Computer Lab.
Office Hours:  T 10:0 0 AM-12:00 PM. Students unable to see me during these times may request an appointment.
Prerequisite: EENG 2710

Text Book:
1. David. A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Third Edition, Morgan-Kaufmann Publishers Inc. 2004, ISBN 1-55860-604-12.

A power-point presentation is used to provide some information to support and supplement a student-centric problem/project-oriented learning methodology.

Attendance Policy:     In view of the continuous evaluation strategy adopted by the instructor, perfect attendance is recommended for those aspiring to get good grades.

Grading Policy:          Regular quizzes/class assignments and tests: 50, Project: 30 and Final Exam: 20.

Academic Dishonesty: Honesty is the best policy. Cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone found guilty of cheating on a test or assignment will be awarded an F grade for the course. Discussions of problems and assignment with your classmates is welcome and encouraged, however, sharing of solutions is not. If you need help, you should ask the instructor. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, all forms of plagiarism and misrepresentation. For your rights and responsibilities please refer to http://www.unt.edu/csrr

Statement regarding Disabled Students: The Faculty of Electrical Engineering including this instructor cooperates with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to make reasonable accommodations for students with certified disabilities (cf. Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act). If you have not registered with ODA, we encourage you to do so immediately and present a written accommodation request along with an appropriate documentation from the Dean of Students Office http://www.unt.edu/oda/, on or before the 2nd week of class.

Final Exam Date and Time: TBD.

Course Outline:

  1. Introduction to Computer Organization                                                             (1 week)
  2. Computer Instructions                                                                                      (2 weeks)
  3. Arithmetic and Logic Unit                                                                                 (1 week)
  4. Performance Analysis                                                                                       (1 week)
  5. Data Path and Control                                                                                      (3 weeks)
  6. Performance Enhancement with Pipelining                                                         (2 weeks)
  7. Memory Hierarchy  and Virtual Memory Concepts                                           (2 weeks)
  8. Storage, Networks, and other Peripherals                                                         (1 week)
  9. Microprocessors and Applications                                                                  (2 weeks)

Note: The topics 1-7 listed above correspond to the chapters of the recommended text book. Topic 8 will be covered using specific microprocessor manuals and reference books. Class here implies a one-hour time slot. Due to the teaching method adopted, discussions, reviews, tests and projects will be integral parts of the topics 0-8 and hence all the class sessions.

Course Objectives:

The main objectives of the course are to facilitate the students to achieve the highest levels in the Bloom's 6-level Learning Taxonomy so that they, at the end of the course, will be able to-

  1. Know about the different software and hardware components of a digital computer .
  2. Comprehend how different  components of the digital computer collaborate to produce the end result  in an application development process
  3. Apply principles of logic design to digital computer design.
  4. Analyze  digital computer and decompose it into modules and lower level logical blocks involving both combinational and sequential circuit elements.
  5. Synthesize  various components of computer's Arithmetic Logic Unit, Control Units, and Data Paths
  6. Understand and  Assess (evaluate)  computer CPU performance, and learn methods to enhance computer performance.

Relationship between the Program Outcomes and Course Objectives:

Successful achievement of the course objectives will contribute to the following outcomes of the BSEE program related to equipping the students with:

  1. An ability to apply knowledge of Digital Logic to Digital Computer Design [ABET (a)]
  2. An ability to design digital computers to meet desired needs [ABET(c)]
  3. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems related to digital computer design using project-based learning approach [ABET (e)]
  4. An ability to communicate effectively [ABET (g)]
  5. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice  (here you learn VHDL) [ABET (k)]