Course Syllabus

This course focuses on the organization of computing systems. In this course, you will learn about:

• Organization of computing systems.
• Logical basis of computer structure.
• Machine representation of instructions and data, flow of control, and basic machine instructions.
• Assembly language programming.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Calculate computer performance.
2. Represent simple high level language programs in ARM.
3. Represent ARM assembly language instructions in binary machine instructions.
4. Describe and demonstrate the use of stack frames for saving local variables.
5. Represent integers and floating-point numbers in binary.
6. Trace the execution of ARM instructions through simple single cycle and pipelined datapaths.
7. Distinguish between direct mapped, set associative, and fully associative cache designs.

Required Textbook

The required textbook for this course will be the zyBooks version of Patterson & Hennessy. Computer Organization and Design: ARM Edition. Morgan Kaufmann (ISBN 978-1-394-11658-4). You must purchase the zyBooks version of this text as your participation grade will be assessed through its use. For instructions on how to access zyBooks, please see the Orientation Module, under Key Course Elements here.

Prerequisites

To take this course, you must have completed the following courses:

• COP 3504 or COP 3503
• MAC 2233, MAC 2311 or MAC 3472
• COT 3100

Minimum Technology Requirements

The University of Florida expects students entering an online program to acquire computer hardware and software appropriate to their degree program. Most computers are capable of meeting the following general requirements. A student’s computer configuration should include:

• Webcam
• Microphone
• Broadband connection to the Internet and related equipment (Cable/DSL modem)
• Microsoft Office Suite installed (provided by the university)

Individual colleges may have additional requirements or recommendations, which students should review before starting their program.

Students should be able to download and install an application on their computer.  

Students should be familiar with using the Linux command line interface.

Zoom

Zoom is an easy-to-use video conferencing service available to all UF students, faculty, and staff that allows for meetings of up to 100 participants.

You can find resources and help using Zoom at the University of Florida's Zoom website.

Make-Up Policy

Examlets and the Final Exam may not be made up.  There is one dropped Examlet.  

Late Policy

Programming Assignments, Cache Analysis Assignment, and Buffer Overflow Assignment may be turned in up to four days late with a late penalty of 10 points per day.  

Honesty Policy

Your code for your Programming Assignments and the Analysis Assignments must be your own.  You may discuss assignments with others, but copy/pasting code from other students or online resources is strictly prohibited. We will be using TurnItIn to check for plagiarism. 

Your writing and graphs for the Cache Analysis Assignment must be your own.  Copy/pasting writing and/or graphs from other students is strictly prohibited.

You may discuss and draw out algorithms for the assignments with other students.  You may not copy code from another student.

Examlets and Final Exam

Examlets and the Final Exam are taken on Honorlock on during the 4:05-4:55pm class period on scheduled day for the examlet.  For Examlets and the Final Exam, students may use the Leg reference sheet and one other printed reference sheet.

The Final Exam is May 5 10:30am-12:30pm

Taking the examlet or Final Exam at other than the scheduled time requires a university approved excuse and must be arranged before the date of the examlet or Final Exam.

Examlets and Final Exam may not be made up.  There is a dropped examlet.

Discussion of Grades

Grades on any assignment may be discussed with me via email or in office hours up to seven days after the grade was released.

Extra Credit

Up to two extra credit assignments may be completed.  Each assignment will be worth 1% of your grade.  The extra credit will be added manually to your grade at the end of the course.  

Etiquette Expectations

Please communicate in a professional manner in email, on Microsoft Teams, and in Canvas Discussions.  Guidelines can be found here.

We will make every effort to have each assignment graded and posted within one week of the due date. However, due to the large number of students in each section of this course, returning grades

Course Grading Policy

Grading Scale

See the current UF grading policies for more information.

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available on the GatorEvals Providing Constructive Feedback FAQ page. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via the GatorEvals website. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at the GatorEvals Public Results page. More information about UF's course evaluation system can be found at the GatorEvals Faculty Evaluations website.

Taking a course online can be a lot of fun! Here are some tips that will help you get the most of this course while taking full advantage of the online format:

• Schedule "class times" for yourself. It is important to do the coursework on time each week. You will receive a reduction in points for work that is turned in late!
• Read ALL of the material contained on this site. There is a lot of helpful information that can save you time and help you meet the objectives of the course.
• Print out the Course Summary located in the Course Syllabus and check things off as you go.
• Take full advantage of the online discussion boards. Ask for help or clarification of the material if you need it.
• Do not wait to ask questions! Waiting to ask a question might cause you to miss a due date.
• Do your work well before the due dates. Sometimes things happen. If your computer goes down when you are trying to submit an assignment, you'll need time to troubleshoot the problem.
• To be extra safe, back up your work to an external hard drive, thumb drive, or through a cloud service.

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565) by providing appropriate documentation.  Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter that must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation.  Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.

University Policy on Academic Conduct

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge, which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." The Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel.  If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

Plagiarism

The Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code states that a Student must not represent as the Student’s own work all or any portion of the work of another. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• Stealing, misquoting, insufficiently paraphrasing, or patch-writing.
• Self-plagiarism is the reuse of the Student’s own submitted work, or the simultaneous submission of the Student’s own work, without the full and clear acknowledgment and permission of the Faculty to whom it is submitted.
• Submitting materials from any source without proper attribution.
• Submitting a document, assignment, or material that, in whole or in part, is identical or substantially identical to a document or assignment the Student did not author.

All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to uphold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

There are federal laws protecting your privacy with regards to grades earned in courses and on individual assignments. For more information, please visit the Registrar's explanation of your Ferpa rights here.

For information about the privacy policies of the tools used in this course, see the links below:

• Instructure (Canvas)
  • Instructure Privacy Policy
  • Instructure Accessibility
• Zoom
  • Zoom Privacy Policy
  • Zoom Accessibility
• Honorlock
  • Honorlock Privacy Policy
  • Honorlock Accessibility
• Zybooks
  • Zybooks Privacy
  • Zybooks Accessibility

The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering values broad diversity within our community and is committed to individual and group empowerment, inclusion, and the elimination of discrimination. It is expected that every person in this class will treat one another with dignity and respect regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture.

If you feel like your performance in class is being impacted by discrimination or harassment of any kind, please contact your instructor or any of the following:

• Your academic advisor or Graduate Program Coordinator
• Jennifer Nappo, Director of Human Resources, 352-392-0904, jpennacc@ufl.edu
• Curtis Taylor, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, 352-392-2177, taylor@eng.ufl.edu
• Toshikazu Nishida, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, 352-392-0943, nishida@eng.ufl.edu

Technical Difficulties

For help with technical issues or difficulties with Canvas, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

• http://helpdesk.ufl.edu
• (352) 392-HELP (4357)
• Walk-in: HUB 132

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues should be accompanied by the ticket number received from the Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You should email your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Health and Wellness

• U Matter, We Care: If you or someone you know is in distress, please email umatter@ufl.edu, call 352-392-1575, or visit U Matter We Care to refer or report a concern, and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.
• Counseling and Wellness Center:  Visit the UF Counseling & Wellness Center website or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services and non-crisis services.
• Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care you need, or visit the UF Student Health Care Center website.
• University Police Department: Visit the UF Police Department website or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
• UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center: For immediate medical care in Gainesville, call 352-733-0111, or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; Visit the UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center website.

• Career Connections Center: For career assistance and counseling services, visit the UF Career Connections Center website or call 352-392-1601.
• Library Support:  For various ways to receive assistance concerning using the libraries or finding resources, visit the UF George A. Smathers Libraries Ask-A-Librarian website.
• Teaching Center: For general study skills and tutoring, visit the UF Teaching Center website or call 352-392-2010.
• Writing Studio: For help with brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers, visit the University Writing Program Writing Studio website or call 352-846-1138.