In this course, we will study topics in computer systems architecture.
We will first discuss the contents in Appendix A through C of the text
(pipelining, instruction set principles, and memory hierarchy). Then, we
will switch to other topics such as super-scalar execution, branch
prediction, dynamic scheduling, hardware multi-threading, shared memory
architecture, and GPU. See
here
to check the prerequisites and restrictions for this course.
The Canvas and
Piazza
course pages are your best sources for the course information.
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in CMSC330
Credits: 3
We will be using Piazza (guideline) for
class communication.
We will add your email addresses (found in the UMEG system) to the
course Piazza page.
Your grades will be computed according the following weights:
| Evaluation Components | Percentage |
| Homework (up to 5) | 200 pts |
| Class Project | 200 pts |
|
Mid-Term Exam (August 3 (Monday), |
300 pts |
| Final Exam (August 21 (Friday), |
300 pts |
| Max. Points Possible | 1000 Points |
Note that academic dishonesty includes not only cheating, fabrication,
and plagiarism, but also includes helping other students commit acts of
academic dishonesty by allowing them to obtain copies of your work. In
short, all submitted work must be your own. Cases of academic dishonesty
will be pursued to the fullest extent possible as stipulated by the
Office of Student
Conduct.
It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. If the student is found to be responsible of academic dishonesty, the typical sanction results in a special grade "XF", indicating that the course was failed due to academic dishonesty. If you have any doubt as to whether an act of yours might constitute academic dishonesty, please contact your TA or the course coordinator.
The CS Department takes academic integrity seriously. Information on how the CS Department views and handle academic integrity matters can be found at Academic Integrity.
On any graded project or lab, you are NOT allowed to collaborate or exchange code. We compare each student's code with every other student's code to check for similarities. Every semester, we catch an embarrassingly high number of students that engage in cheating and we have to take them to the Honor Council.
We encourage students to talk about course material and help each other out in group chats. However, this does NOT include graded assignments. Talking about release tests is NOT okay.
There have been a couple instances in the past where students have posted pictures/source files of their code, or earlier sections have given away exam questions to later sections. Not only did this lower the curve for the earlier section because the later one will do better, the WHOLE group chat had to pay a visit to the Honor Council. It was an extremely ugly business.
You may post your project code to private Github (or similar service) repository, only after the semester ends. As a student, you can make a private repository for free. Just remember that your free premium subscription has an expiry date, and your code becomes public once it expires. The Honor Council can retroactively give an XF (even to students who have already graduated) if your code is then used by another student to cheat. So just be careful. Posting graded code to a public repo will give you a free ticket to the Honor Council.
Creating collaborative study guides on Google docs is OK. Encouraged, even. Just do this before the exam, and don't bring the study guide to the exam. Don't add exam questions to the study guide after the early section's midterm.
The following are a few examples of academic integrity violations:
Additional information can be found in the sections titled "Academic Integrity" and "Code of Student Conduct" available at Course Related Policies.
For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, visit http://www.shc.umd.edu.
In case academic accommodations are needed, you must provide a letter of accommodation from the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) within the first week of the semester. For details, see the section titled "Accessibility" available at Course Related Policies.
All course materials are copyright UMCP, Department of Computer Science © 2020. All rights reserved. Students are permitted to use course materials for their own personal use only. Course materials may not be distributed publicly or provided to others (excepting other students in the course), in any way or format.
Although every effort has been made to be complete and accurate, unforeseen circumstances arising during the semester could require the adjustment of any material given here. Consequently, given due notice to students, the instructor reserves the right to change any information on this syllabus or in other course materials.