Instructor: Dr. Shaun D. Ramsey
Email: sramsey2@washcoll.edu (preferred contact method)
Phone: (410)810-7485
Office: DUNN N102
Office Hours: TuTh: 12:45pm-2pm, W: 2:30-3:30pm
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CSI 250 - Computer Organization and Architecture
Spring 2016
Website: http://shaunramsey.com/250
250 Classroom/Meetings: DUNN N103 11:30-12:30pm
Text: Comer - Essentials of Computer Architecture
Tentative Exam Dates: 2/24, 4/13, final during finals week
Grade Breakdown:
Exam 1: 25%
Exam 2: 25%
Other: 20%
Final: 30%
The "Other" category consists of points from:
Quizzes, Homework, Classwork, Attendance-Participation
Overview and Advising: This course is effectively a survey course
covering a broad range of organization and architecture components and
concepts. Digital logic, type representations and main memory will be
considered. In addition, assembly and assembly related issues will
cover another large chunk of this course. As a survey of the field of
architecture, this course covers many aspects that come together to
form a cohesive basis for further study in the field.
Suggestions: Get into a group. You may point out programming errors or
problem errors and even discuss design and solutions with others, but
all code and work must be of your own creation as that is the only way
to learn. Copying the code of another might help you pass an
assignment (if you are not caught), but your ability with programming
and problem solving will definitely reveal itself during the
examinations if this is how you get by homework.
General Schedule:
Week 1 Transistors, Gates, Logic, Algebra, Units
Week 2 Continued Digital Logic, Clock
Week 3 Flip-flops, K-Maps
Week 4 Bases, Units
Week 5 Catch-up, Exam
Week 6 Data Representations
Week 7 Multiplication, State of the Art
Week 8 Assembly, Pipelines, Clocks, Instructions
Week 9 Compilation, Linking, Optimizations
Week 10 Catch-up, Exam
Week 11 CISC, RISC, Stalls and Forwarding
Week 12 Memory
Week 13 Parallelism
Week 14 Catch-up, Review
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory in this course. On your sixth
absence, you automatically fail the course. As a matter of courtesy,
you are expected to notify Dr. Ramsey before class describing the
reason of your absence. You must be present on the day of an exam or
you will receive a 0. There is no distinction between excused and
unexcused absences. It is quite likely that I will email you to
discuss the reasons you have missed the class, but it is ultimately
your duty to keep track of your absences and to contact me. Missing a
class may result in missed classwork and/or quizzes. There are no
make-up quizzes or classwork. It is your responsibility to obtain
assigned homework, announcements and class notes from a
classmate. Coming late to class will also count against you. In this
case, every two late arrivals (lates) count as an absence. Thus you
fail the course with 12 lates or 6 absences or any mix of the two that
add up to 6. Examples are: 2 lates and 5 absences, 4 lates and 4
absences, 6 lates and 3 absences, and so on.
Grading: Late assignments will be assessed a value of 0.
Accommodations: If you have an accommodation that has been reported to
the college, please let me know as soon as possible so I can work to
meet your accommodation. You must notify me of any necessary
accommodation at least two weeks prior to the requirement.
Academic Honesty: You are always subject to the Honor Code of
Washington College. Always sign the honor code on materials that you
hand in (including homework and exams). All work must be your own.
Exams: The final exam will be administered during its scheduled slot
during final exam week. An absence on the day of the exam will result
in a grade of 0. Except in cases of very extreme emergency, exams must
be taken on the day the exam is given. Before a make-up test is
scheduled, documentation of the extreme emergency must be
given. Make-up exams for tests missed due to an extreme emergency will
be arranged for a time that is mutually convenient for the student and
Dr. Ramsey.