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ECE 250 / CS 250 |
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Computer Architecture |
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Fall 2024 |
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Professor Daniel J. Sorin |
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Objectives |
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The objective of this course is to learn how computers work, focusing on how the computer hardware executes the software. |
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The course focuses on: instruction sets, assembly language programming, basic digital logic design, processor design, memory system design, and input/output. |
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Prerequisites: CompSci 201 |
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Class Location and Hours |
Class meets Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 10:20-11:10am in Schichiano Auditorium (in FCIEMAS)
Recitations
are on Thursdays.
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Instructor, Teaching Assistants, and Answering Questions |
This is a very large class, which means that students should contact other sources of information before, if necessary, contacting the professor.
* The first option for finding help is this website.
* Then check the course's Canvas announcements.
* The third option for finding help is the Ed Discussion forum. Questions there may get answered by a TA, a fellow classmate, or the professor.
* Please contact the professor only for those issues that cannot be handled by anyone else.
Graduate Teaching Assistants:
Feng Cheng
Sixuan Dang
Qianyi Xue
* If you need to contact the professor, please email him or come to his office hours:
Office: 403 Wilkinson
Office Hours: Tues 2:30-3:30, Fri 2:30-3:30 (except first two weeks as specified in Canvas announcement)
Email:
sorin AT ee DOT duke DOT edu
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Very Highly Recommended Textbook |
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David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy. Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, 5th edition, Morgan-Kaufmann. |
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Please do not get the "ARM" edition or "RISC-V" edition or the "Revised Printing" -- for some reason, the publisher has created several flavors of this book. The nice people at Duke Libraries have copies of this book available. |
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Assignments and Grading |
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This course will require readings from the textbook, pencil and paper problems, programming assignments, and digital logic designs. |
Students are responsible for:
Late homework policy -- NO exceptions, NO extensions (except in case of
dean's excuse).
Refer to
Homework #1 for details, particularly with respect to the new protocol for
handling short-term incapacitation with automatic 48-hour extensions on homeworks.
0-24 hours late: Take earned score and multiply by 0.9
24-48 hours late: Take earned score and multiply by 0.8
>48 hours late: NO CREDIT
Late penalty will be applied to the entire assignment. That is, if you turn in half of the assignment on time and half late, we assign the late penalty to all.
You must attend all exams (except in case of dean's excuse or sickness with STINF). There are no makeup exams except in these situations.
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Start assignments EARLY so that you don't get stuck at the end! |
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Academic Misconduct: I will not tolerate academically dishonest work. This includes cheating on the homework and exams. |
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I will refer all suspected cases of cheating to Duke's Office of Student Conduct. |
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Refer to Homework #1, the Duke Community Standard, and the instructor if you have any questions about misconduct. |
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Topics, Lecture Notes, and Reading Assignments |
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I will post lecture notes (in PDF format on Sakai) shortly before I cover them in class. Please bring them to class. If you read the notes instead of attending class, you will miss a LOT of
course material if you miss class.
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Schedule |
This is a VERY tentative schedule that may change.
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Dec 16 |
FINALS WEEK ENDS |
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