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ECE 250 / CS 250 |
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Computer Architecture |
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Fall 2025 |
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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 Fridays.
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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:
Sanya Srivastava
Hung Ahn Vo
* If you need to contact the professor, please email him or come to his office hours:
Office: 403 Wilkinson
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3p-4p, Thursdays 11a-noon
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
If assignment has two parts (written problems and code/logic design), then the late penalty will be applied separately to each part. The late penalty will NOT be applied on a per-question basis.
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 15 |
FINALS
WEEK ENDS |
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