CS 314    Computer Organization

Course Description

Introduction to computer organization and instruction-set architecture - digital logic design, binary arithmetic, design of central processing unit and memory, machine-level programming.  In addition to machine-level programming, this course will provide an introduction to the C programming language in the context of bitwise operations, memory management, pointers to memory, and translation between C and the x86-64 instruction set architecture.

Instructor

Eric D. Wills, Ph.D., eric@cs.uoregon.edu

Lectures and Labs

Prerequisites

• CS 212 - Computer Science III
• MATH 231 - Elements of Discrete Mathematics I

Textbooks and Readings

• (Required) Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 3rd Edition by David R. O'Hallaron Randal E. Bryant

Major Topics

• Bitwise ops, signed/unsigned integer representation: 3 lectures
• Floating-point number representation: 2 lectures
• C, x86-64 programming: 4 lectures
• x86-64 call stack, register conventions: 2 lectures
• Stack vs heap allocation, aggregate data types: 1 lecture
• Computer architecture: 4 lectures
• Compiler-based optimization: 3 lectures
• Memory-based optimization: 4 lectures

Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Proficiently use bitwise operators to solve problems efficiently in C.
• Demonstrate knowledge of unsigned, signed, and floating-point number encodings and binary, decimal, and hexadecimal representations.
• Demonstrate usage of a typical instruction set architecture and understand the relationship between C code and data-transfer, arithmetic, and control instructions.
• Demonstrate usage of the call stack, including call/return instructions, argument passing, local scope, and register conventions.
• Demonstrate knowledge of stack vs heap allocation, array and struct data types.
• Comprehend the basic functionality of a modern pipelined microprocessor.
• Demonstrate how various optimization techniques affect assembly code and therefore program performance.
• Understand the modern memory hierarchy, including caching, and how it affects performance.

Acquired Skills

Upon successful completion of the course, students will have acquired the following skills:

• be able to use bitwise operations to efficiently solve problems in C.
• be able to write iterative and recursive algorithms in C and assembly language.
• be able to debug C code using gdb, debug assembly code using an interactive assembler/debugger.
• be able to optimize C code with respect to instruction counts, unpredictable branches, and memory-access patterns.
• be able to implement a basic direct-mapped caching solution.

Course Requirements and Grading

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

CS majors and minors must take CS 314 graded; others may take it graded or P/N.

Grading Scale

*Eligibility for 'A+' grades will be based on exam scores; only students with exam scores in the top 5% of the course will be considered.