CIS360: Introduction to Computer Systems

Introduction to computer architecture at the machine and assembly language level; assembly language programming and laboratory.

Level	Credits	Class Time Distribution	Prerequisites
U	4	Four one-hour lectures	CIS 214 or 222; and a minimum CPHR of 2.0

Master using the fundamentals of computer instruction set architectures, including registers and RISC addressing modes;
Master using basic machine representations of data structures, including signed integers, character strings, stacks, records, and linked lists;
Be familiar with using machine language instruction encoding;
Be familiar with input and output techniques at the I/O driver level;
Be familiar with using low level algorithms for data manipulation and conversion;
Be familiar with using parameter passing techniques at the assembly language level;
Be exposed to using CISC addressing modes.
Be exposed to using concepts of interrupt processing.

Arthur B. Maccabe, Computer Systems: Architecture, Organization, and Prog., Irwin, 1993.
Lab notes: A laboratory manual for the SPARC, Mccabe, Vandyke, 1994.

Relationship to ABET Criterion 3

Relationship to CSE Program Objectives

a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k
XX	XX	XX		X	X	X		X		XX

1a	1b	1c	2a	2b	3a	3b	3c	4a	4b
XXX	XX	XX			X		X	X

No. of Weeks	Topics
1	Positional number systems; Base conversion; Signed integers; Characters; Parity
1	Digital logic; Computer organization overview; Memory, word alignment, byte ordering; A simple instruction set; Instruction fetch-execute cycle
1	Instruction formats; Registers; SPARC assembly language; Immediate values
1	Flow of control; Bit manipulation; SPARC instruction encoding
1	Data representation, addressing modes: pointers (indirect addressing), 1-D arrays (indexed addressing), records (displacement addressing), multidimensional arrays
1	Strings; Stacks; Subroutines; Midterm exam
1	Subroutines: register-based parameter passing, caller/callee responsibilities, pass by value/reference/value-result, stack-based parameter passing
2	Traps and exceptions; Programmed I/O; UARTs; Interrupts; DMA transfers
1	Arithmetic overflow; Arithmetic shifts; SPARC smul, sdiv.

Week	Lab Topic
2	Assembling & running SPARC programs; using the ISEM simulator
3	Manipulating numbers; integer arithmetic
5	Working with character strings; Conditionals
7	Data structures; loops etc.
9	User defined functions and procedures.

Preparer Information and Date: Syllabus prepared by Rick Parent, last modified April 30, 1999.