Previous Weeks in the CSci 281 class

As we go through the semester, this file will contain a record of what we actually did each week (as contrasted with the schedule set out at the start of the term.

Week 1: Monday, Jan 21

Topics:

• Introduction

Reading:

• Paul, chapter 1
• Tanenbaum 1 (when available)

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Martin Luther King Day - no classes
• Tuesday:
  • Introduction to the course
• Thursday
  • Architecture: Levels
• Friday
  • Assembly language programming
  • An examination of a simple accumulator machine (1401), a basic load/store machine (PDP-11), and a sample stack machine

Other Notes: 

Week 2: Monday, Jan 28

Topics:

• Tools

Reading:

• Paul, chapter 2
• Tanenbaum 7

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Intro to Unix, X-windows
  • C and C++ on Orion
• Tuesday:
  • The assembler
  • Using the gcc compiler to compile and link C programs with assembly language programs
• Thursday
  • More on the link editor
  • The m4 macro preprocessor (introduction)
  • Exercise #1
• Friday
  • The form of assembly language statements

Other Notes: 

Week 3: Monday, Feb. 4

Topic:

• Implementation of basic control structures

Reading:

• Tannenbaum 1 through 2.1
• Paul, chapter 2 (2.8 - end of chapter 2

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • RISC vs CISC
  • Pipelining
  • debugger
• Tuesday:
  • GOTO considered harmful
  • Basics of structured programming
  • Implementation of basic control structures
  • Sequence
• Thursday
  • Selection
  • Implementation of selection:  compare and branch instructions
• Friday
  • Review
  • Discussion of exercises

Other Notes: 

• Several short programming exercises
• Exam #1 will be next week

Week 4: Monday, Feb. 11

Topic:

• Implementation of basic control structures
• Binary arithmetic and the representation of basic data types

Reading:

• Tannenbaum 2
• Paul, chapters 2, 3

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Repetition and the implementation of repetition
• Tuesday:
  • Number systems and binary arithmetic
• Thursday
  • Floating Point
  • Review for Exam #1
• Friday
  • Exam #1 (the exam may include material from Monday and Tuesday)

Week 5: Monday, Feb. 18

Topics:

• Binary arithmetic and the representation of basic data types
• An introduction to computer hardware

Reading:

• Tannenbaum chapter 3
• Paul, chapter 3
• Paul 11.1 - 11.4

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Binary arithmetic
• Tuesday:
  • Representation of Integer data
• Thursday
  • Representation of floating point numbers
• Friday
  • Basic Logic Elements

Other Notes: 

• Monday is the last day to withdraw with an automatic "W"

Week 6: Monday, Feb. 25

Topics:

• Architecture

Reading:

• Tannenbaum chapter 3
• Paul, chapter 4

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Combinational Circuits
  • Making circuits from truth tables
  • XOR
  • Multiplexers
  • Assignment
• Tuesday:
  • Shift and add
• Thursday
  • 1 bit ALU
• Friday
  • No Class (Columbia History of Science Seminar)

Other Notes: 

•  With this lecture, we end a first look at architecture, and return next week to programming issues. We will return to architecture later on.

Week 7: Monday, March 4

Topics:

• Programming

Reading:

• Paul, chapters 4, 5

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Bit Operations  (and, or, not, andn, etc.)
• Tuesday:
  • Use of bit operations in setting, clearing, and testing flags
  • Arithmetic
  • No office hours (doctor's appointment)
• Thursday
  • No class or office hours - doctor's appointment
• Friday
  • Discussion of current exercise set

Other Notes: 

• I apologize for the unusual constraints on office hours this week.  Should you need to see me, please let me know and I will try and find a time when we can meet.

Week 8: Monday, March 11

Topics:

• The stack
• Data Structures

Reading:

• Paul, chapters 5, 6

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Discussion of written homework
• Tuesday:
  • Multiplication and division
• Thursday
  • Review of bit operations (class request)
• Friday
  • Introduction to the stack

Other Notes: 

• The second hour exam will be on the Tuesday following Spring break.  It will cover the material covered so far in chapter 3 of Tanenbaum, and in chapters 2 - 5 of Paul (including the material in chapter 11 on floating point numbers covered in the lecture).

Week 9: Monday, March 25 (following Spring Break)

Topics:

• Data Structures
• Subroutines

Reading:

• Paul, chapters 5, 6

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • No class (instructor ill)
• Tuesday:
  • Load and store instructions
  • Referencing local variables on the stack
  • Review for Exam #2
• Thursday
  • Exam #2 (postponed from Tuesday due to instructor illness)
• Friday
  • Call by value/location
  • Arrays
  • Discussion of next homework assignment

Other Notes: 

• If you have not already done so, please read through chapters 1 - 3 of Tanenbaum.  I will not be lecturing directly on the material in chapters 1 and 2 of Tanenbaum, but it serves as important background material for this course, and you will need to know the important definitions (for exam #3 and the final, not for exam #2).

Week 10: Monday, April 1

Topics:

• Data Structures
• More Architecture:  Clocks and memory
• Subroutines

Reading:

• Tanenbaum, chapters 1 - 3
• Paul, chapters 6, 7

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • The story so far:  Control Structures and Data Structures
• Tuesday:
  • One-dimensional arrays examined in more detail
• Thursday
  • Multi-dimensional arrays
• Friday
  • More on the debugger

Other Notes: 

• If you have not already done so, please read through chapters 1 - 3 of Tanenbaum.  I will not be lecturing directly on the material in chapters 1 and 2 of Tanenbaum, but it serves as important background material for this course, and you will need to know the important definitions (for exam #3 and the final, not for exam #2).  
• Pointers will be further discussed when we cover chapter 9 in Paul, but I want to get us started on them now.

Week 11: Monday, April 8

Topics:

• More Architecture:  Clocks and memory

Reading:

• Tanenbaum, chapters 1 - 3
• Paul, chapters 6, 7

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Multi-dimensional arrays
• Tuesday:
  • Records
• Thursday
  • Records
  • Pointers
• Friday
  • Linked Lists and next exercise
  • More architecture:  Clocks and memory

Other Notes: 

• If you have not already done so, please read through chapters 1 - 3 of Tanenbaum.  I will not be lecturing directly on the material in chapters 1 and 2 of Tanenbaum, but it serves as important background material for this course, and you will need to know the important definitions (for exam #3 and the final, not for exam #2).  
• Pointers will be further discussed when we cover chapter 9 in Paul, but I want to get us started on them now.

Week 12: Monday, April 15

Topics:

• More Architecture:  Clocks and memory
• Subroutines

Reading:

• Tanenbaum, chapters 1 - 3, 7
• Paul, chapters 7, 8

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • More architecture:  Clocks and memory
• Tuesday:
  • More architecture:  Clocks and memory
  • Introduction to subroutines
    • Register Usage
• Thursday
  • Introduction to subroutines
  • Stack frames
  • Recursion
• Friday
  • Subroutines
  • Stack Frames

Other Notes: 

• Exam #3 will be Tuesday of next week (April 23)

Week 13: Monday, April 22

Topics:

• The assembler
• Instruction sets

Reading:

• Tanenbaum, chapters 5, 7
• Paul, chapters 7, 8

Schedule:

• Monday:
  • Stack Frames
  • Recursion
  • Review for exam #3
• Tuesday:
  • Exam #3
• Thursday
  • Instruction sets in general
  • The assembler
• Friday
  • The SPARC instruction set
  • Instruction formats

Other Notes: