CMPT 295 : Introduction to Computer Systems

• Waitlisted and Late Enrollments
• Announcements
• Piazza
• Your Toolkit: Laptop/Computer Requirements
• Delivery Plan
• Time and Organization
  • Calendar
    • Office Hour Details
• Grading
  • Computer-based Testing
  • Participation grades
• What is the class about ? Understanding Software in Action
  • RISC V
• Staff
  • Instructor
  • TAs
  • AI in 295
• Why is CMPT 295 a required course ?
• Disclaimers about this web page

Waitlisted and Late Enrollments

WE DO NOT CONTROL ENROLLMENTS INTO THE COURSE, CANVAS, OR COURSYS PLEASE TALK TO AN ADVISOR or helpdesk@cs.sfu.ca

• Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/iEQeNoC5w1uhLoTh9
• Lab 0 needs to be complete before we can grade your assignment and subsequent quizzes.
• If you arrive late, Lab 0 and Lab 1 might be complete. You have to complete these on your own.

Announcements

Date	Post	Link
04-04-2024	Assignment 6 is up	link
04-20-2024	Finals Apr 15th 7:00PM - 10:00PM. CSIL.
03-17-2024	Assignment 5 is up	link
03-13-2024	Week 10,11 is up
02-29-2024	Assignment 4 posted.	link
02-20-2024	Week 7,8, (9 F2F)
02-10-2024	Lab 6 is up	link
02-10-2024	Assignment 3 is up	link
02-10-2024	Midterm-Feb 29th	link
02-10-2024	Week 5,6 is up
01-27-2024	Lab 4 is up	link
01-21-2024	Assignment 2 is up	link
01-21-2024	Lab 3 is up	link
01-21-2024	Week 3 is up.
01-09-2024	Week 2 and Lab 2 up
01-09-2024	Assignment 1 up	link
01-02-2024	Lab 0 and 1 is up (deadline 12th)
01-02-2024	Week 1 and Week 2 Videos/Slides
01-02-2024	Course Webpage is Up	link

Piazza

Hello everyone!

This term, we’re excited to use Piazza for our class discussions. It’s a fantastic platform that enables quick and efficient help from your classmates, the TA, and me. I highly encourage you to ask your questions on Piazza instead of emailing them directly to us. This way, everyone benefits from the shared knowledge.

Find our class signup link at: https://piazza.com/sfu.ca/spring2024/cmpt295

Your Toolkit: Laptop/Computer Requirements

To ensure a smooth learning experience, you’ll need:

• A Computer with a Webcam: Essential for taking verification photos during quizzes and for participating in office hours (optional). Don’t worry if you don’t have a webcam but have a phone – I’ll introduce you to EpocCam.
• Performance: Your computer should be capable of running a VM, with at least 8 GB of memory, 20 GB of disk space, and a decent processor (avoid very old models or specific ones like Celeron or MacBook Air).
• Stable Internet Connection: Vital for uninterrupted participation.
• Active Participation: Engage during the lecture times, especially for quizzes.

Delivery Plan

• Monday, AQ3181, Burnaby Monday lectures. In person and live.
• Wednesdays, AQ3181, Burnaby Quiz on Canvas + Class discussion. Quiz first-attempt will have to be on SFU campus.
• Video Aids : Slide-by-Slide video will be available on youTube prior to the lecture for flipped (pre) or post class viewing. See the schedule accompanying the weekly notes for links. You can choose to watch videos either before or after class to revise the material. They have been provided for you to watch and refresh yourself if you are not comfortable with any of the slide material.
• Monday F2F Lectures: On Mondays at class during lecture hours I will be going over slide desks and or problem sets and demonstrations (these will be marked with F2F tag on the syllabus) of the slides. F2F sessions will be spent on reinforcing concepts and problem sets (not slide-by-slide commentary). The class videos will be recorded and be made available within 72hrs after the class.
• Q&A in Piazza. See above on how to join. Students can interact with the TA and post questions on piazza.
• Homeworks/Assignments Submissions - Github. Refer lab0 for steps.
• Quiz Wednesdays. Wednesdays will be entirely dedicated for Q/A and Public OH in class (if you booked private OH then TASC 9009), Burnaby. This includes weekly quizes and labs
• Canvas Weekly Quizzes - These quizzes exist for you to obtain immediate feedback and me to tailor the learning. You can retake the quiz up to 5 times. The quizzes will be conducted on Wednesdays
• Labs/Tutorials Labs. Attend the labs and practice tutorials will be held by TAs. These are there to help you complete the assignments and attendance will be graded.

Important: The videos will be the reference for slide-by-slide commentary You should watch lab/tutorial videos prior to session The lectures and lab material assume you have watched the videos

Time and Organization

This version of CMPT 295 will combine asynchronous and synchronous content.

• Lecture Monday will be live lecture day. I will be on presenting almost all the relevant material from the week’s module. Caution: live lectures may not be recorded; if recorded you will find link on video page.
• Multi-use Wednesdays. Refer syllabus for schedule.Weekly quizzes weekly quiz 20 mins; and 30 mins lecture material.
• Labs Thursdays 12:30, 1:30 will be dedicated lab days. (required lab). Labs will be in person
• Videos Videos will serve as slide-by-slide commentary. You can choose to watch videos either before or after class to revise the material. It is important that you watch it (unless they are tagged with PRErequisite or F2F)

We have scheduled ample office hours given the TA constraints. ~25 hrs (~30 minutes/student). Try to take advantage of this using the booking links below. Please do not book more than one slot per day as you will be locking out others. If you feel TA support is insufficient, please let the department advisor know

Calendar

Lectures	Date	Thursday	Date	Lectures
Wednesday		Thursday	Monday
Jan 10	Week 1	Jan 11 Lab 1	Jan 15 2024	Week 1
Jan 17	Quiz 1. Week 2	Jan 18 Lab 2	Jan 22 2024	Week 2
Jan 24	Quiz 2. Week 3 Ass 1 due Jan 26	Lab 3 (Self)	Jan 29 2024	Week 3
Jan 31	Quiz 3. Week 4	Feb 1 Lab 4/5	Feb 05 2024	Week 4
Feb 07	Quiz 4. Week 5	Lab5 Self	Feb 12 2024	Week 5 Ass 2 due
Feb 14	Quiz 5,6. Week 6	Feb 15 Lab 6	Feb 19 2024	SFU Holiday
Feb 21	SFU Holiday	SFU Holiday Lab 7 (Self)	Feb 26 2024	Week 6
Feb 28	Midterm Revision	Midterm Exam. (Zoom)	Mar 04 2024	Week 7 Ass 3 due
Mar 06	Quiz 7. Week 7	Lab 8	Mar 11 2024	Week 8
Mar 13	Quiz 8. Week 8		Mar 18 2024	Week 9 Ass 4 due
Mar 20	Week 10		Mar 25 2024	Week 10
Mar 27	Quiz 10/11. Week 11	Mar 28 Lab 9	Apr 01 2024	SFU Holiday Ass 5 due Apr 4th
Apr 03	Week 11		Apr 08 2024	Week 11
Apr 10	Final Revision Ass 6 Due		Apr 15 2024	Final Exam

Timing	Staff		Booking link
Thu 1:30 - 3:30 pm (starting Jan 11).	TA OH	Zoom	[Book App (required)]
Monday 12:30PM—2:20PM	Arrvindh	AQ3181
Wednesday 12:30-1:20 Quizzes+Lec	Arrvindh	AQ3181
Wednesday 11-12	Arrvindh OH	TASC 9009
Thursday 12:30	F2F Labs. CSIL. Starts Jan 12

Office Hour Details

Office Hours (OH) are a great opportunity for us to connect and delve deeper into the course material. To ensure everyone gets the most out of these sessions, here are some guidelines:

• Instructor Office Hours: These sessions are focused on discussing technical content and course material. If you’re curious about concepts like “How is an instruction decoded?”, this is the perfect time to ask! For troubleshooting issues like my program segfault or specific debugging queries, our dedicated TA Office Hours or Piazza are the ideal place to seek help.

• TA Office Hours: To ensure our TAs can assist you efficiently, please book an appointment before attending their OH. This helps us guarantee you get the attention you need.

• Piazza as a Resource: We highly encourage using Piazza for quick assistance. It’s a great platform where you can get responses usually within 90 minutes! While this response time isn’t guaranteed, our TAs are committed to being as responsive as possible. Last term, we were thrilled to maintain an average response time of less than 90 minutes.

• Conceptual Questions: If you have in-depth conceptual questions, scheduling an Instructor OH is your best bet. While we might not address these types of questions on Piazza, we’re more than happy to explore them during OH.

Remember, these guidelines are here to help you make the most of the resources available. We’re all here to support your learning journey, so don’t hesitate to reach out through the appropriate channels.

PASSWORD: See welcome email

` If you have trouble setting appointment``try different browser or clear cache `

• TA-only Calendar. TAs use this link to check appointments

Grading

Submit homework source code and check your grades on Coursys

• Six programming assignments. (30%)
• Labs and Participation.
• 10 Weekly Quizzes (5%). 0.5% for each quiz. Full points are awarded if you score atleast 80%.
• Midterm (30%). Week 1-6
• Finals.(35%) Week 7,8,10,11 + Week 3-5

This is the typical mapping from % to letter grade at the end: A+ 97 A 92 A- 87 B+ 82 B 77 B- 72 C+ 67 C 62 C- 55 D 50 F

In the event that your distribution does not align with the CMPT departmental guidelines, we may decrease the raw score boundaries, but they will not increase i.e. it is possible to receive a higher grade than the mapping suggests, but not a lower one. Please note that we will not include WD students or Incompletes in any adjustments we do.

• You have to get atleast 50% in your midterm and final to pass this course.
• If a student earns a ``pass’’ (50% or more usually) on the either the final exam, or on the weighted average of the final and midterm, then the student gets whatever grade they have otherwise earned in the course.
• If a student does not earn a pass on the final, and does not earn a pass on the weighted average of the midterm and final, then the student can get at most a D in the class. The grade D is a pass, but means the course cannot be used as a prerequisite for later courses.
• This policy ensures that students are able to demonstrate they are proficient with the course content in an exam setting in order to earn a C- or better. For example, if a student does not know the course material but has relied too heavily on others for completing their assignments, they will likely have low exam scores and high assignment scores. This policy helps ensure everyone can independently demonstrate their knowledge on exams.

Computer-based Testing

In 295, we extensively use computer-based testing for all quizes, midterms, final, and programming assignments. State-of-the-art computer-based testing has been developed to eliminate TA-opinion based scoring ensure fairness, and accurately measure student ability to program. The scores essentially reflect at this specific moment in your educational trajectory, the programming knowledge required for 300 and 400-level courses, and minimum programming expertise required for a job. Programming is an unusual form of computer interaction that demands precise output and testing; there is no such things as “somewhat correct” in programming. Hence, we award scores based on demonstrable tests passed and failed. TAs simply verify and upload the grades; they are not evaluating the tests and cannot influence your actual scores. Please email them only in the event that there is an error in our grading scheme. We understand that tests and scores do not inherently measure your intrinsic worth as a student or human. Remember, the letter grades are not passing judgement on you as a person.

Participation grades

Participation grades are awarded at the end of the course. I want to encourage participation in my classes. I believe that learning goes both ways, and that it’s important for you to participate to get the full learning experience. Therefore, I encourage participation by making part of your grade dependent on it.

Extra credit: 0.5% class wide for active classes of your total grade comes from actively participating in class (defined broadly) and attending labs. In general, if the overall classroom environment is active everyone will be awarded this grade. So ask questions for both your sake and your neighbor’s sake. I will be judging this after each class.

• First, half the battle in learning is asking questions. So I would like to reward you.
• Second, questions help class wide learning experience and promotes a healthy classroom environment.

5% Wednesday quizes. Quizzes will always be held on Wednesdays. You are allowed to retake a quiz if you fail. We will only consider your best submission.

What is the class about ? Understanding Software in Action

In this course, we’ll embark on an exciting exploration of what really happens when software runs. This journey takes us through multiple levels of abstraction, from hardware architecture to assembly language, and down to the intricate workings of C programming. At the core of our study is a trio of fundamental elements: C programming, assembly language, and low-level data representation. But our exploration doesn’t stop there; we’ll connect these core elements to higher-level concepts, diving into how programming languages are translated into assembly, understanding the general structure of a processor, and comprehending the processor’s role and implementation.

This course is designed to introduce you to the fascinating world of computer organization, systems programming, and the hardware/software interface. Our topics are comprehensive and include instruction sets, computer arithmetic, datapath design, data formats, addressing modes, memory hierarchies (covering both caches and virtual memory), and multicore architectures. You’ll gain hands-on experience with assembly language programming and even design a pipelined RISC V processor! This course is perfectly suited for any undergraduate who has successfully completed the 120s material.

RISC V

In this iteration of the course, we’ll delve into the core components of computer architecture through the lens of the RISC-V (Roman numeral V for Five) Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). RISC-V is a modern, open-source ISA, offering a unique opportunity for you to learn both assembly-level programming and the digital design of a processor. We’ve chosen RISC-V because it’s a standard ISA taught worldwide at prestigious universities like Berkeley, Cornell, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and more. This choice allows us to explore the end-to-end design and toolflow of a commercially viable processor within a single term, rather than being limited to a small fraction of a more complex ISA, like x86.

A Hands-On, Programming-Intensive 4 credit Experience

Prepare for a hands-on, programming-intensive experience. This course will immerse you in the practical aspects of C, assembly, and computer architecture. We’ll engage in detailed discussions about the fundamental design and engineering trade-offs in computer organization at every level, ensuring a rich and comprehensive learning experience.

Staff

Instructor

TAs

AI in 295

CMPT 295 encourages use of AI Bots as a Supplemental Instructor , NOT a Contract Cheater.

It’s important to note that while AI Bots can be a helpful resource for students, it’s not a substitute for in-depth study and understanding of the material. It’s important to always verify information and double-check it against reliable sources.

We have developed a custom AI Bot or Buddy for CMPT 295. It is a GPT-4 based chatbot that can answer questions about the course material. 295Bot

Why is CMPT 295 a required course ?

CMPT 295 is a great way to gain a deep understanding of how computers work, build a strong foundation in computer science, and pursue a career in technology. Here are some reasons:

• Understand how computers work: CMPT 295 is the study of how computer systems are designed and how they operate. You will gain a deep understanding of how computers work, from the low-level hardware components to the high-level software applications.

• Build a strong foundation in computer science Computer organization is a fundamental topic in computer science, and it provides a strong foundation for many other areas of the field.

• Pursue a career in technology: By mastering computer organization, you can develop a strong foundation that will help you succeed in other areas of computer science, such as software engineering, database management, and artificial intelligence.

• Optimize computer performance: By understanding how hardware and software interact, you can identify areas where performance can be improved and make changes to improve overall system performance.

• Drive innovation: As researchers continue to push the boundaries of what AI can do, they require more powerful systems to enable them to explore more complex models and algorithms. For example, specialized AI chips such as Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and NVIDIA’s Tesla GPUs have driven significant improvements in AI performance.

Disclaimers about this web page

• All course information on this web page is tentative and could be in error. It can also change at any time. Confirm crucial dates or information with me in person during class. Double check with SFU calendar or schedule information for official class times and final exams time and location.
• Students are expected to attend all classes: announcements about assigned readings, homeworks and exams will be made available at the start of each class. Such announcements may not be made on this web page, so don’t rely on information here instead of attending class.