10081 (v.4) Foundations of Computer Science 501

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Area:	Department of Computing
Credits:	25.0
Contact Hours:	4.0
Lecture:	1 x 2 Hours Weekly
Practical:	1 x 2 Hours Weekly
Syllabus:	Overview of computer architectures and their impact on operating systems. Processor, memory and I/0 design considerations and their effect on program execution. Interrupt handling and process management. Basics of computer communication. The fetch-execute cycle I/O, interrupts, microprogramming and assembly language. Linking and loading, re-entrant memory management. Secondary storage. Resource management, virtual devices. Recent developments in the design of computer systems. Performance evaluation of state-of-the-art microprocessors.
Unit Outcomes:	On successful completion of this unit students will be able to explain the von Newman architecture and its impact on computers and operating systems, describe the architecture, organisation and operation of modern computer systems, understand how to convert between various number systems and how basic arithmetic and logic operations are performed by digital hardware, understand the relationships between hardware components, the microprogram, the instruction set, and the operating system and write short assembly language programs from pseudo-code.
Text and references listed above are for your information only and current as of September 30, 2003. Please check with the unit coordinator for up-to-date information.
Unit References:	Dewdeny, A. K., 1993, 'The Tinkertoy Computer and other Machinations', W. H. Freeman and Co. Hennessy, J. L. and Patterson, D. A., 1990, 'Computer Architecture, A Quantitive Approach', Morgan Kaufman Publishers. Hwang, K., 1993, 'Advanced Computer Architecture, Parallelism, Scalability, Programmability', McGraw Hill. Palfreman, J. and Hone, R., 1991, 'The Dream Machine, BBC Education, London. Rosing, W. and Patterson, D., 1989, 'The story of SPARC architecture', University Video Communications. Stallings, W., 1996, 'Computer Organisation and Architecture, Designing and Performance', Prentice Hall.
Unit Texts:	Tanenbaum, A. S., 1999, 'Structured Computer Organisation', 4th Edition, Prentice-Hall. Lecture notes available on unit web page.
Unit Assessment Breakdown:	Assignment 15%. Mid Semester Test 15%. Final Examination 70%. In order to pass this unit student must achieve at least 50% in exam, must have attempted all other components and not missed more than three practical sessions. Final mark must be 50% plus.
Year Location Period Internal Area External Central External 2004 Bentley Campus Semester 1 Y     2004 Bentley Campus Semester 2 Y