CS.305 Computer Architecture Introduction Duncan Smeed

IntroductionCS305_01/2 Administrivia  Resources  Syllabus  Essential Reading  Lecture Notes  One-Minute Papers  Tutorials  Assessments  Pre-requisites  Recommended Reading/References  Exam Stats

IntroductionCS305_01/3 Resources  Web pages  Newsgroup(s)  Forum 

IntroductionCS305_01/4 Resources – Web pages  Official home page:  Primarily used for everything bar the assignment submission system (see SPIDER below)  Major update announcements:  SPIDER:  Really only used for assignment submissions  Will contain links to the ‘official’ web pages

IntroductionCS305_01/5 Resources – Newsgroups RIP  Official newsgroup at  Integral part of class delivery content - examinable material  Usual place for announcements, etc.  ‘Chat’ newsgroup at  Non-official newsgroup about class-related topics!

IntroductionCS305_01/6 Resources – Forum  Official Forum  Integral part of class delivery content?* May contain examinable material  Usual place for announcements, etc.* * Note: still TBC since the Forum has replaced the newsgroup for the first time this year  ‘Chat’ Forum:  Non-existent!  If need/demand arises it might get set up

IntroductionCS305_01/7 Resources –  The official forum is the preferred(!?) method of e- interaction… …However, if you must use to contact me about the class then please be aware of my… …Filters and Spam Traps, so  Please use the label [CS305] as part of the subject line  Best to use your official University or Departmental account

IntroductionCS305_01/8 Syllabus & Essential Reading  Syllabus See Handout, or  Essential Reading Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Fourth Edition David Patterson, University of California, Berkeley John Hennessy, Stanford University  More textbook details at:

IntroductionCS305_01/9 Lecture Notes  Distribution policy Available from:  Printed handouts of the slides will be distributed in (advance of) each lecture  Slides only part of the story!  Attending the lectures is highly recommended*  Having (access to) the textbook is essential *Note: It is now departmental policy to record attendance at lectures, practicals and tutorials.

IntroductionCS305_01/10 One-Minute Papers  This will be the 5 th year of using OMPs to support the teaching of this class  Handed out at the start of each lecture  If I forget then please remind me!  Collected in at the end of each lecture  Please don’t forget to hand in your OMP!  Returned at a subsequent tutorial  Used to kick-start a tutorial’s Q&A?  OMP Bonus Scheme!  Worth up to an additional 10% of the coursework contribution. I.e. 10% * 20% => 2% of the overall assessment.  Each OMP is given a mark between 1 and 3 ① Neither of the questions answered ② Only one of the questions (sensibly!?) ③ Both questions answered (sensibly!?)

IntroductionCS305_01/11 One-Minute Paper… Questions  There are two OMP questions: Q1What was the most important point made in the lecture today? Q2What are you still most unsure of as a result of the lecture?  Please answer these questions as honestly as possible  They are an invaluable, and immediate, source of feedback  Answers to Q2 will help focus later lectures/tutorials on common issues  There may be a third question – typically a MCQ for eliciting feedback. For instance:

IntroductionCS305_01/12 Tutorials  Details/Links:  Guidelines:  Start Week 3 – Allocations announced in Week 2 – Day/Time/Room:  Thu/11:00/GH450  Thu/12:00/GH450  Fri/13:00/GH451  There’s work to be done before, and in, each tutorial! E.g.

Encourage Learning with In-Tutorial Exercises  Exercises attempted before/during/after tutorials are a vital aspect of engaging with the class content.  Most of the exercises will be derived from the end-of- chapter exercises of the textbook.  The more exercises attempted the better the level of knowledge and understanding will be.  Given the number of exercises that are set and the importance of these, it is recommended that students organise themselves into small self-help groups.  I call these self-help groups “ELITE Teams” ;-) IntroductionCS305_01/13

ELITE Teams  Composition  Self-determined by the students  Up to 4 students in each team  Members of a team should be in the same tutorial group  Organisation  ELITE Teams are encouraged to meet on an ad-hoc, weekly, basis outside the scheduled times for the CS305 lectures/tutorials. The time available in a tutorial will not be enough!  Members of the team are encouraged to share the workload of answering the In-Tutorial Exercises. How this is done is up to each team. There are several approaches…  Justification & Motivation  ELITE Team members will be able to discuss and answer more questions/exercises than they could as individuals. IntroductionCS305_01/14

IntroductionCS305_01/15 Assessments  Exam: 80%  Answer 3 questions from 4  Coursework: 20%  Assessed Coursework Exercise #1  Assessed Coursework Exercise #2  Assessed Coursework Exercise Group Project  Class Test #1  Class Test #2  Bonuses: ?%  OMP Bonus Scheme!  Bonus questions in ACEs?

IntroductionCS305_01/16 Assessed Coursework Exercises (ACEs)  Assessed Coursework Exercise #1 (ACE #1)  Type:Individual Exercise  Weight:100/300  Set:Monday, 12th October Week 3  Due:Friday, 6th November Week 6  Assessed Coursework Exercise #2 (ACE #2)  Type:Individual Exercise  Weight:100/300  Set:Monday, 9th November Week 7  Due:Friday, 4th December Week 10

IntroductionCS305_01/17 ACE Group Project  Assessed Coursework Exercise Group Project  Type:Group Exercise  Weight:100/300  Set: Monday, 16th November Week 8  Due: Friday, 18th December - Week 12  ACE Groups  Composition:Possibly the same as an ELITE Team. TBC.  Operation:TBD

IntroductionCS305_01/18 Class Tests  Class Test #1 (CT #1)  Type:In-lecture, 25 question, 30-minute, MCQ  Weight:50/300*  Set:Monday, 9th November Week 7  Class Test #2 (CT #2)  Type:In-lecture, 25 question, 30-minute, MCQ  Weight:50/300*  Set:Monday, 7th December Week 11 * The total mark from all assessments is 300 and is calculated from the best mix of ACE #1, ACE #2, CT #1 and CT #2 marks added to the ACE Group Project mark. I.e. the combined mark for CT #1 and CT #2 may be used to compensate for the poorest #ACE mark if this gives a better total. The Group Project mark cannot be compensated.

Feedback Mechanisms  Marked work and/or marking schemes  As appropriate  Sample solutions  Online and/or covered in lectures/tutorials  Forum Q&As  But remember this is not a ‘distance learning’ class!  One-Minute Papers  Help focus later lectures/tutorials on common issues  Class Tests  Correct answers given in the lecture following the class test  Tutorials  Worked exercises and solutions to in-tutorial exercises IntroductionCS305_01/19

IntroductionCS305_01/20 Pre-requisites  Note recommended pre-requisites for the class:  Computer Organisation  Low Level Programming

IntroductionCS305_01/21 Recommended Reading/References 1.Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Fourth Edition David Patterson, University of California, Berkeley John Hennessy, Stanford University (Duncan's version) Lecture Notes Available (restricted access) from: Lecture Notes Available (restricted access) from:

Exam Stats  Out of curiousity I have analysed the exam results from the first diet CS305 exams for past cohorts.  In particular, I was curious to see if the attendances at lectures and tutorials were a good predictor of performance in the exam. So, here are the raw stats so you can draw your own conclusions.  Key:  #l = number of lectures  #s = number of students  #t = number of tutorials  #p = number of students passing the first diet exam IntroductionCS305_01/22

Exam Stats – AY 2006/ Details  By lecture attendance  #l#s#pMeanStd.Dev      <  By tutorial attendance  #t#s#pMeanStd.Dev    < IntroductionCS305_01/23

Exam Stats – AY 2007/ Details  By lecture attendance  #l#s#pMeanStd.Dev      <  By tutorial attendance  #t#s#pMeanStd.Dev     < IntroductionCS305_01/24

Exam Stats – AY 2008/ Details  By lecture attendance  #l#s#pMeanStd.Dev      <  By tutorial attendance  #t#s#pMeanStd.Dev      < IntroductionCS305_01/25

Exam Stats – Summaries  AY2006/2007 – 73 Students:  Number of students that passed at first attempt: 56  Number of students absent from exam: 4  Average exam mark: 57.1%  Std. dev. of exam marks: 20.8  AY2007/2008 – 74 Students  Number of students that passed at first attempt: 53  Number of students absent from exam: 4  Average exam mark: 47.6%  Std. dev. of exam marks: 17.2  AY2008/2009 – 63 Students:  Number of students that passed at first attempt: 54  Number of students absent from exam: 3  Average exam mark: 58.1%  Std. dev. of exam marks: 15.4 IntroductionCS305_01/26