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Introduction to Computer Systems

This page gives a brief description of the administrative arrangements for COMP2300 and COMP6300 in 2011. Most of the information about this course will be available via the course web page:

• http://cs.anu.edu.au/student/comp2300/
• http://cs.anu.edu.au/student/comp6300/

The formal description of the courses can be found at the studyat web pages:

• http://studyat.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP2300;details.html
• http://studyat.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP6300;details.html

Course Staff

The course lecturer is Dr Eric McCreath. His office is CSIT N227 and email address is ericm@cs.anu.edu.au.

Eric's weekly schedule is below. I plan to be in my office the hour before the lectures to answer student questions. Also feel free to talk to me at other times.

Textbooks

The Specification of the rPeANUt Computer, is absolutely necessary for the rPeANUt module, and it is assumed that all students have access to a copy. The print out of it will be handed out in the week 1 lectures. Also it is available for down load via the web.

Additionally, you will find a book on the C programming language and one on computer architecture to be extremely valuable, as in the laboratories, assignments and examination it will be expected that you are familiar with material beyond that which is presented in the lecture slides. Some reading is essential in order to gain a good level of understanding of computer systems. The course assessment will be designed in order to test your understanding. The choice of textbooks will be discussed in the first lecture. You will also find a book on C very useful for your future professional life.

Lectures

The lectures in 2011 are scheduled according to the following timetable:

• Tuesday @16:00 in ChemT1
• Wednesday @16:00 in ChemT1
• Friday @12:00 in ChemT1

For a detailed lecture schedule please consult the course Web Page. Slides presented in the lectures will be made available from the page one day before the lecture. You are recommend to print these and bring a copy to the lecture to annotate with your own notes.

Tutorial/Laboratory Laboratories

There will be 9 supervised combined tutorial/laboratory sessions, each of 2 hours duration. At this stage these labs are scheduled for weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11.

For the tutorial part of the session, handouts will be provided. You will need to bring these to your session as, in ‘tutorial mode’, you may be gathered around the whiteboard and will need a hardcopy. Please also bring something to write on.

The handout for each session may include Preparation Exercises, which contains simple ex- ercises you will be expected to complete before the session and hand in to your tutor at the beginning. The rPeANUt manual should be brought to all rPeANUt-related sessions.

To register for a session, go to http://cs.anu.edu.au/streams.

Assignments

There will be three assignments in 2011.

• Assignment 1: out week 2, tentatively due week 6 (Fri noon), value 10%
• Assignment 2: out week 5, tentatively due week 9 (Fri noon), value 10%
• Assignment 3: out week 9, tentatively due week 12 (Fri noon), value 10%

Detailed assignment specifications will be placed on the course Web Page. Assignment extensions will only be granted in unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the student, and will require supporting documentation (e.g. serious illness supported with medical certificates).

From the date that your assignment marks are released electronically, you have a period of two weeks in which to question your mark. After this period your mark will be final. Release of assignment marks will be announced on the course Announcement Forum.

Students in COMP6300 are expected to complete optional parts of assignments and labs/tutorials.

Assessment

The proposed assessment for COMP2300/6300 in 2011 will be in four parts:

• assignments, worth 30%.
• a tutorial/laboratory mark, worth 10%. This includes a mark allocated by your tutor on your tutorial preparation along with a mark for the completion of the lab.
• a one hour mid-semester written examination, worth 20%. Its two questions will be independently redeemable by equivalent questions in the final exam.
• a two (plus one) hour final written examination, worth 40%.

These components are then added to give your final mark. This may then be scaled to give your overall course mark and grade. The final marks for COMP2300 and COMP6300 are scaled separately.

Students must get a minimum final overall mark of at least 50% to pass the subject. Final marks are moderated by a School of Computer Science examiners meeting. Supplementary exams will be awarded to those students with an overall course mark of between 45 and 49.

Please check the Undergraduate Handbook and the web for policy statements concerning special consideration and special, further and supplementary examinations.

Quality and integrity are expected from all students. Students should also expect this from the lecturing/tutorial staff. Please read over the ANU's policy on this matter: http://academichonesty.anu.edu.au/