Mailing list: dcs_505_s05@rams.rutgers.edu
Discussion: newsgroup-like discussion board and chat room are available through WebCT

Include [cs505] on the subject line of all emails sent to the list or to instructor/TA. If you don't follow this protocol, your email will likely be discarded.

Do NOT abuse the mailing list; it is only intended for the dissemination of time-critical information. Use the discussion board on WebCT for questions and discussions.

Text: John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson. Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, 3rd Edition. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2002. ISBN 1-55860-596-7.

Pre-requisites:

• Undergraduate courses in operating systems and architecture. Undergraduate course in compiler helpful.
• C and Assembly language programming.

Your Expected Load: At this point, the course is still evolving so this is not set in stone. However, you can expect the following approximate load. All readings must be done before the corresponding lectures. Each student is required to submit a summary per assigned paper before the lecture starts. Summaries should be submitted to the appropriate discussion board on webct.

• Presentation: Research papers listed as required reading will be presented by students. Each student must present at least 1 paper.
• Tests: 1 midterm, 1 final.
• HWs (pencil & paper and programming): 2.
• Project: 1.

Approximate Grade Break Down: 25% midterm, 25% final, 10% presentation, 15% hws, 25% project.

Rules for collaborations: You are free to talk to your fellow classmates about your assignments. However, you must follow the Gilligan's Island rule. That is, after a joint discussion of an assignment, each student should discard all notes, go do something mind-numbing for an hour (like watching two episodes of Gilligan's Island), and then recreate the solutions. The idea of this policy is to ensure that you fully understand the solutions or ideas that the group came up with.

Assignments may involve people working in teams. When this is the case, each person must understand all aspects of the assignment.

Last but not least, it is likely that you can find solutions to your assignments on the web. Copying from the web is CHEATING and will be dealt with severely. Needless to say, copying from your classmates is also cheating.