
Computer Organization
Code: 102774Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | OB | 2 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Anna Bàrbara Sikora
- Email :
- anna.sikora@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Xavier Cano De Castro
- Rafael Cortes Fite
- Anna Bàrbara Sikora
- Otger Ballester Basols
- Nehir Sonmez Tekin
- Oscar Lostes Cazorla
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
Although there are no formally established prerequisites, a good knowledge of the basic functioning of a computer and a certain knowledge of its functional units is indispensable. (Fundamentals of computers).
Objectives
- The objective of this subject is to know the operation of a computer, from the point of view of the instruction set, and to learn the operation of the subsystems of Input/Output and memory (main memory and cache).
- The theoretical concepts on the instruction are reinforced with the lab sessions where the students learn to program in assembly language.
- All the components described in this subject must allow the student to understand the operation of a conventional computer and to a certain extent be able to make a simple design of its subsystems.
Learning outcomes
- CM20 (Envision IT projects by participating in their design, planning and rollout, as well as defining their technical conditions in accordance with principles of quality and reliability.) Envision IT projects by participating in their design, planning and rollout, as well as defining their technical conditions in accordance with principles of quality and reliability.
- KM21 (Indicate the basic principles of computer structure.) Indicate the basic principles of computer structure.
- SM25 (Analyse IT applications and systems in any area of computer engineering to assess their economic impact with a view to their implementation and continuous improvement, while ensuring their reliability, safety and quality.) Analyse IT applications and systems in any area of computer engineering to assess their economic impact with a view to their implementation and continuous improvement, while ensuring their reliability, safety and quality.
- SM26 (Apply knowledge of computer structure to design, implement and maintain IT systems and applications.) Apply knowledge of computer structure to design, implement and maintain IT systems and applications.
Contents
1. Computer Structure
2. The Processor
Instruction Set. Instruction Types. Addressing Modes. Instruction Format. Data Path. Segmented processing.
3. Memory Hierarchy
Cache memory
4. The Memory System
Organization of the Memory System. Static and Dynamic Memory.
5. Input/Output and Buses
Input/Output Module. Programmed Input/Output. Interrupts. Direct Memory Access. Buses.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab | 9 | 0.36 | CM20, SM26 |
| Exercises | 7 | 0.28 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Theoretical lessons | 22 | 0.88 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Study | 100 | 4 | CM20, KM21, SM25, SM26 |
- Lectures: The knowledge of the subject will be presented in the form of lectures. In these lectures the basic concepts exposed in the subject syllabus will be shown to the student and clear indications of how to complete and deepen these contents will be provided. The master classes, in spite of being mainly an explanation by the teacher, will be participatory for the student giving him/her the opportunity to ask those points that he/she does not understand where they will be constantly asked questions and problems to check the proper understanding of the exposed subject .
- Seminars: The objective of the seminars is double. On the one hand, the scientific and technical knowledge exposed in the lectures will be worked on to complete their understanding and deepen them. For this, diverse activities will be developed, from the typical resolution of problems to the discussion of practical cases. Learning methodologies and cooperative problem solving will be implemented. On the other hand, the seminars will be the natural forum in which to discuss altogether the development of practical work, contributing the knowledge that the student lacks to carry it out, or indicating where he/she can acquire ths knowledge. The mission of the seminars is to bridge the gap between the master classes and the practical work, which will promote the capacity for analysis and synthesis, critical reasoning, and which will train the student to solve problems.
- Practicum: In the laboratory sessions the students will carry out practical work and analyse the proposed solutions to solve the problems raised. At the beginning of the course the student will receive a dossier with the practical work that must be developed during the course. This practical work is based on the design and programming of assembly programs that allow to understand the operation of a computer and learn the mechanisms of the Input / Output subsystem. The practices will be developed in groups of three students. The practicum includes 6 sessions in the laboratory, each lasting 2 hours, where the implementation and debugging of the programs will take place. Before each session thestudent will have to carry outawork of preparation of the session and will have to show the professor to be able to begin his/her work in the laboratory. The student will deliver a report of the practicum in order to finish it and, for reasons of teaching ability, will only be corrected in the case of students whose grade is doubtful.
This approach of the work is oriented to promote an active learning and to develop the capacity competencies of organization and planning, oral and written communication, teamwork and critical reasoning. The quality of the project carried out, its presentation and its operation will be especially valued.
During theory classes and problem seminars, photos and recordings cannot be made without the consent of the teacher.
The platform for virtual communication used throughout the course will be the Virtual Campus - Moodle of the UAB.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Seminar 3 | 5% | 1 | 0.04 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Exercise Seminar 4 | 5% | 1 | 0.04 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Exercise Seminar 2 | 5% | 1 | 0.04 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Exercise Seminar 1 | 5% | 1 | 0.04 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| 2nd partial exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
| Lab Validation | Multiplying factor from 0.5 to 1.25 | 1 | 0.04 | SM26 |
| Lab | 30% | 3 | 0.12 | CM20, SM26 |
| 1st partial exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | CM20, KM21, SM25 |
Evaluation process and activities:
The objective of the evaluation process is to verify that the students have achieved the knowledge and skills defined in the objectives of the subject.
The evaluation will be carried out based on the degree of involvement in the seminars, the scientific-technical knowledge of the subject achieved by the students and the practical work developed by the students in groups of 3 people in the laboratory sessions.
To make this evaluation, the following instruments are available:
- The evaluation of the work in the Seminar sessions, which will include the delivery of a work in indicated sessions.
- Two midterms carried out throughout the course, individually, to adequately assess the degree of knowledge achieved by the students.
- The assessment of the students' work in the laboratory, as well as that of the documentation submitted of their practical work and the corresponding individual validation test.
Final grade = Midterm grade * (0.5) + Seminar grade * (0.2) + Practical grade * (0.3)
Midterm Grades = 1st Midterm * (0.5) + 2nd Midterm * (0.5)
- Minimum average grade of Midterms: 5 points
- Minimum grade of each midterm to be able to make calculate the final mark: 3 points
- Rescheduling of Midterm Exams: In the cases contemplated in the regulations, to request the rescheduling of a Partial Exam, the established procedure must be followed. As a general rule, if a midterm exam must be rescheduled, it will be rescheduled on the date of the reassessment test.
Seminar Grades = > The 4 best grades obtained in the 5 seminars are considered. Each seminar considered has a weight of 0.25 in the final seminar grade
- The seminars willbe held in teams of 3 people (always the same teams). In the exceptional case of not being able to attend a seminar due to force majeure, there will be the possibility of connecting with the team remotely and participating in the activities of the seminar so that attendance can be taken into account.
- Seminars cannot be rescheduled or rescheduled.
Practice Grade = Lab * Validation
- Minimum grade of practices: 5 points
- Minimum laboratory grade to calculate the Practice Grade: 5 points
Students who do not pass the part of the Midterms (either because they have obtained less than 3 points in a midterm or because they do not reach an average of 5 points in this part) will be able to take the re-evaluation exam of ALL the topics of the subject.
Attendance at laboratory sessions is mandatory and cannot be recovered. In the exceptional case of not being able to attend a laboratory session due to force majeure, there will be possibility of connecting with the team remotely and participating in the practice session so that attendance can be taken into account. Failure to attend two practical sessions will result in a failure in the laboratory qualification.
The practical work carried out in the laboratory sessions DOES NOT have REEVALUATION.
The practice will be structured in three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced:
- The basic level gives the option of a score between 0 and 6 points, if it is delivered in the first 3 sessions. If it is delivered in the fourth or fifth session, it can reach a 5.5 and if it is delivered in the last session, a 5.
- The intermediate level allows you to add one point to the grade of the basic level, if it is delivered in the two sessions following the delivery of the basic level, and half a point if it is delivered from the third session after having delivered the basic level.
- The advanced level gives the option to add one point to thescore achieved after submitting the intermmediate level if it is delivered in the two sessions following the delivery of the intermmediate level and half a point from the third session.
You cannot submit the work for a level if you have not previously presented the previous level to the teacher and he or she has given you the go-ahead. Only one level can be submitted in a session. In order to pass the practices, it is necessary to achieve a minimum score of 5 points in the laboratory sessions.
The grade obtained in the laboratory is individual, and will depend on the attendance and work developed during the practical sessions, and on the answers by each member of the team to the questions that the teacher responsible for the shift may ask.
There is a written test of individual validation of the practices in the schedule established by the coordination for the second midterms in January. A score of 0 points on the validation test will give a factor of 0.5, a score of 5 points will give a factor of 1, and a score of 10 will give a factor of 1.25. That is, there is a scale factor between 0 and 5 (0.5+0.1*grade) and a scale factor between 5 and 10 (1+0.05*(grade-5)).
Scheduling and operation of evaluation activities:
The dates of the continuous assessment tests and submission of assignments will be published on the virtual campus and may be subject to possible scheduling changes for reasons of adaptation to possible incidents; the Virtual Campus (CV) will always be updated about these changes, since the CV is the usual mechanism for communicating information by the teaching staff. Students who wish to communicate with the teaching staff electronically must do so using their institutional email and directing it tothe institutional email of the teaching staff in order to avoid communication problems.
Both with regard tothe midterms and the reassessment, no person will be allowed to enter after 5 minutes from the start of the test. Electronic devices (mobile phones, smart watches, tablets, etc.) may not be used in the evaluation tests.
Procedure for reviewing grades:
For each evaluation activity, once the grades have been published, a deadline will be set to request review. People who have requested a review will be called to carry out the review. In this context, complaints may be made about the grade of the activity, which will be evaluated by the teaching staff responsible for the subject. People who do not request a review will not be able to review this activity later.
Special Qualifications:
- Students are considered to have taken the subject when they have completed a delivery of seminar exercises and have attended a midterm exam. In case of not presenting this minimum, the grade awarded will be \"Not evaluable\".
- To pass the subject, it will be necessary to have obtained a minimum score of 5 in the practice and average between both midterms.
- A complete evaluation of the theory part (midterms) will be planned at the end of the semester for those students that have passed the practicum, but not the midterms. Provided that the grade of this global reassessment of the controls is greater than 5 points, the final grade will be calculated by calculating the corresponding average with the practicum grade and the seminars.
- In case of not passing the subject due to not reaching the minimum score in any of the sections, even if the final grade is equal to or greater than 5 when calculating the average, the final for the subject will be a 4.5. In the event that the average does not reach 5,the grade that will appear in the records will be the average grade obtained numerically.
- To qualify for the honors grade,it is a necessary condition to have obtained a final grade of the subject of more than 9 points. On the other hand, only a maximum number of honors can be assigned equal to 5% of the number of students enrolled.
Evaluation of repeating students:
Repeating students are evaluated in the same way as newly enrolled students, without any difference, nor keeping any grade count from the previous year.
Consequences of irregularities committed by students:
Without prejudice to other disciplinary measures that may be deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, irregularities committed by a person that may lead to a variation in the grade will be graded with a zero (0). For example, plagiarism, copying, letting copy, unauthorized use of AI (e.g. Copilot, ChatGPT or equivalents) ..., an evaluation activity will involve suspending this evaluation activity with a zero (0). Evaluation activities qualified in this way and by this procedure will not be recoverable. If it is necessary to pass any of these evaluation activities to pass the subject, this subject will be suspended directly, without the opportunity to recover it in the same academic year.
For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information search, text correction or translations ... In the case of laboratory practices, the student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how they have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Non-transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater penalties incases of seriousness of the act. AI tools cannot be used in problem seminars.
This subject DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR A SINGLE ASSESSMENT.
Bibliography
- “Organización y Arquitectura de Computadores. Principios de estructura y funcionamiento” William Stallings. Ed. Pearson. Prentice-Hall.
- “Estructura y diseño de computadores” David Patterson/John L. Hennessy. Ed. Reverté.
- “Computer Systems Design and Architecture” Vicent P. Heuring / Harry F. Jordan. Ed. Addison-Wesley
- "Problemas resueltos de estructura de Computadores" Félix García Carballeira, Jesús Carretero Pérez, José Daniel García Sánchez, David Expósito Singh. Editorial Paraninfo
Software
- Visual Studio 2022 Community
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 41 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 43 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 45 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 411 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 411 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 412 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 412 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 413 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 414 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 415 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 416 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 417 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 418 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 419 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 420 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 421 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 431 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 432 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 451 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 452 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | afternoon |