CSC 373 Computer Systems I
Summary
This course covers the concepts underlying all computer systems and how they affect the correctness, performance, and utility of application programming. We will cover, in particular, information representations, assembly language and debuggers, memory hierarchy, virtual memory, basic system-level I/O, networking and network programming
Texts
Bryan & O'Hallaron, Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN: 0-13-034074-X
Grading
| Lab Projects | 50% |
| Midterm Exam | 25% |
| Final Exam | 25% |
Overall grades will be assigned as follows:
| 93-100 | A |
| 90-92 | A- |
| 87-89 | B+ |
| 83-36 | B |
| 80-82 | B- |
| 77-79 | C+ |
| 73-76 | C |
| 70-72 | C- |
| 67-69 | D+ |
| 60-66 | D |
| 0 - 59 | F |
Prerequisites
You must have successfully completed the introductory programming sequence in Java. This means you have a passing grade in CSC212, CSC224, or CSC396. Although we will not be programming in Java, we will be writing and using C code. We will cover necessary C topics as we need them, but I will assume that you already:
- know how to create, compile, and execute a Java program at the command line
- know how to debug a Java program
- understand the difference between primitive types and reference types
- understand basic programming structures (branching, loops, functions, etc.)
Your knowledge of these topics in Java will easily transfer to C and will be critical to your success in this class.
Lab Projects and Homework
There will be at least 2 and possibly 3 lab projects for the course. Students can work in groups of at most
2 students on a lab project. Late projects will not be accepted. Getting a 0 on a lab will severely hurt your grade in the class. However, lab projects can all be done incrementally and can be resubmitted, so students are
strongly encouraged to submit and resubmit partial solutions as they complete various parts of the labs to insure that they at least get credit for the parts they have completed.
Homework problems will also be assigned. Students are expected to copmlete these assignments and the solutions to these problems will be discussed in class, but these homework assignments will not be collected nor graded. These assignments provide important practice and they help you to understand the topics discussed in class. It will be extremely difficult to do well on the exams without having worked on the homework.
Exams
The midterm exam must be taken on Thursday, May 4 or Friday, May 5.
The final exam must be taken on Thursday, June 8 or Friday, June 9.
Students are expected to take the exams at the scheduled times. Students who have a conflict must notify me by Thursday, April 6 so that a makeup can be arranged. Otherwise students are expected to set aside these dates for the exam.
The instructor reserves the right to administer make up exams differently than the regular exam. In particular, make up exams will be closed book and closed notes. Additionally, the instructor may give oral make up exams.
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.
Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course
content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The
evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely
separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation.
Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.
This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you
have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.
All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.
All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.
Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that
you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296