CSE 410 is an undergraduate course on computer systems, spanning from processor organization through the operating system and a bit of networking. Assignments will be a combination of reading, paper and pencil, and software implementation. We will use, but not master, RISC-V assembler, C, and possibly Python, as well as associated Linux tools. While programming experience is required, no experience with these languages is necessary.
We will follow University guidelines regarding live versus remote delivery. As I write this, we are remote for the first week of classes and then live.
I will endeavor to at least record all lectures. If it's possible to both stream and record in-person classes in the classroom we have been assigned, I will try to do that as well. Past experience indicates you should expect that there could be flaws in the recordings -- no audio, for instance. The goal, though, is to provide you with your choice of in-person, streamed, or recorded access, subject to University rules.
The course emphasizes breadth rather than depth. I don't know of a single text that covers the material, and so we don't have one. I will try to provide references to online resources as we go through the topics, and I'm sure you wil be able to find others. It is EXPECTED that you will have questions, so please ask them!
There will be a mid-term and a final. Both will be take home exams, meaning you will take them remotely, on Canvas. The final is schedon Monday, March 16, 2:30-4:20 pm. The course calendar will be updated if the exams move.
Everybody has a different set of obligations and pressures to attend to. My assumption is that you're a better judge of how best to manage your time for your situation than I am. So, we're not upset in this course if you're occasionally a little late turning things in. We will be upset if you're late with everything or very late with something, because neither of those things has worked out to be good for other students in the past. (If you need to be very late, get in touch with us as soon as you realize that's what's happening.)
Our basic policy is that there is never a penalty if you hand your assignment in before we start grading. How much after the due date will we start grading? Who knows - like you, we have lots to do and so it will vary a bit. We'll be as understanding as possible if you're later than the due date. What that means is that it will likely be okay, unless it's so late that grading it becomes too complicated.
You do not have to tell anyone if you're going to hand an assignment in just a couple days late. If more than that, it would be good to warn us.
Collaboration is a very good thing. On the other hand, cheating is considered a very serious offense and is vigorously prosecuted. Vigorous prosecution requires that you be advised of the cheating policy of the course before the offending act.
For this quarter, the policy is simple: don’t cheat. You know it when you’re doing it. We’ll recognize it when you do it. For example:
On the other hand, for this class, you are strongly encouraged to:
If you obtain help of any kind, always write the name(s) of your sources.
Please read CSE’s Academic Misconduct Policy.
If we meet in person, you are asked to err on the side of caution and not attend in person if you are or think you may be ill. For lectures, we intend to record them, whether or not we're meeting in person. Exams are already scheduled as take homes.
If illness causes you to fall behind on work, well, we have a very flexible late policy. I understand that might not be enough, though. If you get way behind due to illness, my experience is that it's more important to get back in sync with the class than it is to do a stressed job of completing missed assignments as well as current assignments. Typically, we will make the missed assignment optional - if you complete it, great, but if not we will grade as though it didn't exist. This is subject to case-by-case review, though, so get in touch if you find yourself in this situation.