This is an archived CS 240 website. There is a more current offering.

Introduction to Computer Systems

(a.k.a. Machine Organization, Computer Organization)

	Name	Contact	Locale	Drop-in Hours (Google Calendar, iCal)
Instructor	Ben Wood	benjamin.wood	SCI E128, Microfocus	Monday 2-4, Wednesday 4:30-5:30, Thursday 3-5, and by appointment. Ben is off campus for research on Fridays and on many Tuesday/Wednesday mornings.
Lab Instructor	Jean Herbst	jherbst	SCI E129, Microfocus	Monday 3-5, Tuesday 5-6, Wednesday 12:30-1:30, Thursday 2-4, and by appointment
Tutors	Amy, Ella, Kim, Madeleine	Google Group	SCI Microfocus, or S173 during labs	Sunday 7-9, Monday 7-9, Tuesday 8-10, Wednesday 3-5 and 7-9, Thursday 7-10
Classmates	CS 240 Fall 2016	Google Group	SCI Microfocus, around campus	by appointment

Schedule → now

topic = reading/class, lab = lab, ex = written assignment, code = applied assignment, exam = exam

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
29 August	30 August	31 August	1 September topic the plan (reading, slides) topic digital logic (reading, slides) ex Assign: Entrance Gates	2 September
5 September (Labor Day)	6 September lab computer guts lab transistors lab environment	7 September lab computer guts lab transistors lab environment	8 September topic digital logic (reading, slides)	9 September
12 September ex Due: Entrance Gates topic data as bits (reading, slides) ex Assign: Integer Arithmancy code Assign: Bit Transfiguration	13 September lab digital logic	14 September lab digital logic	15 September topic integer representation (reading, slides)	16 September
19 September ex Due: Integer Arithmancy topic combinational logic (reading, slides) topic logic for arithmetic, ALU (reading, slides) code Checkpoint: Bit Transfiguration	20 September lab ALU	21 September lab ALU	22 September code Due: Bit Transfiguration topic logic for arithmetic, ALU (reading, slides) topic floating point (reading, slides) ex Assign: Circuit Herbology	23 September
26 September topic floating point (reading, slides) topic latches, flip-flops, registers (reading, slides)	27 September lab flip-flops, FSMs	28 September lab flip-flops, FSMs	29 September ex Due: Circuit Herbology topic latches, flip-flops, registers (reading, slides) topic a simple processor (reading, slides) ex Assign: Pensieve Processing	30 September (President Johnson's Inauguration)
3 October topic a simple processor (reading, slides) exam preview	4 October lab processor datapath	5 October lab processor datapath	6 October ex Due: Pensieve Processing topic programming with memory (reading, slides)	7 October
10 October (Fall Break)	11 October (Fall Break)	12 October exam 2-hour take-home	13 October exam 2-hour take-home topic programming with memory (reading, slides) lab C, pointers, arrays code Assign: Pointer Potions	14 October exam 2-hour take-home
17 October topic programming with memory (reading, slides) topic reasoning about programs topic x86 ISA, assembly (reading, slides)	18 October lab C, pointers, arrays	19 October lab C, pointers, arrays	20 October topic x86 ISA, assembly (reading, slides) code Checkpoint: Pointer Potions	21 October
24 October topic control flow (reading, slides) code Checkpoint: Pointer Potions code Assign: x86 Runes	25 October lab x86, disassembly, reverse engineering	26 October lab x86, disassembly, reverse engineering	27 October (Tanner Conference) code Due: Pointer Potions	28 October
31 October topic control flow (reading, slides) topic procedures and stacks (reading, slides)	1 November topic procedures and stacks (reading, slides) lab procedures, stacks	2 November topic procedures and stacks (reading, slides) lab procedures, stacks	3 November topic procedures and stacks (reading, slides) topic buffer overrun exploits (reading, slides) code Checkpoint: x86 Runes	4 November
7 November topic data structures (reading, slides) code Due: x86 Runes code Assign: Dark Buffer Arts	8 November lab x86 data structures	9 November lab x86 data structures	10 November topic memory hierarchy and cache (reading, slides)	11 November
14 November topic memory hierarchy and cache (reading, slides) code Checkpoint: Dark Buffer Arts ex Assign: Cache Divination	15 November lab cache	16 November lab cache	17 November topic memory hierarchy and cache (reading, slides) code Due: Dark Buffer Arts	18 November
21 November topic exceptional control flow (reading, slides) topic operating systems, process model (reading, slides)	22 November ex Due: Cache Divination	23 November (Thanksgiving Break)	24 November (Thanksgiving Break)	25 November (Thanksgiving Break)
28 November topic operating systems, process model (reading, slides) topic shells and signals (reading, slides) topic virtual memory (reading, slides) code Assign: Shell Spells	29 November exam 24-hour take-home lab processes	30 November exam 24-hour take-home lab processes	1 December exam 24-hour take-home topic virtual memory (reading, slides)	2 December exam 24-hour take-home
5 December topic dynamic memory allocation (reading, slides) code Assign: Remembrallocator	6 December lab memory management	7 December lab memory management	8 December topic dynamic memory allocation (reading, slides) topic compilers, runtime systems, Java (slides) code Checkpoint: Shell Spells	9 December
12 December code Due: Shell Spells topic compilers, runtime systems, Java (slides) topic beyond 240 (slides)	13 December (Reading Period)	14 December (Reading Period)	15 December (Reading Period)	16 December (Final Exams)
19 December (Final Exams)	20 December (Final Exams)	21 December (Final Exams)	22 December (Final Exams) code Due: Remembrallocator	23 December (Winter Break)