FIT9010 Computer systems - Semester 1 , 2008

Gippsland

• Dengsheng Zhang

Gippsland

• Kai Ming Ting

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this unit.

Relationships

FIT9010 Computer Systems is one of the four core units in the Master of Applied IT program.

Unit leader

Lecturer(s) :

Tutor(s) :

• Lectures
• Laboratories and Tutorials
• Unit also available in OCL mode, involving printed notes and/or on-line materials and internet based discussion groups.

Lectures will be used to present concepts and the relationships between ideas, and so guide the student through a structured outline of the material derived from, but not necessarily identical to that provided by the text books and online resources. Tutorials and hands-on Laboratory sessions will be used to link the theory with practice and enhance the students understanding. Software tools, such as simulators with visual interfaces, will be employed to illustrate these concepts and help develop understanding.

Communication, participation and feedback

Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Unit Schedule

Week	Topic	Study guide	References/Readings	Key dates
1	Introduction	SG1	LN1
2	Data Representation & Arithmetic	SG2	LN2
3	Boolean algebra & digital logic	SG3	LN3
4	Boolean algebra & digital logic (cont.)	SG3	LN3
Mid semester break
5	Computer architecture: basic and MIPS	SG4	LN4
6	MIPS assembly language and instruction execution	SG5	LN5	Assignment 1 Due
7	MIPS assembly language and instruction execution (cont)	SG5	LN5
8	Instruction set Architecture	SG6	LN6
9	Program execution concepts	SG7	LN7
10	Memory components	SG8	LN8
11	Operating system	SG9	LN9	Assignment 2 Due
12	System software	SG10	LN10
13	Revision	All	All

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Null L., Lobur J., Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture, second edition, Jones and Bartlett (2006) ISBN 0-7637-3769-0.

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Recommended text(s) and readings

A. S. Tanenbaum, Structured Computer Organization, 5th Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2006, ISBN 0-13-148521-0
W. Stallings, Computer Organization and Architecture, 7th Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2006, ISBN 0-13-185644-8
S. D. Burd, Systems Architecture, 5th edition, Thomson Course Technology, 2006, ISBN 0-619-21692-1
S. Dandamudi,  Fundamentals of Computer Organization and Design,  Springer, ISBN 0-387-95211-X
I. Englander: The Architecture of Computer Hardware and Systems Software, 3rd Edition, Wiley, 2003, 0-471-07325-3
R.L. Britton,  MIPS Assembly Language Programming,  Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-142044-5
W. Stallings, Operating Systems Internals and Design Principles, 5th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN 0-13-127837-1
A. Silberschatz, P. B. Galvin and G. Gagne, Operating System Concepts, Wiley, 7th edition, 2005, ISBN 0-471-69466-5
A. S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating Systems, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, 2001, ISBN 0-13-092641-8
I. M. Flynn and A. M. McHoes, Understanding Operating Systems, 4th edition, Thomson Course Technology, 2006, ISBN 0-534-42366-3

Required software and/or hardware

MultiMedia Logic, ver1.4, SoftTronix, 2004
SPIM v7.3, (2006), MIPS32 simulator
Allthe above are included as part of the Standard Operating Environmentused in Faculty computer Labs and may also be downloaded from the Unitweb site.

Software may be:

• downloaded from FIT1001/9010 MUSO website

ForOff-Campus Students, some of the software is included on the GSITSoftware CD-ROM which should have been mailed to you by OCLC.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the Faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to n hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

10 Lecture Notes  will be made available to the students via the FIT1001/9010 MUSO website.

TheSPIM manual and short extracts from a number of text books will be madeavailable to all students via the FIT9010 MUSO website.

TheFIT1001/9010 web site on MUSO, where lecture slides, tutorial exercises,practical assignment specifications, sample solutions, software andsupplementary material will be available.

Newsgroups and eMail discussion lists available via the FIT1001/9010 unit web site.

Library access

The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle.

You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.

In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

For example :

• Blackboard supported browser
• Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

You can contact the MUSO Support by: Phone: (+61 3) 9903 1268

For further contact information including operational hours, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle at http://moodle.med.monash.edu.au.
From the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

Unit assessment policy

1. 2 Assignments (40%)
2. A three hour examination (60%)

To pass the unit you must:

• attempt both assignments and the examination
• achieve no less that 40% of the possible marks in the exam
• achieve no less than 50% of possible marks

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

Final grade (%) = min (A + 10, E + 10, E * R + A * (1 - R))

Where A = Overall assignment percentage
           E = Examination percentage
           R = Exam weighting
 

Assignment tasks

• Assignment Task

  Title : Assignment 1

  Description :

  Individual work with multiple tasks.

  Weighting : 20%

  Criteria for assessment :

  Due date : Week 5

• Assignment Task

  Title : Assignment 2

  Description :

  Individual work with multiple tasks.

  Weighting : 20%

  Criteria for assessment :

  Due date : Week 11

Examinations

• Examination

  Weighting : 60%

  Length : 3 hours

  Type ( open/closed book ) : Closed book

Assignment submission

Assignments MUST be submitted by electronic submission to

http://wfsubmit.its.monash.edu.au/ 

Do not email submissions and send hard copy submissions! The due date is the date by which the submission must be received/the date by which the the submission is to be posted.

Due dates and extensions

The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day, including weekends. Assignments received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted. In some cases, this period may be shorter if there is a need to release sample solutions.

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment.

Return dates

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Register of counselling about plagiarism

The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

Non-discriminatory language

The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

• Faculty of Information Technology Student Service staff, and / or
• your Unit Coordinator, or
• Disabilities Liaison Unit

Deferred assessment and special consideration

Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.