Announcements of interest to the CS224 class will be posted here throughout the semester. Please be sure to check this page regularly.
08.05.2012 If any student in CS224 is also enrolled in CS352, and on April 11th missed our Problem Set #6 because of a CS352 evening activity, and has not already brought a note to get the absence approved, and does not see “MUAF” for P.S. #6 on the grades page for problem sets, then such a student should immediately take steps to get a note from CS352 and bring it to me.
08.05.2012 The CS224 course homepage has been 'cleaned up' and de-cluttered. The list of links for Resources and for Graded Activities are now found on separate pages. Under Resources, a new link to a large body of solved problems has been added. It is hoped that having a collection of solved problems will help students understand, through worked examples, points that they are having difficulty with. The solved problems are taken from homeworks, quizzes, classworks and exams of CS224 in past years.
04.05.2012 Solutions to Classworks 9-20 are posted on the Classwork page now,
04.05.2012 The Tutorials page has been modified. The materials from this week's tutorial about Memory have been posted, and the topic of the final tutorial has been announced: “Review for final exam”.
04.05.2012 Students are reminded that the tutorial next week, on Tuesday evening May 8th, will be about IO modelling and performance. All are encouraged to attend.
04.05.2012 There are still deficiencies in the Team Progress Reports of a few groups. This is indicated on the re-posted list of Groups for Project #2. Check the list (and your email, since I also emailed about these problems) to see if your group's report is OK or not.
02.05.2012 The Team Progress Reports #3 have been checked, and any deficiencies have been posted on the Groups page, which lists the Project #2 groups. If your Team Progress Report had any deficiencies (marked in red), you should fix them as soon as possible, to avoid further loss of points. Your report is incomplete (or even not submitted) until you have fixed the deficiencies.
02.05.2012 Missing Textbook: If anyone finds or knows the whereabouts of a 4th edition (but not revised printing) of Computer Organization and Design book, with the name “Will Sawyer” written on the 1st inside page, please notify the instructor.
02.05.2012 Students are reminded of the CS224 activities tonight: Problem Set #8 in Mithat Coruh and EB203 starting at 18:00 (allowing time to go get dinner first), followed by the tutorial about Memory (covering Chapter 5 topics) from 19:10 until 20:40 (allowing students to catch the 20:50 Tunus and Sihhiye service busses).
30.04.2012 Solutions to Classworks 15-19 are posted on the classwork Web page now.
27.04.2012 There has been a change in date for Problem Set #8. Because of the Student Senate election, we are not able to use Mithat Coruh on Thursday evening May 3rd. Therefore, Problem Set #8 will take place on Wednesday evening, May 2nd, in Mithat Coruh, from 18:00 till 19:00. It will be followed by the tutorial on memory systems and performance, from 19:10 until 20:40. Please note the changes, and tell your friends and classmates.
26.04.2012 The Web page giving the specification for the Full Design and Implemention Report (the next checkpoint) has been revised and updated.
25.04.2012 The list of Project #2 Groups has been reposted, so groups should check to make sure that all active members, and ONLY active members, are listed. In addition, it shows the evaluation of the Team Progress Report #2, mentioning if anything is missing or wrong.
25.04.2012 Project reports begin with the correct cover page. Each project report has a special cover page, unique to that report. Groups which use the correct cover page have a chance to get full points from the report, and impress the reader. Conversely, groups which use the wrong cover page will not be able to get full points, and cause the reader to begin reading (or grading) with a negative impression. Please ensure that all your reports begin with the correct cover page!
24.04.2012 The midterm exam re-grading requests have all been checked, and the final grades are now recorded and posted. If your grade changed, it means that your request was deemed to be valid, at least partially.
24.04.2012 Students should check their Problem Set scores carefully, to verify that all scores are recorded correctly, and that excused absences are processed (for illness, conflicts with other courses' exams or evening problem sessions, Bilkent-sponsored trips, etc). If it says “MUAF” for the Problem Set(s) you were not present, then it has been processed—otherwise, it has not. Please let the instructor know if there are unprocessed but excused absences, or if the score that is recorded does not agree with the actual score on the paper you recieved back.
24.04.2012 There will be a tutorial in Mithat Coruh at 17:30 tonight about modeling large systems (such as a processor) in Verilog.
24.04.2012 Students should check their attendance carefully, to verify that all waivers (medical reports, school trips, etc) have been processed. If it says “MUAF” for the day(s) you were not present, then it has been processed—otherwise, it has not. Please let the instructor know if there are unprocessed but excused absences.
18.04.2012 The list of group members for some Project #2 groups has been updated. You should check the list posted (under “Groups”) to make sure that it correctly reflects the currently active members. No inactive members are listed, since they are not part of the project team, and will receive a grade of 0 for Project #2. If your Team Progress Report had any deficiencies, you should fix them as soon as possible, to avoid further loss of points.
17.04.2012 The web page with specifications for the Design Review and Peer Grading Report (the next checkpoint in Project #2) have been updated and reposted. The Peer Grading spreadsheet, to be used by groups to evaluate the other 2 PDR reports that they have been given, is now posted as well, and linked to from the DRPGR page.
17.04.2012 This week, students should be reading and studying Chapter 5, sections 1-4. Classwork #17 is particularly important to solve (if you didn't complete it in class, be sure to do the rest of the parts at home later). Practice problems on these topics have been announced as well. It is important that students understand how the memory heirarchy works and how it performs, in detail. Time spent on Chapter 5 topics is very important for understanding computer performance.
16.04.2012 There is a tutorial on Tuesday evening (tomorrow April 17th) at 5:30 in Mithat Coruh. The topics to be covered are pipelined processor (design, analysis and performance) and cache (design, analysis, and performance). Students are encouraged to come, to understand these two important topics more completely.
11.04.2012 Group Contact Reports for Project #2 have been evaluated. While most groups submitted an OK report, some reports were deficient (wrong format, missing signatures, missing members, etc) The Project #2 Groups list page has been modified and updated to reflect this. Groups with deficienciesshould immediately correct any problems with their Group Contact Report.
09.04.2012 The exam paper viewing sessions will be held on Thursday April 12th. Students may come to EA-425 to see their paper between 8:30 and 13:30, and to EA407 between 13:30 and 16:30. To avoid crowds, it is suggeted that you come in the morning, or the afternoon. The lunch hour will probably be crowded and have waiting lines.Under proctored conditions, students will be allowed to view their paper, along with a copy of the solutions and grading guide. If you feel there was an error in the grading, you may submit a written request for regrading. The TAs will answer questions about the solutions, but not about the grading.
09.04.2012 Students should not sign up for Project #2, by submitting their name and signing the Contact Report, unless they intend to stick with the project all the way to the end. So if you think you will drop out of the project, or drop out of the course, NOW is the time to make that known to your project teammates and to the instructor, not 2 or 3 weeks from now!
09.04.2012 The midterm exam papers are graded, and the scores are posted on the Exam Grades page. Students may view their papers at Exam Paper Viewing Sessions to be held this week. Watch these announcements for more info.
09.04.2012 Addresses of CS students can be found at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/index.php?p=internal/studentlist&l=tr You can use this list to contact your Project #2 group members.
05.04.2012 The groups for Project #2 have been posted. Group members should make contact with each othe right away, to get started on the project. See the Overview page, for things to do during this Preparation phase.
03.04.2012 Thursday's class will cover the remaining sections of Chapter 4, found in the slides L35_L36. But because of the mini-tutorial, there will not be time for Classwork #14. Students are therefore strongly urged to study the pipelining material in Chapter 4, and ask questions of the instructor and the TAs (and each other) until it is well understood!
03.04.2012 Before the in-class mini-tutorial on Thursday, students are requested to download and study the solutions to the 5 problems on the CS224 midterm exam. Bring your questions with you to class on Thursday, to ask at that time.
03.04.2012 The solutions to the Midterm Exam problems are posted, and can be found on the link on the “Tutorial Dates & Topics”webpage. Since no one attended the excellent tutorial prepared for Monday night, some class time will be given on Thursday to a mini-tutorial, so that students can benefit from seeing the midterm exam problems solved, ask questions, etc.
03. 04.2012 The tutorial about the Project #2 assignment, with an explanation of the issues involved, and some approaches to how to design the solution, has been rescheduled. It will be held on Monday evening, April 9th, in EE-05, at 17:30. Depending on questions, etc, it will last from 1 to 2 hours.
02.04.2012 Due to the large number of students taking the CS201 exam on Thursday night, the tutorial planned for 05.04.2012 had been postponed to a later date. Watch these announcements to learn when it will be.
02.04.2012 Students are reminded about tonight's tutorial in EE-01, in which the midterm exam problems will be solved and thoroughly explained.
30.03.2012 The syllabus for CS224 this term has been revised, and Version 1.4 is now posted. Notice some new dates (for Project #2) and other changes. The CS224 Course Summary page has been modified as well.
28.03.2012 An error has been discovered in the solutions to Problem 1a), for Problem Set #5. One of the RTL expressions for bne says if (diff != 0) PC ß PC + SignExt(imm16) · 4 . But it should say if (diff != 0) PC ß PC +4 + SignExt(imm16) · 4 . The grading of student papers may be incorrect, due to this error in the official solutions. If your paper has points deducted for a correct RTL, then of course you should show it to the instructor, to receive credit and the proper score.
27.03.2012 The list of Practice Problems has been updated to include single-cycle problems for Chapter 4.
27.03.2012 The requirements for the Individual Project Evaluation Report have changed (see new items in red) and the Team Progress Report #3 is no longer required. See Project #1 web pages for details.
27.03.2012 The problems solved in the pre-midterm-exam review tutorial last night have been posted online. You can find the link on the Tutorial page.
26.03.2012 Students are reminded to read the Exam Policies and adhere to them, in regards to the midterm exam on Wednesday evening. In particular, no book with any notes or writing in it can be used. No cell phone or internet-connected device can be used, so if you want to use a calculator (HIGHLY recommended), you will have to bring a traditional calculator with you.
24.03.2012 There has been an update to the MIPS Code Demo page, with some new criteria in the Grading section. In addition, there is now a link, at the bottom, to a new page: Tips for Testing and Debugging.
24.03.2012 The signup sheets are posted on the door of EA-209, for groups to sign up for a Project 1 MIPS Code Demo rendevous time. All the live code demos, where you bring your computer running MARS and your Project 1 code, will take place in EA-128, at the times below. If you wish to show working code, you must sign up for and come to a code demo appointment. The times offered are: Mon 26.03 12:30-13:30, Tues 27.03 12:00-14:30, Tues 27.03 17:30-18:30 and Wed 28.03 12:30-14:30
20.03.2012 The Complete Design Report is due tomorrow. But you have until the Project Code Demos, on March 26th or 27th to improve your MIPS code, by testing, finding and fixing errors, making a main program that calls your utility routines and delivers output results to convince the grader that the code is really running correctly, etc. The MARS simulator is the platform for testing and debugging, your group will use it heavily in the next 5-6 days.
15.03.2012 PLEASE NOTE: as of today, do not send emails to the TAs, who have been swamped by the overwhelming number of emails, many of them repetitive, many asking questions whose answers were already published on the CS224 website, and sometimes of very minor importance. From now on, until further notice, emails asking questions related to CS224 that are not answered on the course website should be sent to the instructor only. They should be written clearly, in understandable English, and contain the name, section and ID number of the student in a signature section at the end.
15.03.2012 The time and location for the March 26th tutorial have changed. Due to the Summer Training Orientaion meeting (scheduled for 17:40 that evening in Mithat Coruh Amfi) our review session for the midterm exam will be held afterward, in the same place. There is a break to allow time for students to come and go, leave and get a quick meal or snack, etc. We will begin the exam review session at 18:50
14.03.2012 All students should bring a calculator to the Problem Set #4 session tonight. This can be a calculator application in a cell phone.
14.03.2012 Teaching assistants are graduate students, with course and research responsibilies, as well as the CS224 course support duties. Please respect their time and busyness by observing the following: except during their posted office hours, don't just 'drop in' on them. Instead, make a rendevous first, to see them at a time that is convenient. Don't yell or talk loud in or outside their office, it is a work environment for the TA and others. Please don't email them until you have first tried to find the answer in other ways (asking other students, reading the specification carefully, asking the instructor in class, etc)
13.03.2012 The dates for the MIPS Code Review have been pushed back one day, in consideration of a Monday evening midterm exam. Details about the code review can be found on the posted page, linked from the Project #1 Grading page.
13.03.2012 If students are unable to attend a Problem Set or class due to illness, or Bilkent-sponsored official trip, or a conflict with another course's activity (exam or graded activity), please bring a note from the appropriate place to the instructor. Otherwise, you will not be MUAF.
12.03.2012 The materials used in the 3 tutorials given so far are now posted online, and linked to from the Tutorials page.
12.03.2012 The CS224 Syllabus has been revised and updated. You can find the new Version 1.3 from a link posted on the CS224 course homepage.
12.03.2012 A number of minor changes and improvements have been made to the Design Review and Peer Grading Reports html page. In particular, several places have been re-written, in order to very clear and prevent any misunderstandings. The new specification page is posted at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~will/courses/CS224/Projects/proj1_design_review_PG_report.html
12.03.2012 Some mistakes on the Peer Grading spreadsheet have been corrected. The changes are marked in red on the revised version, now posted. Students should be careful to use the new, corrected version!
11.03.2012 The cover page for the Design Review and Peer Grading Report has been changed. Groups should use the new revised cover page with their reports, to be submitted on Tuesday.
11.03.2012 The Peer Grading spreadsheet, which you will use to give a score to the Preliminary Design Reports that you are now reviewing, is now posted. The link is found on the page for “Design Review and Peer Grading Reports”.
11.03.2012 Practice Problems for Chapter 3, to build your skills and fluency, are now posted . The link is found under “Non-Graded Activities”.
09.03.2012 The details of the Design Review and Peer Grading Reports, and the Team Progress Reports, are posted on the Project #1 Grading page: http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~will/courses/CS224/Projects/proj1_grading.html
07.03.2012 Tomorrow in class, all sections will do Problem Set #3. All students should be present, on time, and bring a calculator and the textbook, and any notes that you want to use. The classwork will last one hour.
06.03.2012 The template for the cover page, to be used for the Preliminary Design Reports (due Wednesday March 7th) has changed. Groups should be certain that they use the new updated template.
06.03.2102 The pickup time for getting the Preliminary Design Reports of other groups, to read and review and grade, has changed to 16:30 (from 15:30). See the Preliminary Design Report specifications for more information.
05.03.2012 Several modifications have been made to the specification for the Project 1 Assignment. See the new version posted at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~will/courses/CS224/Projects/proj1.htm under the Assignment link.
05.03.2012 If you missed Problem Set #2 due to a medical or academic reason that can be excuesed, then please bring your report to the instructor, in order to be MUAF. Otherwise, your grade will be zero.
05.03.2012 The Guide to intermediate-level Pseudocode has been update, with some corrections. A good example of a Preliminary Design Report (PDR) from a previous semester has been posted. Both are linked to from the page giving the specifications for the PDR for Project 1 for this semester: http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~will/courses/CS224/Projects/proj1_preliminary_report.htm
01.03.2012 Due to the weather and re-scheduled tutorial, Project #1 is getting a late start. For this reason, the due dates for the Preliminary Design Reports and Peer Grading Reports have been adjusted. Please note the new dates (March 7th and March 13th) on the Project #1 Grading Criteria webpage.
01.03.2012 A number of practice problems from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 have been chosen and posted on a new page, linked to from the Non-Graded Activities page. It is suggested that students solve these problems to gain greater competence and fluency with the material in CS224. The page will be updated from time to time with new practice problems from later chapters.
01.03.2012 Students who are unable to attend the evening Problem Set sessions, for reason of an academic conflict (such as with an exam or other graded activity of another course) may be excused (be MUAF) by bringing a signed note from the teacher of the other course.
29.02.2012 Due to the 'snow holiday' on Wednesday, both the tutorial and the Problem Set #2 sesssion are postponed, until Thursdayt night, March 1st. The tutorial will begin after 7pm, in order to give a break between the two sessions.
28.02.2012 Due to heavy snow and the poor road conditions, the tutorial scheduled for tonight has been postponed till Wednesday evening. It will be in Mithat Coruh, after the Problem Set #2 session is finished.
28.02.2012 For Project #1, project groups should use data structure A (i.e. write the 6 utilities for the binary search tree) if the sum of the ID #s for the two partners is an odd number, and use data structure B if it is an even number.
28.02.2012 The next tutorial will be held tonight, in Mithat Coruh at 17:30. The topics covered will be the Project 1 assignment, A and B parts. The heap and binary search tree data structures will be explained in detail, along with the 6 algorithms needed to do the project. This tutorial will give important information for doing Project 1. At least one member of each project group should attend.
28.02.2012 Problem Set #2 will be held on Wednesday night February 29th in Mithat Coruh. To prepare for the problems, students should study performance (Chapter 1.4 and 1.8) and MIPS: ISA, assembly language and machine language (Chapter 2).
27.02.2012 The deadline for Group Contact Reports is a serious project deadline, and shows the participation level of group members. Therefore, missing the deadline for submission of that report will reflect poorly on group members' participation grade for the project. Students should make EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT to find a partner and get the report in by the 15:30 deadline. Anyone having trouble finding a partner may contact the instructor to ask for assistance, but the final responsibility to get into a project group belongs to the student.
27.02.2012 The Project #1 Assignment has now been posted. Project groups should start to work on understanding the data structures and algorithms needed. The next report will ask for algorithms for the 6 routines: expressed at a high-level (using a HLL or a high-level pseudocode) and expressed at a medium level (using the intermediate-level pseudocode taught in the first CS224 tutorial).
26.02.2012 The Group Numbers for Project #1 groups will be assigned later, so for the Contact Report, just leave that part blank in the cover page of the Group Contact Report.
24.02.2012 The Project #1 Group Contact Report is due on Monday February 27th. Details are found online under Project #1. Note that all students may choose their own project partner except those that are DEVAMSIZ.
24.02.2012 All classworks, lecture slides and tutorial materials are posted online as soon as possible for students to access. All problem sets and the solutions are posted, in the Reserve Room of the main campus libraray. Students can find yesterday's Problem Set 1 posted there.
24.02.2012 Students wanting to have additional exposure to the material can find lecture videos from a previous year posted online at “Lecture Videos” link, and the slides to accompany those videos at “Old Lecture Slides”
21.02.2012 Yesterday in Section 1 and Section 2, there was not time for the last few slides of Lesson 10 (from section 2.10). Students are requested to complete the topics by studying 2.10, pages 132-136.
21.02.2012 On Thursday in class, students will do the first graded activity: Problem Set #1. In preparation, students should read the CS224 Problem Set Policy, find a partner with whom you will work together (teams of 2 will do the problem set), and read and study in order to come prepared. The topics will be performance (from Chapter 1) and MIPS architecture and programming (from Chapter 2).
21.02.2012 Reminder to students about the tutorial on MARS and MIPS tonight in Mithat Coruh at 5:30pm
21.02.2012 Students should complete the classworks at home, and practice additional problems until those skills are established and such problems come easily.
18.02.2012 An updated version (V 1.2) of the CS224 Syllabus for this semester has been posted online. This version replaces the previous syllabus.
14.02.2012 A new link from the CS224 Webpage has been added, Evening Tutorials. The page gives the dates, times, locations and topics for the tutorials this semester. The first one is Wednesday night, in Mithat Coruh Amfi, from 17:30-18:30.
13.02.2012 A new link from the CS224 Webpage has been added, Non-Graded Activities. Here the Classworks and Practice Problems will be posted. See this page for last week's Classwork #1.
13.02.2012 Students are expected to read Chapter 2, Sections 2.1 through 2.8, and to have studied the contents, in order to understand the first part of the MIPS ISA.Sections 2.5, 2.7 and 2.8 are worthy of special attention.
07.02.2012 Students are expected to read Chapter 1 in its entirety before Thursday's class. In addition, students are expected to have studied sections 1.4, 1.8 and 1.9, to be prepared for the activities in-class on Thursday. Finally students are expected to bring their book to class.
07.02.2012 The textbook for the course is Computer Organization and Design, 4th ed. (Revised Printing) by Patterson and Hennessy. The texts have arrived and are available in the Meteksan Bookstore. The 4th edition is significantly revised from the 3rd, so students should obtain the current edition. You will need to have a textbook, and you will use it extensively in the course, for homeworks, in class, in the projects, and during the open-book exams.