15-213/14-513/15-513 Intro to Computer Systems: Assignments

There will be weekly written assignments:

  • Each assignment consists of 1-3 questions that require students to write single paragraph answers.
  • You will have 1 week to prepare a PDF with your answer(s) in English / C / etc.
  • They will be released and collected on Canvas.
  • Three student peers will provide short, constructive feedback and a score (1-10).
  • Grading of Assignments: Each student will be graded according to the following three parts (each part weighted equally):
    1. Does the student's handin indicate any effort (not a homework for another class, not copying from the book)?
    2. What is the average of the three numerical scores assigned by the peer reviewers?
    3. Did the student complete their peer reviews, providing constructive feedback?
  • Assignments are due at 11:59 pm on the specified due date Eastern Time. There are no late submissions and Canvas will generally accept only one submission. Please be aware of these restrictions when working on your submission and your peer reviews.
  • There will be 12 written assignments in all. We will drop your two lowest scores. The 10 remaining are each worth 2% of your course grade.

Schedule

Written  Out Weight (%) Topic Due Peer Review

W1 Wed Jan 26 2 Bits, Bytes, Integers Wed Feb 2   Wed Feb 9
W2 Wed Feb 2 2 Machine Programming (Basics, Control) Wed Feb 9   Wed Feb 16
W3 Wed Feb 9 2 Machine Programming (Procedures, Data) Wed Feb 16   Wed Feb 23
W4 Wed Feb 16 2 Machine Programming Advanced, Memory Hierarchy   Wed Feb 23   Wed Mar 2
W5 Wed Feb 23 2 Cache Memories, Design and Debugging Wed Mar 2   Wed Mar 16
W6 Wed Mar 2 2 Dynamic Memory Allocation Wed Mar 16   Wed Mar 22
(Spring Break)
W7 Wed Mar 16 2 Code Optimization and Linking Wed Mar 23   Wed Mar 30
W8 Wed Mar 23 2 Virtual Memory Wed Mar 30   Wed Apr 6
W9 Wed Mar 30 2 Exceptional Control Flow Wed Apr 6   Wed Apr 13
W10 Wed Apr 6 2 System Level I/O, Network Programming Wed Apr 13   Wed Apr 20
W11 Wed Apr 13 2 Network Programming, Concurrent Programming Wed Apr 20   Wed Apr 27
W12 Wed Apr 20 2 Synchronization, Parallelism Wed Apr 27   No peer review
Total 20%

We will provide you with a model solution and a grading rubric after an assignment is due, to guide you in your peer reviews. This two-part (writing and evaluating) sequence has been shown to improve student learning. As your peers are grading these anonymously, you are not required to include your name either in your submission or feedback. If you disagree with the feedback from your peers, you can make a private post on Piazza within 7 days, as per any other regrades in the course.

If the feedback you received is offensive or otherwise not in support of a welcoming and inclusive climate, please email your Professor.