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

There will be weekly written assignments, starting in the second week of classes. Each written assignment consists of 1-3 questions that require students to write single paragraph answers. They are released and collected via Canvas.

Written assignments are always due at 11:59pm (Pittsburgh time) on Wednesday evenings. No late submissions are accepted. Canvas will generally accept only one submission.

Written assignments are graded by your peers: three other students will read what you wrote and provide short, constructive feedback and a score (1-10).

Each assignment is worth 15 points, total. You receive the maximum of your peers’ scores, plus five points for completing the peer reviews you are assigned.

There will be 12 written assignments in all, and we will drop your two lowest scores. The 10 remaining are each worth 2% of your course grade.

Schedule

Written Topic Out Due Peer Review

W1 Bits, Bytes, Integers Sep  7 Sep 14 Sep 21
W2 Machine Programming (Basics, Control) Sep 14 Sep 21 Sep 28
W3 Machine Programming (Procedures, Data) Sep 21 Sep 28 Oct  5
W4 Machine Programming Advanced, Memory Hierarchy Sep 28 Oct  5 Oct 12
W5 Cache Memories, Design and Debugging Oct  5 Oct 12 Oct 26
W6 Dynamic Memory Allocation Oct 12 Oct 26 Nov  2
(Oct 17–21: Fall Break)
W7 Code Optimization and Linking Oct 26 Nov  2 Nov  9
W8 Virtual Memory Nov  2 Nov  9 Nov 16
W9 Exceptional Control Flow Nov  9 Nov 16 Nov 23
W10 System Level I/O, Network Programming Nov 16 Nov 23 Nov 30
W11 Network Programming, Concurrent Programming Nov 23 Nov 30 Dec  7
W12 Synchronization, Parallelism Nov 30 Dec  7 No peer review

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.