1. UNIVERSITY
OF
DAR
ES
SALAAM
Course
Title:
INTRODUCTION
TO
COMPUTER
ARCHITECTURE
Course
Code:
IS
139
Course
Overview:
This
course
introduces
students
to
the
organization
and
architecture
of
computer
systems,
beginning
with
the
standard
von
Neumann
model
and
then
moving
forward
to
more
recent
architectural
concepts.
The
course
explains
the
structure
of
a
number
of
existing
computer
systems,
and
the
functioning
of
the
main
components
of
a
Computer
system.
It
describes
the
working
of
data-­‐path
of
a
microprocessor
and
to
understand
some
simple
micro-­‐programs.
Course
Outcomes/Objectives:
At
the
end
of
the
course,
you
should
be
able
to:
(a) Demonstrate
mastery
of
basic
aspects
of
computer
architecture
and
organization
(b) Describe
how
various
components
of
a
computer
system
work
and
their
logical
configuration
(c) Understand
how
programs
written
in
high
level
languages
get
translated
&
executed
by
the
hardware
(d) Determine
the
performance
of
programs
and
what
affects
them
(e) Understand
techniques
used
by
hardware
designers
to
improve
performance
(f) Evaluate
and
compare
the
performance
of
different
computing
systems
Pre-­‐requisites:
IS
151,
IS
161
Course
assessment:
Course
Work
40%,
Final
Exam
60%

2. Course
schedule:
WEEK
TOPIC
ASSESMENT
1-­‐2
Topic
1:
Main
components
of
a
computer
system
Test
1
:
End
week
6
3-­‐4
Topic
2:
The
digital
Logic
Level
5-­‐6
Topic
3:
Data
representation
7-­‐8
Topic
4:
Assembly
level
organization
9-­‐10
Topic
5:
Memory
systems:
Test
2
:
week
12
11-­‐12
Topic
6
:
Instruction
Formats
13-­‐14
Topic
7:
Functional
organization:
15
Topic
8:
Performance
enhancements
and
contemporary
architectures
17
Final
Exam
References/resources:
Null,
L.
and
Lobur,
J.
(2006)
The
essentials
of
computer
organization
and
architecture.
2nd
edn.
Sudbury,
MA:
Jones
and
Bartlett
Publishers,
Inc.
Patterson,
D.
A.
and
Hennessy,
J.
L.
(2007)
Computer
Organization
and
Design,
Revised
Printing,
Third
Edition:
The
Hardware/Software
Interface.
3rd
edn.
United
States:
Morgan
Kaufmann
Publishers
In.
Stallings,
W.
(1999)
Computer
Organization
and
Architecture:
Designing
for
Performance.
United
States:
Pearson
Education
(US).