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Module

CSC1032 : Computer Systems Design and Architectures

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Tomasz Szydlo
  • Co-Module Leader: Dr Abolfazl Lavaei
  • Lecturer: Dr Dev Jha, Dr Fareed Arif
  • Teaching Assistant: Mr Haowei Xu, Mr Behrad Samari
  • Owning School: Computing
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 10
Semester 2 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

On completion of this module students will, from a high level perspective, be able to:

• describe the purpose of, and the interaction between, the functional hardware and software components of a
variety of computer systems.
• identify the principal hardware components and software services which provide infrastructure for the Internet
from the global scale down to the desktop.
• describe the components of operating systems and how they are combined with applications to provide services
and share resources.

Outline Of Syllabus

• An overview of current computer systems architecture.
• Introduction to Operating Systems: what they are and what they do, management of resources.
• Processes, scheduling. Interprocess communication (IPC).
• Memory, virtual memory and memory management. Files, file systems.
• An introduction to Linux and system administration and systems programming.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture111:0011:00Lectures
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion41:004:00Formative exercises
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion331:0033:00Revision for examination
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion12:302:30Mock examination
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion501:0050:00Lecture follow-up
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture111:3016:30Lectures
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesPractical231:0023:00Practical activities in person
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study160:0060:00Background reading and independent study
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Techniques and theory are presented in lectures which are recorded in advance. Practical sessions provide experience of designing and building database applications and can be carried out online.

This is a very practical subject, and it is important that the learning materials are supported by hands-on opportunities provided by practical classes, and on the related Programming Portfolio modules.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams
Description Length Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Digital Examination901A50N/A
Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Practical/lab report2M50Software implementation
Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Description Semester When Set Comment
Digital Examination1MMock Test prior to exam to consolidate student knowledge ahead of the summative exam.
Lab exercise2MExercises and quizzes to support learning and summative assessments
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Semester 1 will be assessed with a digital examination allowing the students to apply the theory taught in lectures. A mock test will take place in Semester 1 to enable the students to prepare for the examination.

The digital examination will assess the fundamental knowledge and understanding of taught material.

Semester 2 is assessed through practical lab report on software implementation and test learning outcomes.

Formative assessment allows students to gauge progress in preparation for the summative assessments.

Reading Lists

Timetable