CS 320                   FALL  1997       FINAL PROJECTS GUIDELINE 

     Monday, October 20, 1997


     In lieu of a comprehensive final exam, CS 320 students have the
     option of completing a final project.  As far as scope goes, this is NOT
     a semester project; it should be smaller.  however, it should be more work
     than a homework.  Perhaps the effort of two programming homeworks is a 
     good guideline.  I realize that it is easy to bite off more than you can
     chew, so I'll be flexible:  the final projects will be due at (or before)
     the final exam for our class, (whenever that is scheduled!).   If you don't
     turn in your project by then, you'd better take the exam!  
     (or receive a zero for the "final" portion of the course grade).  
     I will make up a comprehensive final exam (anticipating SOME audience!).

     POSSIBLE TOPICS:  If you have the initiative, propose your own idea to me.
                       Or choose one of these:  (I'll mention others later if
                       I think of them.)  Remember that the point of this is to
                       learn about and EXPLAIN (i.e., writing!) some aspect of
                       computer ARCHITECTURE/ORGANIZATION.


     (A)  PROGRAMMING:  
      
             ASSEMBLY:  Implement something interesting in some assembly 
                        language (doesn't HAVE to be MIPs), such as an "advanced"
                        data structure (e.g., a heap, binary tree, linked list,
                        graph, etc.) or algorithm (e.g., mergesort, shortest path,
                        hamiltonian circuit, matrix multiplication, ANYTHING 
                        almost).  Get it running, then write up some sort of
                        analysis, one or two pages (or more, if you need space;
                        no max.), e.g., timing analysis, discussion of strengths
                        of that particular assembly language, etc.

             HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE:
          
                        You could write in some high level language like C, C++, 
                        Pascal, JAVA, or Visual BASIC, but must be architecture
                        related.  For example, write something in C, then run it
                        through a compiler that produces assembly code.  Analyze
                        that assembly code somehow (e.g., show how your three
                        dimensional array in C was implemented in assembly; could 
                        you optimize the assembly code further? etc.).  Again, need
                        a write-up, perhaps 2-4 pages here.

     (B)  CIRCUIT DESIGN:   Design a useful circuit, such as a traffic light or
                        elevator controller, or a counter, or an encoder.  Define 
                        inputs and outputs, fill out truth table, optimize 
                        (minimize) circuit a bit, then implement in DIGSIM, or other
                        simulator, or real hardware if you can get it!  Again, a
                        short write-up (1-3 pages, whatever) is called for.
                        truth 

     (C)  RESEARCH, WRITING:  Don't have to implement anything.  Find some articles,
                        books, papers, on a particular topic realted to architecture.
                        Sample subjects:  these new multimedia MMX processors--how 
                        are they different from normal CPUs?  Or how about history:
                        how did the Digital, Inc. PDP-11 processors differe from the
                        VAXs?  Find an example of a complex instruction set computer
                        (CISC) and compare with a RISC (like our MIPS).  What are
                        tradeoffs involved in choosing complex or reduced instruction
                        set?  Are there any examples "in between", or do architectures
                        always fall to one or the other extreme (CISC versus RISC)?
                        Or find an example of a variable length intruction set (e.g.,
                        VAX) and explain some advantages/disadvantages of this.  For 
                        the research option, I would expect a longer, more in-depth
                        write-up, perhaps 6-10 pages.