Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Wisconsin - Madison

ECE/CS 352 Digital System Fundamentals
Summer 8-week session 2003

COURSE CONDUCT
Last Updated: June 13, 2003

Text, Lectures and Assignments

The text for the course is the Second Edition or Second Edition Updated of Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals by M. M. Mano and C. R. Kime. In addition, there are supplementary materials that will be placed on the course website. Please consult it often to make sure that you have downloaded the needed materials.

You are responsible for all assigned sections in the text and course materials and all lecture content unless specified otherwise by the instructor. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain handouts and other information given on the days you missed. Handouts are often available on the course website.

Use of the Computer-Aided Engineering Center (CAE)

There will be a project requiring the use of two Mentor Graphics computer-aided design (CAD) tools, Design Architect and QuickSim. These tools run on UNIX workstations located in Room 175, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE), 1410 Engineering Drive (across the street from the Engineering Hall). Additional 24-hour access UNIX workstations sites are located in Rooms B555 Engineering Hall (in the northwest corner of the basement - outside access from the northwest door of the building) as well as at other locations in the Engineering campus (map available at CAE; also at the CAE website http://www.cae.wisc.edu). Please note that you should use Mentor Graphics only on UNIX workstations in CAE, even if you have another account in the university (for example, in CS) which would permit you to use the same software.

Brief introductory sessions to CAE UNIX systems are offered by CAE. You should attend a session early if you have not used CAE or UNIX systems before. See announcements at CAE for further information; we will also try to provide some info on these sessions in class. You must execute create an account in CAE early in the semester so that you are ready for the tutorial and assignments. Please see a consultant in the CAE building if you need help.

Cafe is another CAD tool that we will be using in this course. A self-instruction tutorial for Cafe is posted on the course website.

In the second week of classes, we will run mandatory tutorials on Design Architect and QuickSim. Please sign up for these tutorials outside the TA’s room, B632 Engr Hall, before June 23. The tutorials will be held in Room 175 CAE, on these dates:

Thursday, June 26: 5.00 – 8.00 PM

Friday, June 27: 5.00 – 8.00 PM

Saturday, June 28: 2.00 – 5.00 PM

Please try to sign up for the Thursday or Friday session. If you are not comfortable with the material after one session (this is normal, especially if you have not used a CAD tool before), you can attend the tutorial again on Saturday.

Homework Assignments and Projects

There are two types of assignments in this course: homework assignments and projects. Homework assignments will be given bi-weekly, and need not be submitted. The purpose is to help you learn the materials studied during this period. Homework solutions will be made available on the ECE/CS 352 section websites. You are encouraged to discuss homework with your classmates, but to do the work yourself to best prepare you for the quizzes, projects, and the final. To maximize the benefit, try to work out the problems without checking the solutions first.

There are two projects that require you to use computer-aided design (CAD) tools mentioned earlier. These projects are to be submitted and will be graded. The purpose of projects is to ensure that you develop the basic knowledge and skills in using modern CAD tools for digital system analysis and design. The first project is an individual project. Students are to do their own work but may consult with others on problem clarification and CAD tool use. The second project is a team project performed by a team of two persons and is not to involve collaboration with other teams beyond problem clarification and CAD tool use. You will be given instruction on how to share Mentor files between two users on CAE UNIX workstations. There will be Help Sessions the week before the project due date.

If you decide to drop the course at any time during the semester, you must inform the TA and the instructor in advance. This is because your team member for the second project will be significantly affected once the teams are set.

Examinations

There are three quizzes and one final examination in this course. The quizzes and final are closed book examinations with no calculators or other personal computation devices allowed. The dates for these quizzes and the final exam are listed on the course outline. It is your responsibility to attend all quizzes. Missing a quiz is equivalent to forfeiting a large part of your grade. If you miss a quiz, no make-up quiz will be given. Only in most extraordinary situations will a make-up quiz be given, provided the request is made prior to the quiz, and any documentation requested that substantiates the reasons for missing the quiz is provided.

Questions regarding the grading of quizzes must be written on the cover of the quiz and returned to the instructor for reconsideration on the same day the quiz is returned to the student.

Please note the time of the Final Exam on the Course Outline and do not, for example, schedule travel that will not permit you to take the Final at that time. Conflict with your travel schedule is not an acceptable excuse for requesting an alternate final exam. Early makeup finals will not be given.

The course grade will be determined as listed in the course description.

Discussion Sessions, Tutorials, and Consultation

Optional Discussion Sessions: The Teaching Assistant will conduct optional discussion sessions - you may attend any of these sessions including the quiz review sessions. Office Hours: If you have questions on the course material, you may contact your instructor or the teaching assistant for consultation during office hours. The TA will conduct office hours in 3610 Engineering Hall.

E-Mail: For technical questions, you are to e-mail the teaching assistant. For administrative questions, e-mail the instructor.

Please try to get answers before serious difficulties in your understanding of course material arise. In particular, it is much better to get your questions answered before a quiz rather than after!

On-Campus Resources

If you require special alternative testing arrangements, you need to seek consultation from the McBurney Center (http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/mcb/). Then you should bring the written recommendation by a counselor with the McBurney center to the instructor within three weeks after semester begins so that appropriate adjustment can be made.

In case you have problem keeping up with the progress of this course, please talk to your instructor. If you have problems in keeping up with several courses, you may want to talk with your advisor or with a counselor in College of Engineering or College of Letters and Science.

Academic Misconduct

Please understand that all the work you submit in the course on projects and exams is expected to be your own (except for work by the other team member on Project 2). Evidence indicating copying or inappropriate collaboration as well as other forms of academic misconduct will be dealt with as appropriate under the UW academic misconduct rules. If you have questions, please refer to http://www.wisc.edu/students/amsum.htm or seek clarification from your instructor.