The Graduate Diploma of Computing and the Masters of Applied Information Technology have been reviewed and restructured jointly by all schools involved in teaching it. The changes have been designed to ensure smoother movement of students between the Graduate Diploma of Computing and the MAIT, and in light of changed immigration rules. This unit is being introduced for this revised program.

GCO9812-Computer Organisation is included in the program as an elective unit, which involves some simple programming in assembly and machine languages and some theoretical and conceptual study to cover fundamental concepts in relation to what happens inside the computer as it executes instructions, both from hardware and software perspectives.

Changes being made to bring into line the FIT1001 information.

FIT1001 Computer Systems forms part of the common core for first year undergraduate FIT students. Its key objectives are to prepare students so that they will:

• Understand the basic internal architecture and operation of a computer and its peripherals
• Understand the basics of operating system software and its support for software development tools
• Understand critical factors that affect computer performance.

On completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. understand basic Computer Structure and Operation and demonstrate use of the associated vocabulary.
2. demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of Data Representation, Computer Arithmetic and Boolean Algebra using appropriate methods of implementation.
3. demonstrate detailed knowledge of Internal Bus, Memory, I/O organisations and interfacing standards.
4. describe the internal operation of the CPU and explain how it is used to execute instructions.
5. differentiate between machine language and assembly language and write assembly language programs to solve simple problems.
6. demonstrate an understanding of the basics of operating systems software using examples from File Systems, User Interfaces and Software Development Tools.
7. identify factors that affect computer performance.
8. use various simulators to demonstrate the operation of simple computer architectures.

ASCED Discipline Group Classification: 031305 Computer Engineering.

GCO2912 Computer Organisation will introduce students to basic computer hardware and operating systems software with emphasis on the concepts required to understand the low-level and internal operations of computer systems.

In particular, this includes study of data representation, simple digital logic, computer organisation including CPU, memory and input/output devices, as well as machine-level and assembly language programming, and operating system concepts with examples of process management, file system structures and user interfaces. The intention is to provide opportunities for students to relate the hardware knowledge covered in this unit to the concepts learned in their introductory programming and systems analysis classes and to give a more complete understanding of how hardware and software are used to build systems.

This provides opportunities for students to relate the use of programming languages and studies of system design and project management to their implementation on computer hardware.

1. "Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture" by Null and Lobur (2003). Jones and Bartlett.
2. "Structured Computer Organization" 5th Edition by Tanenbaum (2006). Pearson:Prentice-Hall.
3. "Computer Organization and Architecture: Designing for Performance" 7th Edition by Stallings (2006). Prentice-Hall.
4. "Systems Architecture" 5th Edition by Burd (2006). Thompson:CourseTechnology
5. "Operating System Concepts" 7th Edition by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne (2005). Wiley.

Available in on-campus mode and by OCL.

• Lectures
• Laboratories and Tutorials
• Unit also available in OCL mode, involving printed notes and/or on-line materials and internet based discussion groups.

Contact time for on-campus modes will be up to five hours per week. This will be divided into formal lectures, laboratories, and tutorials.

Lectures will be used to present concepts and the relationships between ideas, and so guide the student through a structured outline of the material derived from, but not necessarily identical to that provided by the text books and online resources. Tutorials and hands-on Laboratory sessions will be used to link the theory with practice and enhance the students understanding. Software tools, such as simulators with visual interfaces, will be employed to illustrate these concepts and help develop understanding.

Lectures and supporting examples, text references and resources will be used to address all learning objectives. Practical classes will address learning objectives 1 to 6 and 8. OCL students will be provided with a CD which contains the study guide, laboratory/tutorial assignments, logic and CPU simulators to enable them to complete all practical/tutorial exercises.

Formal Assessment and Practical work, consisting of:

• Final Exam worth 60%
• Tutorial/Laboratory Assignments and class test worth 40%. OCL students will undertake the equivalent assessment of theory through an OCL examination process, with on-line submission for class test and assignments. The on-campus students will be assessed in a supervised laboratory class.

The final exam and class test will assess understanding of all the learning objectives as presented in Lectures, while assessable Lab work and assignments will test practical skills and application of concepts associated with objectives 1 to 6 and 8.

The unit requires 12 hours study time including attending lectures, tutorials and private study.

On-campus: 3 hours of lectures and 2 hours of tutorials/laboratories per week.

Off-campus distributed learning: 12 hours private study and communicating with the lecturer and fellow students through email, newsgroups and web pages. No residential component is required.

On campus modes will require lecture rooms with data display and internet connection, with a PC and facility to plug in a laptop computer.

Tutorial exercises will be set according to the requirements of each campus offering.

Standard PC laboratories (SOE) for on-campus students. OCL students will be provided with a CD to complete practical exercises on their own PC.

Special Interest Group (SIG) to monitor unit and prepare resources. One Lecturer for each campus offering per semester. A tutor per tutorial/practical session for each campus offering per semester. Equivalent requirements for summer semester offerings.

• Software Title:
• Vendor:
• Version:
• OS: MS Windows XP ( ) and/or LINUX ( )
• License Details: (A valid software license certificate/s or Vendor permission must be available upon request if the software is to be installed for teaching)
• Are we currently licensed: Yes ( ) or No ( ) (If unsure, please check with your local IT support )
• If (Yes), who is the contact person for this software?:
• If (No), will the software license be arranged by: Staff member requesting the software ( ) or Technical Services* ( ) ? *If the latter is selected, please discuss your requirement/s with myself ASAP, prior to finalising your request, as there could be financial or resourcing implications.
• Is the software to be installed and accessed from a: Client/Workstation ( ), or Server ( ) ?
• Type of license: Site License ( ), Freeware ( ), FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) ( ), Shareware ( ), Lab based ( ) # of Licenses needed ____
• In what week will you commence using the software in class? Semester 1 (Week ___ ) and/or Semester 2 (Week ___ ):
• Nominated Staff For Acceptance Testing Software: (Name) (Phone) (Email)
• Additional Information: Special Requirements, Software Configuration/Installation Requirements, etc:

Logic simulator, CPU simulator and SOE.

Adequate copies of the texts mentioned above.

100% from GSCIT

None

None

GCO9802 and GCO9805

Adrien Driver