CS403: Advanced Computer Architecture- Results Prove the Point

Results of this course came out recently. The results prove the point I made a few posts back. My class managed to get only As and Bs, no Es or Os. Well. one interpretation of it certainly can be that I could not teach it well enough! But, the normal distribution of results of the course follows the trend well enough where the mean is around B grade. Students who have not even read OS until then, can never understand Advanced architecture well enough!

OS concepts, feel for what happens in programming are necessary skills, prerequisites for this course. I do not understand why this is not taught later in 3rd or 4th year of the curriculum! It makes much better sense there!

CS 403: Advanced Computer Architecture

That this course is inappropriate for second year students of the CSE course of WBUT became even more evident to me couple of days back.Their finals are almost on them and some had questions about interconnection networks and how they are used in example systems.

For example there was one question about the ILIAC IV machine. The course also has mentions of the connection machine and other super computers. Possibly the best method for study of such systems is through assignments to different groups and presentation to the whole class.

Students who do not even have an exposure to the OS, programming, let alone issues involved in parallel programming will have such a hard time understanding the issues. So they will resort to rote learning and the whole purpose is defeated. Prescribing advanced Architecture for second year students is absolutely wrong!