Parallel Architectures (Level 10) (U01964)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : INF-4-PA

The aims of this course are twofold: (a) to investigate the various forms of parallelism found in uniprocessors and in multiprocessor and multicomputer systems; (b) to explore the issues which arise in these systems in terms of: (i) ensuring that programs are executed correctly by the hardware; (ii) maximising performance.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Computer Architecture Successful completion of Year 3 of an Informatics Single or Combined Honours Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School.

? Prohibited combinations : Parallel Architectures (Level 11)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Computer Science, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
26/09/2008	10:00	10:50	Room G.06, Dugald Stewart Building	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	10:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

After completing the course succcessfully, students should be able to:
- Describe the various forms of parallelism found in modern computer systems and the techniques used (a) to ensure that programs are executed correctly by parallel hardware (b) to maximise performance.
- Assess the effectiveness of techniques used to enhance the performance of computer systems.
- Use web-based simulation models of computer systems to investigate hardware/software performance trade-offs.
- Record observations of on-line experiments, present this information in a variety of formats and draw conclusions from it.