Course Syllabus

This course will cover the basic principles of computer systems design.  Details on the class are available in the syllabus.

Syllabus

There is an official course syllabus that you may download. The syllabus will not be distributed in hardcopy in class. Please read the syllabus before doing anything else for the class.

Office hours & sections

A list of office hours, contact email, and sections (including rooms) for all course staff is available online. Only people listed on this page are considered course staff; others (MSI/ACE/private tutors) are not course staff.

Resources

There is a list of resources that students will find useful, including sample documents and links to external pages.

Gitlab

All programming assignments will be managed with git, and pushed to gitlab.soe.ucsc.edu. If you're not familiar with git, please consider reading a git tutorial, either on gitlab.soe.ucsc.edu or elsewhere on the Web. You should also watch the video tutorial on using gitlab.soe.ucsc.edu (available, like all videos, from the ucsc.edu domain or using the campus VPN).

We'll go over some simple git commands in section the first week of class, but you'll definitely want to learn more about it yourself.

Personal Responsibility Document

All students must sign a Personal Responsibility Document, setting out expectations for the class for students and course staff. A signed copy of this document must be submitted on Canvas by Friday, October 9th at 5 PM. Failure to submit a Personal Responsibility Document in the correct format by this date will result in a failing grade in the class.

Grades

All assignment grades will be entered on Canvas, as will comments on your submitted assignments. However, Canvas is unable to correctly calculate average grades and to provide an accurate final grade for this course. That calculation will be done by the course staff at the end of the quarter. DO NOT RELY ON CANVAS for an estimation of your current or final course grade!

Disability accommodation

UC Santa Cruz is committed to creating an academic environment that supports its diverse student body. If you are a student with a disability who requires accommodations to achieve equal access in this course, please submit your Accommodation Authorization Letter from the Disability Resource Center (DRC). You may submit your letter via the department; however, any accommodations other than testing accommodations must be discussed in person with Prof. Miller privately during office hours before the need for the accommodation arises. If you cannot attend any office hours due to an academic conflict (another course or section), you may make an appointment.  You must meet within the first three weeks of the quarter so that we can arrange all of the necessary support for you.  All students who may benefit from learning more about DRC services are encouraged to contact the DRC by phone at 831-459-2089 or by email at drc@ucsc.edu.