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Degree Regulations & Programmes of Study 2010/2011
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2010 for reference only
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Undergraduate Course: Parallel Architectures (Level 10) (INFR10016)

Course Outline
School School of Informatics College College of Science and Engineering
Course type Standard Availability Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken) SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) Credits 10
Home subject area Informatics Other subject area None
Course website http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/pa
Course description 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 Students MUST have passed: Computer Architecture (INFR09009)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Parallel Architectures (Level 11) (INFR11024)
Other requirements Successful completion of Year 3 of an Informatics Single or Combined Honours Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites None
Prospectus website http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/visiting-exchange/courses
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
CentralLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
First Class Week 1, Tuesday, 10:00 - 10:50, Zone: Central. Room 4.01, David Hume Tower
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - 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.
2 - assess the effectiveness of techniques used to enhance the performance of computer systems.
3 - use web-based simulation models of computer systems to investigate hardware/software performance trade-offs.
4 - record observations of on-line experiments, present this information in a variety of formats and draw conclusions from it.
Assessment Information
Written Examination 75
Assessed Assignments 25
Oral Presentations 0

Assessment
There are three assessed practicals for this module. One of them is a paper & pencil exercise concerned with interconnection networks while the other two involve using and programming simulation models of two different computer systems.

If delivered in semester 1, this course will have an option for semester 1 only visiting undergraduate students, providing assessment prior to the end of the calendar year.
Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information
Special Arrangements
Not entered
Contacts
Course organiser Dr Amos Storkey
Tel: (0131 6)51 1208
Email: A.Storkey@ed.ac.uk
Course secretary Miss Kate Weston
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: Kate.Weston@ed.ac.uk
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copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh - 1 September 2010 6:10 am