Algoma University

School of Computer Science and Technology

COSC2406 – Assembly Language Programming

Course Syllabus - 2023 FALL (23F)

Instructor Information
Instructor: Cathy Chen
Lecture Time: Saturday 8:30 am – 11:30 am
Email: [email protected]
Office House: Before/After Lecture or by Appointment
Course Website: https://courses.algomau.ca/course/view.php?id=10463
Source Materials
• Required textbook: Kip R. Irvine, "Assembly Language for x86 Processors", Eighth
Edition, Pearson Education (US), 2020. ISBN: 9780136681649.
Prerequisites
MATH 1056 and COSC 1047.

Calendar Description
Assembly Language concepts; x86 Processor Architecture; Data Transfers, Addressing, and
Arithmetic; Introduce to Procedures; Conditional Processing; Integer Arithmetic; Advanced
Procedures; Strings and Arrays; Structures and Unions; Floating-Point Processing and
Instruction Encoding.
General
This is an introduction to basic computer organization and instruction set architecture. It is a
foundation course for COSC 3406 Computer Organization and COSC 3407 Operating Systems I.
The student will develop skills in writing programs at the assembly language level and gain a
thorough understanding of the instruction cycle of a computer, the instruction format, and the
addressing modes of the IA-32 processor. Topics considered include: the instruction execution
cycle; an overview of the assembly process; data representation; addressing modes, arrays and
strings; translation of high-level language control structures; procedures, parameters passing, and
recursion; conditional assembly; floating point process or architecture and instructions code;
code optimization techniques.
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete the course have reliably demonstrated the ability to:
• Intel X86 processor architecture and data representation in machine;
• Assembly language directives, instructions, operators, and program structure;
• Programming methodology, showing how to use assembly language to create application
programs;
• Computer hardware manipulation;
• Interaction between assembly language programs, the operating system, and other
application programs;

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School of Computer Science and Technology
• Use tools that include editors, assemblers, linkers and debuggers to create, test and debug
programs.
Grading Scheme
Credit toward the semester grade will be allocated to each of the components as indicated in the
following table.

Spot quizzes (10*0.5%) 5%

Assignments (4*5%) 20%
Quizzes (3*5%) 15%
Midterm Exam 15%
Labs (10*1%) 10%
Final Exam 35%
Total 100%

Attendance
Attendance is mandatory for lecture and lab. Students are responsible for all information
presented in lectures and labs. There are 10 spot quizzes for attendance that are worth 5% of
your final grade. Missed spot quizzes cannot be made up later. Legitimate excuses for missed
classes and or labs will be taken under consideration; however, sleeping-in, not having transport
available, and/or conflicting work schedules are not acceptable excuses. Doctor's appointments,
family deaths, etc. are acceptable excuses, but will require verification. Please e-mail the
instructor in advance with explanation if you will not be able to attend class.
For laboratory work, it is expected that you will do the work during lab time; you cannot have
someone else do the lab work for you.
ALGOMA UNIVERSITY POLICY: The general regulations of the university require
punctual and regular attendance at the various academic exercises. If there are extenuating
circumstances related to an absence, the instructor should be notified. Absences more than 20%
may jeopardize receipt of credit for the course.
Quizzes
There will be three quizzes delivered in the learning modules during the course. Each quiz will
cover the material presented in corresponding modules and will be worth 5% towards the final
grade. The quizzes will be a combination of multiple-choice, true-false, and short-answer style
questions. Please note that you will NOT have access to a quiz after its deadline. Each deadline
is considered as a firm one and it is non-negotiable. All students are expected to complete the
quizzes on Moodle by 11:59pm on the due date.

Assignments

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School of Computer Science and Technology
Over the course of the term, you will be assigned four assignments, and each will be worth 5%
towards the final grade. The assignments should be finished individually. All students are
expected to submit their assignments to the Moodle by 11:59pm on the due date.
Late Submissions:
If an assignment is submitted late, a penalty of 10 percent of that submission’s grade will be
assessed for each day it is late. If a submission is late for over 3 days, it will not be graded
and therefore you will get Zero. No deadline extension request will be considered since the
deadlines are known well ahead.
Lab Assignments
Lab assignments will be announced and supervised in the lab section. The Prof. Sukhjinder
Hundal will provide necessary help and tutorials in lab hours every week.
Midterm Exam
There will be one midterm exam, scheduled in Week 7 (after the study week), and they will be
worth 15% towards the final grade. This exam will cover topics presented in the first 5 weeks.
Final Exam
The final exam will be comprehensive, covering all materials in the course. They will contribute
35% towards your final grade.
Academic Dishonesty
The University takes a very serious view of such offences as plagiarism, cheating, and
impersonation. Penalties for dealing with such offences will be strictly enforced. The
following web site contains a complete policy statement on academic dishonesty and
attendance. Students are encouraged to read this policy for further clarification of these issues:
https://employees.algomau.ca/services/wsDocuments/3154
Disability Accommodation:
If you are a student with a physical, learning, and/or psychological disability and plan to
request any academic accommodations for this class, you are required to bring in an
authorization letter from Disability Services listing the permitted accommodations. I will work
with you to arrange your accommodations from the point in time that you deliver and discuss
such an authorization letter with me. The Coordinator of Disability Services will keep your
disability documentation confidential. Contact information is as follows: Coordinator of
Disability Services 705-949-2301 ext. 4221; [email protected]

Course Schedule

Week Date Chapter Topic Assessment

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1 9 Sept. 1 Basic Concepts

Floating-Point Representation and x86 Assignment 1

2 16 Sept. 12.1, 2
Processor Architecture (Ch 1, 12.1)

3 23 Sept. 3 Assembly Language Fundamentals

Data Transfers, Addressing, and

4 30 Sept. 4
Arithmetic (1)
Assignment 2
Data Transfers, Addressing, and
5 7 Oct. 4 (Ch. 2, 3, 4)
Arithmetic (2)
Quiz 1

6 14 Oct. No class Study Week/Thanksgiving

Mid-term
7 21 Oct. 5 Introduce to Procedures
Exam
8 28 Oct. 6 Conditional Processing (1)

9 4 Nov. 6 Conditional Processing (2) Quiz 2

Assignment 3
10 11 Nov. 7 Integer Arithmetic
(Ch. 5, 6, 7)

11 18 Nov. 8 Advanced Procedures

Assignment 4
12 25 Nov. 12.2 Floating Point Unit and Instructions,
(Ch.8, 9, 12.2)
Strings and Arrays
13 2 Dec. 9, 10.1-2 Quiz 3
Structures and Review

14 TBA Final Exam