Undergraduate Catalog 2005 - 2006

Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)

Head of Department: Professor Reda Ammar
Department Office: Room 460, United Technologies Engineering Building

(Computer Science and Engineering courses were formerly offered under the CS department abbreviation using the same course numbers.)
 

101C. Computers in Modern Society Second semester. Three credits. Two class periods and two 1-hour program design periods. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 110C or CSE 123C or CSE 130C. Students who anticipate extensive study or use of computers in their future work should take CSE 110C-111, or CSE 123C-124C, or CSE 130C rather than this course. Ungar Introduction to computer applications in the humanities, social sciences, business, and other fields. Influence of the computer on modern society and technology. Elements of computer usage in the solution of numeric and non-numeric problems including introduction to programming methods.

110C. Introduction to Numerical Computation Either semester. Three credits. Two 1-hour class periods and two 1-hour program design periods. Prerequisite: MATH 110Q or MATH 113Q or MATH 115Q, which may be taken concurrently. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 123C or CSE 130C. Either CSE 110C-111 or CSE 123C-124C or CSE 130C is required of students planning on taking advanced CSE courses. Demurjian, Ungar Introduction to computer organization and the computing process. Design of algorithms for computer solutions of problems, structured programming, and data organization. Analysis of computational errors and their minimization. Methods of solving numerical problems. Logic, design, verification and documentation of programs using current programming languages.

111. Introduction to Non-Numerical Computation Either semester. Two credits. Two 1-hour class periods and one 1-hour program design period. Prerequisite: CSE 110C. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 124C or CSE 130C. Either CSE 110C-111 or CSE 123C-124C or CSE 130C is required of students planning on taking advanced CSE courses. Ungar Design of algorithms for the processing of non-numerical information. Linked lists, trees and other advanced data structures. Practice in the design and realization of complex information processing programs.

123C. Introduction to Computing Both semesters. Two credits. Two class periods of lecture and one 1-hour of laboratory period per week. Recommended preparation: MATH 101 or equivalent.  No previous programming experience required. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 110C or CSE 130C. Ungar Problem solving with the computer, basics of data representation and computer organization, procedural and object-oriented programming in a modern language including control structures, functions and parameter passing, one and two dimensional arrays, numerical error and basic numerical methods. Examples taken from various disciplines. Programming projects required. Intellectual property issues discussed.

124C. Computing Second semester. Four credits. Three class periods of lecture and one 1-hour laboratory per week. Prerequisite: CSE 123C or CSE 110C. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 111 or CSE 130C. Ungar Principles of object oriented programming including polymorphism, information hiding, and inheritance. Principles of object oriented design. Recursion. Strings, lists, stacks, queues, trees, priority queues, heaps and graphs including their use and various implementations using automatic and dynamic data allocation, linked representations, and templates. Algorithm and complexity issues involved with these data types. Sorting and searching algorithms. Introduction to computer history. Programming problems drawn from areas of computer science and engineering.

130C. Fundamentals of Computation First semester. Four credits. Two 1-hour class periods and two 1-hour program design periods. Prerequisite: MATH 110Q or MATH 113Q or MATH 115Q, which may be taken concurrently. This is a very demanding course and is recommended for students who have had previous programming experience and have a high level of motivation for using computers in future work. Not open for credit to students who have passed CSE 110C or CSE 111 or CSE 123C or CSE 124C. Either CSE 110C-111 or CSE 123C-124C or CSE 130C is required of students planning on taking advanced CSE courses. Ungar Design of algorithms to solve numerical and non-numerical problems. Top-down design techniques and structured programming. Investigation and selection on data organizations for efficient problem solutions. Analysis of computational errors in numerical calculations. Methods for the design, implementation, verification and documentation of programs using current programming languages.

133. Object Oriented Design and Programming Second semester. Three credits. Three class periods of lecture and one 75 minute laboratory period per week. Prerequisite: CSE 123C or 110C. Not open to students who have passed CSE 124C.  Principles of object oriented programming including classes, polymorphism, encapsulation and information hiding, and inheritance. Principles of object oriented design. Program debugging and documentation techniques. Implementation and simple analysis of algorithms for sorting and searching. Event-driven programming and the use of libraries for user interfaces. Introduction to computer history. Programming assignments.

134. Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithms First semester. Three credits. Three class periods of lecture. Prerequisite: CSE 133 or 124C. Students who have passed CSE 124C will receive only 2 credits for this course. Fundamental concepts of data structures and the algorithms that proceed from them. Implementation and use of linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, priority queues, heaps and graphs. Emphasis on recursion, abstract data types, object oriented design, and associated algorithms and complexity issues. Design using specifications and requirements. Basic computer organizations, including memory organizations and allocations issues. Programming assignments.

201. Computer Architecture Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisites: CSE 111 or 124C or 130. Not open to students who have credit for CSE 207 or CSE 241 or CSE 210W. Open to sophomores or higher. Structure and operation of digital systems and computers. Fundamentals of digital logic. Machine organization, control and data paths, instruction sets, and addressing modes. Hardwired and microprogrammed control. Memory systems organization. Discussion of alternative architectures such as RISC, CICS, and various parallel architectures.

207. Digital Logic Either semester. Three credits. Three class periods and one 1-hour discussion period. Prerequisite: CSE 110C or 123C or 130C. Open to sophomores or higher. This course and CSE 210W may not both be taken for credit.   Ammar, Lipsky, McCartney Representation of digital information. Introduction to the analysis and design of combinational and sequential logic networks using Boolean algebra and register transfer techniques. Structure and operation of digital systems and computers. Introduction to programming at the machine and assembler language level. Design projects.

208. Logic Design Laboratory Either semester. Two credits. One 1-hour lecture and one 2-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: Secondary school physics or PHYS 101, and CSE 207 which may be taken concurrently. Open to sophomores or higher. This course and CSE 210W may not both be taken for credit. Barker Design and evaluation of combinational and sequential logic circuits. Debugging techniques. Use of computer facilities for circuit simulation, CAD and report preparation and presentation.

210W. Digital Logic Design First semester. Four credits. Three class periods and one two-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: CSE 110 or 123 or 130 or 133 and secondary  school physics or PHYS 101 or 151; ENGL 105 or 110 or 111 or 250. Not open to students who have passed CSE 207 or 208W. Open to sophomores or higher.  Representation of digital information. Analysis, design, and evaluation of combinational and sequential logic circuits. Debugging techniques. Use of computer facilities for circuit simulation, CAD, and report preparation and presentation. Introduction to structure and operation of digital computers. Design projects. Written reports with revisions are required for each project.

220. Introduction to Computer Architecture Either semester. Three credits. Three one-hour lectures and one one-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: CSE 134; CSE 254. Cannot be taken after CSE 249 or 261. This course and CSE 201 may not both be taken for credit. This course and CSE 243 may not both be taken for credit.  Structure and operation of digital systems and computers. Fundamentals of digital logic. Machine organization, control and data paths, instruction sets, and addressing modes. Integer and floating-point arithmetic, the memory hierarchy, the I/O subsystem. Assembly language and basic program organization, interrupts, I/O, and memory allocation.

221. Probabilistic Performance Analysis of Computer Systems Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 124C  or 134; and 254 one of STAT 220Q or 230Qor MATH 231. Ammar, Lipsky Introduction to the probabilistic techniques which can be used to represent random processes in computer systems. Markov processes, generating functions and their application to performance analysis. Models which can be used to describe the probabilistic performance of digital systems.

228. Parallel Systems Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 201  or 220 or 243, and CSE 259.  Greenshields Introduction to parallel systems. Fundamentals of the theory of parallel systems. Models of parallel machines. Limitations of parallel systems. Paradigmatic algorithms. Vectorization. Arithmetic structures. Classical parallel architectures.

230. Introduction to Software Engineering Either semester. Three credits. Three class periods and one problem session. Prerequisite: CSE134 and 254. Open to sophomores or higher. Demurjian, Peters Software engineering concepts including the software life cycle and other software-development process models. Specification techniques, design methodologies, performance analysis, and verification techniques. Team-oriented software design and development, and project management techniques. Introduction to a modern programming language and the associated design and debugging tools. Homework and laboratory projects that emphasize design and the use/features of a modern programming language.

233. Programming Languages Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 237. The study of programming language features and programming paradigms. Data types, control, run-time environments, and semantics. Examples of procedural, functional, logical, and object-oriented programming. Features used for parallel and distributed processing. Classic and current programming languages and environments.

237. Theory of Computation Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE134 and 254. Formal models of computation, such as finite state automata, pushdown automata, and Turing machines, and their corresponding elements in formal languages (regular, context-free, recursively enumerable). The complexity hierarchy. Church's thesis and undecidability. NP completeness. Theoretical basis of design and compiler construction.

240. Intermediate Computer Systems Laboratory Either semester. Three credits. Two hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory. Prerequisite: CSE 111 or 124C or 130C, and CSE 241 which may be taken concurrently. Chip level programming of microprocessor type systems. Topics covered include I/O ports, I/O devices and controllers, DMA channels, priority interrupts, networking, multitasking. Design projects.

241. Computer Organization Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 207, and CSE 208 which may be taken concurrently. Ammar, Peters Fundamentals of computer organization. Instruction sets and addressing modes. The control path and microprogramming. The data path; fast arithmetic. The memory hierarchy, both logical and physical aspects. The input/subsystem; interrupts, DMA, structure and function. SIMD and MIMD parallelism. Modern architectural theories.

243. Introduction to Computer Architecture and Hardware/Software Interface Either semester. Four credits. Three hours lecture and three hours laboratory. Prerequisite: CSE 210W or both CSE 207 and CSE 208. Not open for credit to students who have credit for CSE 241. Ammar, Greenshields An integrated introduction to computer organization and the hardware/software interface as seen at the assembly-language level. Topics included: basic machine organization; instruction sets and addressing modes; CPU design; the control path and microprogramming; FSM design; the data path; integer and floating-point arithmetic; busses; the memory hierarchy; the i/o subsystem; RISC architectures; pipelining; basic performance analysis; fundamentals of networking. Lab activities include (but are not limited to): basic assembly language programming on a CICS and RICS processor; processor benchmarking; use of cache; polled, interrupt driven and DMA I/O files; optimizing code.

244. Programming Language Translation Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 230 and 237. Santos Introduction to the formal definition of programming language syntax and semantics. Design and realization of programming language processing systems such as assemblers, compilers, and interpreters.

245. Computer Networks and Data Communication Semester by arrangement. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 220 or 201 or 243; STAT 220Q or STAT 224Q or STAT 230Q or MATH 231 Introduction to computer networks and data communications. Network types, components and topology, protocol architecture, routing algorithms, and performance. Case studies including LAN and other architectures.

249. Computer Organization and Architecture Either semester. Three credits. Three one-hour lectures.  Prerequisite: CSE 210W; CSE 220. This course and CSE 243 may not both be taken for credit. Cannot be taken after CSE 261.  Organization and architecture of modern computer systems. Emphasis is on alternatives and advances to the basic Von Neumann architecture: topics such as pipelining, memory hierarchy and management, multiprocessor and alternative architectures, reconfigurable hardware, and other techniques for performance enhancement.

252. Digital Systems Design (Also offered as ECE 252.) Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 210W or CSE 207.  Design and evaluation of control and data structures for digital systems. Hardware design languages are used to describe and design alternative register transfer level architectures and control units with a micro-programming emphasis. Consideration of computer architecture, memories, digital interfacing timing and synchronization, and microprocessor systems.

254. Introduction to Discrete Systems Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 111 or 124C or 130C or 133. Not open for credit to students who have passed MATH 214Q. Open to sophomores or higher.  Mathematical methods for characterizing and analyzing discrete systems. Modern algebraic concepts, logic theory, set theory, grammars and formal languages, and graph theory. Application to the analysis of computer systems and computational structures.

255. Principles of Data Bases Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 259.  Shin Fundamentals of data base design and data indexing techniques. Hierarchical, network, and relational data models. Data base design theory. Query languages, their implementation and optimization. Data base security and concurrent data base operations.

257. Numerical Methods in Scientific Computation (Also offered as ECE 257.) Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 123C and MATH 210Q and MATH 211Q. Introduction to the numerical algorithms fundamental to scientific computation. Equation solving, function approximation, integration, difference and differential equations, special computer techniques. Emphasis is placed on efficient use of computers to optimize speed and accuracy in numerical computations. Extensive digital computer usage for algorithm verification.

258. Operating Systems Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 230; CSE 220,  201 or 243. Demurjian, Santos Introduction to the theory, design, and implementation of software systems to support the management of computing resources. Topics include the synchronization of concurrent processes, memory management, processor management, scheduling, device management, file systems, and protection.

259. Algorithms and Complexity Either semester. Three credits. Three class periods. Prerequisite: CSE 134 and 254.Goldin, McCartney, Rajasekaran Design and analysis of efficient computer algorithms. Algorithm design techniques, including divide-and-conquer, depth-first search, and greedy approaches. Worst-case and average-case analysis. Models of computation. NP-complete problems.

261. Digital Hardware Laboratory (Also offered as ECE 281.) Second semester. Three credits. One 4-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: CSE 249; ECE 252 or CSE 252.  Advanced combinational and sequential circuit design and implementation using random logic and microprocessor based system. Hardware and software interface to the basic system. Serial communication, user program loading and execution. Microcontrollers - familiarization and inclusion in design.

262. Software Engineering Laboratory Second semester. Three credits. Four program design periods. Prerequisite: CSE 230. Demurjian, Peters A major software design project addresses specification through delivery phases of the lifecycle. The major focus of the course is utilization and application of concepts from CSE 230 to a straightforward semester long project. This allows the student to explore programming-in-the-large with an emphasis on techniques for teamwork, walk through, design, documentation, implementation, and debugging. Data structures and algorithm alternatives for the design and implementation phases of the lifecycle are also stressed. Formal design presentations are required by all students.

263. Networking and Distributed Systems Laboratory Second semester. Three credits. Four hour laboratory. Prerequisite: CSE 245; CSE 220 or CSE 201 or CSE 243.  Software laboratory that explores selected issues in networking and distributed systems. Topics include: Berkely sockets; TCP and IP; atm apis; latency and bandwidth; performance models; performance evaluation of different network fabrics; MPI; simple CORBA; performance characteristics of MPI, Java, RMI, and CORBA; implementation and evaluation of a client-server system.

265. Independent Design Laboratory Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 230. May be taken twice for credit. Instructor and department head consent. Experimental design project undertaken by the student by special arrangement with a faculty member of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

267. Software Laboratory on Large Computers Semester by arrangement. Three credits. Two class periods and one 2-hour program design period. Prerequisite: CSE 240. Investigation of instruction sets, internal data representations, interrupt systems, and the input/output system of a large computer available in the Computer Center. Assembler language, related job control language, supervision conventions, linkage methods, data storage techniques and access methods. Design projects.

268. Microprocessor Laboratory First semester. Three credits. One lecture and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: CSE 220 or CSE 201 or 243. Shvartsman The design of microcomputer systems, including both hardware and software, for solving application problems. Hardware and software design and implementation techniques for interfacing microcomputers to other systems. Use of modern microcomputer software/hardware development facilities. Projects to design and apply microcomputer systems.

269. Computer Science Design Laboratory Either semester. Three credits. One 4-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: Announced separately for each course. With a change in content this course may be repeated for credit. Design and implementation of complex software and/or hardware systems to solve problems posed by either student groups or the instructor.

275. Principles of Computer Graphics Semester by arrangement. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 259 and MATH 210Q and either MATH 227Q or MATH 215Q. Not open for credit to students who have passed MATH 255. Peters, Roulier Representation of two- and three-dimensional data, internal representation of data structures, transformations, mapping of data to graphics screen, graphics hardware. Programming projects are assigned.

277. Bioinformatics (Also offered as BME 280). Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: BIOL 107, CSE 254, and either STAT 220Q or STAT 224Q. Fundamental mathematical models and computational techniques in bioinformatics. Exact and approximate string matching, suffix trees, pairwise and multiple sequence alignment, Markov chains and hidden Markov models. Applications to sequence analysis, gene finding, database search, phylogenetic tree reconstruction.

278. Social, Ethical and Professional Issues in Computer Science and Engineering Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 230. Engel Study of areas in which computer science interacts with ethical issues, and issues of public policy. Topics of professional growth, development, and responsibility. Practice in the analysis of complex issues brought about by modern technology.

280. Digital Design Laboratory (Also offered as ECE 280.) Second semester. Three credits. Four hours of laboratory. Prerequisite or corequisite: Either CSE 252/ECE 252. Digital designing with PLA and FPGA, A/D and D/A conversion, floating point processing, ALU design, synchronous and asynchronous controllers, control path; bus master; bus slave; memory interface; I/O interface; logic circuits analysis, testing, and trouble shooting; PBC; design and manufacturing.

282. Artificial Intelligence First semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 259. McCartney Design and implementation of intelligent systems, in areas such as natural language processing, expert reasoning, planning, robotics, problem solving and learning. Students will design their own versions of "classic" AI problems, and complete one substantial design project. Programming will be done primarily in Lisp, which will be covered briefly at the beginning of the course.

290. Electrical and Computer Engineering Design I (Also offered as ECE 290.) Either semester. Two credits. Prerequisite: Senior standing Discussion of the design process; project statement, specification, project planning scheduling and division of responsibility, ethics in engineering design, safety, environmental considerations, economic constraints, liability, manufacturing, and marketing. Projects are carried out using a team-based approach. Selection and analysis of a design project to be undertaken in CSE/ECE 291 is carried out. Written progress reports, a proposal, an interim report, a final report, and oral presentations are required.

291. Electrical and Computer Engineering Design II (Also offered as ECE 291.) Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: ECE 290. Hours to be arranged. Design of a device, circuit, system, process, or algorithm. Team solution to an engineering design problem formulated in CSE/ECE 290, from first concepts through evaluation and documentation. Written progress reports, a final report, and oral presentations are required.

293W.  Computer Science and Engineering Design Project Either semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: CSE 258 and either CSE 261 or 262 or 263 or 265 or 268 or 269; ENGL 105 or 110 or 111 or 250. This course is the second semester of the required major design experience. In one semester-long team project, students will propose, design, produce, and evaluate a software and/or hardware system.The project will culminate in the delivery of a working system, a formal public presentation, and written documentation. Oral and written progress reports are required.

298. Special Topics in Computer Science and Engineering Semester and credits by arrangement. Prerequisite: Announced separately for each course. With a change in content, this course may be repeated for credit. Classroom course in special topics as announced in advance for each semester.

299. Independent Study in Computer Science and Engineering Semester by arrangement. Credits by arrangement, not to exceed 4 in any semester. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and department head This course exposes the student to management principles and practices and the knowledge and skills necessary to develop an education project and to perform a research project.