Course Schedule
NC State - Spring ‘26 - CSC 236
Please note that this is a tentative schedule. The course schedule and assignment deadlines are subject to change due to weather, illness, etc.
Exam Dates
| Exam | Date |
|---|---|
| Exam 1 | Monday, February 23rd, 2026, 4:30pm - 5:45pm |
| Exam 2 | Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, 4:30pm - 5:45pm |
| Final Exam | Monday, May 4th, 2026, 3:30pm - 6:00pm |
Project Due Dates
| Project | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Project 1 (SPACES) | Friday, February 20th, 2026, 11:45pm |
| Project 2 (TEMP) | Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, 4:30pm |
| Project 3 (BOWLING) | Wednesday, April 1st, 2026, 4:30pm |
| Project 4 (RLC) | Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, 4:30pm |
Note: make sure to check the late project policy.
Report Due Dates
| Report | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Final Report | Tuesday, April 28th, 2026, 11:45pm |
Homework Due Dates
| Homework | Due Date |
|---|---|
| HW1 - Bin/Hex operations | Monday, January 26, 4:30pm |
| HW2 - Load/Store/Add/Sub | Wednesday, February 4, 4:30pm |
| HW3 - Conditionals | Monday, February 16, 4:30pm |
| HW4 - Loops | Thursday, February 19, 11:45pm |
| HW5 - Mul/Div | Monday, March 2, 4:30pm |
| HW6 - Subroutines and Stack | Monday, March 9, 4:30pm |
| HW7 - ARM64 Machine Code | Wednesday, March 11, 4:30pm |
| HW8 - Linking with HLLs and Stack | Wednesday, March 25, 4:30pm |
| HW9 - x86 Machine Code | Monday, April 6, 4:30pm |
| HW10 - Microcode | Wednesday, April 8, 4:30pm |
| HW11 - Pipeline, Float | Monday, April 20, 4:30pm |
| HW12 - JVM | Monday, April 27, 4:30pm |
Full Schedule
| Date | Week | Day | Topic | Things Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-12 | 1 | Mon | Introduction to Architecture | |
| 2026-01-14 | 1 | Wed | Unsigned/Signed Number Systems | |
| 2026-01-19 | 2 | Mon | NO CLASS - MLK | |
| 2026-01-21 | 2 | Wed | Basic Computer Architecture | |
| 2026-01-26 | 3 | Mon | ARM64 Architecture | * HW1 - Bin/Hex operations (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-01-28 | 3 | Wed | ARM64 Environment (Start Assembly) | |
| 2026-02-02 | 4 | Mon | Complete Program Format, Interrupts, I/O | |
| 2026-02-04 | 4 | Wed | Compares, Jumps, and SPACES | * HW2 - Load/Store/Add/Sub (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-02-09 | 5 | Mon | Efficiency, Testing, and other topics | |
| 2026-02-11 | 5 | Wed | NO CLASS - Project work day | |
| 2026-02-16 | 6 | Mon | Multiply, Divide, and TEMP | * HW3 - Conditionals (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-02-18 | 6 | Wed | Indirect Addressing | * HW4 - Loops (Thursday, Feb 19, 11:45pm) * SPACES (Friday, Feb 20, 11:45pm) |
| 2026-02-23 | 7 | Mon | Exam 1 (1-page cheat sheet, no calculators or other electronics, up to “efficiency and other topics”) | |
| 2026-02-25 | 7 | Wed | ARM64 Machine Code | |
| 2026-03-02 | 8 | Mon | NO CLASS - Project work day | * HW5 - Mul/Div (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-03-04 | 8 | Wed | Subroutines and BOWLING | * TEMP (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-03-09 | 9 | Mon | Linking with High-Level Languages | * HW6 - Subroutines and Stack (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-03-11 | 9 | Wed | Exam 2 (1-page cheat sheet, no calculators or other electronics, up to “efficiency and other topics”) | * HW7 - ARM64 Machine Code (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-03-16 | 10 | Mon | NO CLASS - Spring Break | |
| 2026-03-18 | 10 | Wed | NO CLASS - Spring Break | |
| 2026-03-23 | 11 | Mon | x86 architecture over time | |
| 2026-03-25 | 11 | Wed | x86-64 architecture | * HW8 - Linking with HLLs and Stack (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-03-30 | 12 | Mon | NO CLASS - Project work day | |
| 2026-04-01 | 12 | Wed | x86-64 machine code and RLC | * BOWLING (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-04-06 | 13 | Mon | Microcode and Microcode Machine Example | * HW9 - x86 Machine Code (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-04-08 | 13 | Wed | Advanced Topics (Floating Point, Pipelining) and Final Report | * HW10 - Microcode (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-04-13 | 14 | Mon | NO CLASS - Project work day | |
| 2026-04-15 | 14 | Wed | Java Virtual Machine | * RLC (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-04-20 | 15 | Mon | Tradeoffs in Processor Design & Performance Issues in Processor Design | * HW11 - Pipeline, Float (4:30pm, beginning of class) |
| 2026-04-22 | 15 | Wed | NO CLASS - Project work day | |
| 2026-04-27 | 16 | Mon | Review for Final Exam | * HW12 - JVM (4:30pm, beginning of class) * Final Report (Tuesday, Apr 28th, 11:45pm) |