EE3376 Lab Overview, Spring 2008
The EE3176 lab is located in the Micro Lab, Room 314B of the UTEP Electrical Engineering Department. The lab hours are M,T,W,Th 1:30 - 5:30 pm. One lab will be due each week.
There should be one student per workstation and students should complete the lab assignments individually. However, students are encouraged to interact and exchange ideas as long as they are within the guidelines noted in the Academic Honesty section below.
Each lab noted below deals with an important software and/or hardware topic. The labs are all web-based and are written in a tutorial fashion where you may work at your own pace. To do the labs, you can printout the web pages or work directly from the browser on your workstation. You will generally need to look over the labs and familiarize yourself with the lab contents before you come to lab session, otherwise you may not finish on time. Note that you will need to do a checkout with the TA at the end of each lab to demonstrate that you have completed the lab assignment.
For every lab except for lab 3 and the project lab, there will generally be four parts:
1. A prelab to be handed in before you begin the lab. You will not be able to check out a Dragon12 board until the prelab is handed in.
2. The tutorial, which will usually consist of reading and programming examples on the Dragon12 board. You can do the tutorials at your own pace, spending more time on the subjects that are
difficult, and glossing over subjects that you are familiar with. While we do not formally check
that you did the tutorials, it is to your benefit to complete them. You will have a difficult time doing the required programs otherwise.
3. The actual program that you write. You will demonstrate this to the TA when you are ready to checkout at the end of your lab session.
4. Most labs will have a lab report or program listing which you will hand in to the TA on the following lab session. Lab reports/code must have the students name, last four numbers of their UTEP ID, date and title. Lab reports/code should be computer generated except where noted.
For lab 3 and the project lab, the labs are completed in a three week time frame. Deadlines exist for each of the weeks for demonstrating intermediate results.
Lab Grading
The grading for each lab will be: 20% pre-lab, 40% program demo (what you demonstrate to the TA during your checkout), and 40% program code or report (what you hand in to the TA at the next lab). The grade for program demo depends on how well you set up your Code Warrior project (no extra files, executables properly named, files saved in the correct place, etc.), on how well the code runs when you demonstrate it to the TA, and on how well you understand the main concepts of the lab. The code itself will be graded based on how effective the code is, how "cleanly" it is written and structured (no extraneous code, logical flow, etc.), and a good deal of emphasis will be placed on code comments. Make sure to put the name/date/ID on each item you hand in to the TA. The code MUST be computer generated, but the pre-labs may be computer generated or neatly handwritten.
With the exception of the project lab, each lab will be given equal weight in your final lab grade. The project lab will count for 25% of your final lab grade.
Labs must be completed and checked out with the TA on the day your lab is assigned. Late labs are allowed but are strongly discouraged. There will be a 30% reduction in your lab grade if you miss your checkout time up to one week late. For labs over one week late, you will receive NO points for that lab. If you know you will not be able to complete a lab due to prior commitments (eg, travel to a conference), please make alternative arrangements with the TA before the lab is due.
UTEP Academic Honesty Policy
Make sure you understand the UTEP academic honesty policy. Students are encouraged to share ideas, but you must do your own homework and you must write your own code in the labs (you may copy code that is on the website, however). If program code is suspected of being duplicated or copied, you will receive an incomplete for the lab, and your case will be referred to the Dean of Students for adjudication. Click on this link for complete details concerning the UTEP Academic Honesty policy.
Disclaimer for the Lab Web Pages
While every effort is made to ensure that the lab web pages are up-to-date and self-consistent, there are occasions where things may be slightly different than presented on a web page. This may be due to small hardware changes or small changes in the programs, or it may be an inevitable part of the topic at hand. For instance, a screenshot may show a certain hex pattern in RAM. Since RAM is uninitialized, the exact hex pattern will vary from chip to chip, so your hex pattern may not be the same as the screenshot. Or, some code might have originally been written for the older Rev. D Dragon-12 boards, whereas some other code may have been written for the newer Rev. E boards (which need Port J initialization). In such cases, try to use a little judgement as to whether or not small discrepancies are of concern or not. Feel free, however, to call on the TA if you have any questions about the content on the web pages.
Lab Schedule Spring 2007
* Labs closed and no lab projects assigned Weeks 1
EE3176 Labs