==============================================
Midterm 3 Exam
Wednesday, December 10, in-class
==============================================

The exam, by nature, is cumulative.  So be sure to review the material from the first two-thirds of the class and know the questions of the prior two exams.  

Here are a list of topics that you should be familiar with.  Be sure to complete the assigned reading (listed on the class webpage); it is likely that some exam questions will come directly from the reading and the example problems in the book.  

(0) Buffer Attacks
- know how buffer attacks originate and how to prevent them

(1) Pipelines
- be able to explain the basic ideas of pipeline performance
- explain the nature of diminishing returns on adding more pipeline stages
- be able to compute latency, clock rate, and throughput for different pipelines
- be familiar with basic hazards and how to overcome them

(2) Caching
- know the basics of a memory hierarchy
- be able to articulate how a memory hierarchy can be used to enhance memory performance
- be familiar with the different cache types and structures
- be able to translate a series of addresses into hits/misses by simulating a cache performance
- understand thrashing and how to prevent it
- know different cache eviction policies as well as cache writing policies

(3) Exception Control Flow
- be able to list various sources and kinds of exceptions
- know how to create new processes
- be familiar with basic signals, how to send and receive them

(4) Floating Point
- know the IEEE floating point format
- be able to convert between decimal numbers and floating point bit representation
- know the special cases and limits of each case

(5) Hardware Labs
- know the basics of servo motor control
- know the basics of stepper motor control
- know the basics of using interrupts on the Arduino


We will not cover multiplication algorithms on this midterm exam.  They may be part of the final exam.