CSSE 132 · Fall 2026–2027
Exam 1 Preparation
Your central place for Exam 1 logistics, topic scope, review readings, and practice. Start with the overview, then use the review page to work on the topics you find hardest. Before the coding part, review Linux commands and revisit Lab 2: Linux.
Exam Logistics
When and how
Scheduled date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, during the lab period. Check the current schedule and instructor announcements for meeting details or changes.
The exam has a paper part followed by a coding part. The paper part asks you to reason by hand; the coding part uses the course Linux environment.
Prepare your resources
For the paper part, bring a calculator and one single-sided 8½ × 11 inch sheet of handwritten notes. Other resources and electronic devices are not permitted during this part.
For the coding part, have your laptop ready to SSH into your CSSE132 Linux VM and use a terminal editor. Allowed resources are your current-term submitted assignments/labs and the course website and its direct links. Submit code through Gradescope as instructed.
Resource boundaries: Other Internet sources, LLMs, messaging, smartphones, modern IDEs, and code from another course or a previous term are not allowed. Follow the instructor’s exam-day instructions for the final resource rules and submission procedure.
What to Review
Review the concepts and skills below from the current course materials. This is a topic guide, not a list of exam questions or their order.
| Topic | Skills to practice | Current worksheets |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | Bits and bytes; binary, decimal and hexadecimal; fixed-width signed values and two’s complement | 02 |
| Memory addressing | Byte addresses, offsets, address-space capacity and endianness | 03 |
| ARM64 | w/x register widths, loads/stores, arithmetic, comparisons, branches and short code traces | 04, 05 |
| C and data structures | Expressions, functions, formatted output, arrays, pointers, strings and structs | 06, 07, 08 |
| Memory hierarchy | Roles, speed, volatility, cost/capacity tradeoffs and cache access-time reasoning | 09 |
| Function calls | Arguments, return values, return addresses, bl/ret and the basic role of the stack | 10 |
| Linux and coding workflow | Navigation, file/data manipulation, compilation, testing and basic debugging | Lab 1, Lab 2, Lab 3 |
Review Materials
Exam 1 Review: Numbers, Memory, and Code
Read concise explanations, trace fresh worked examples, check common mistakes, and try the self-check questions. Includes a DRAM/SSD comparison to reinforce memory hierarchy, ARM64 function calls, and a Linux command review with pipeline practice and debugging reminders.
Find current lecture slides and other resources on Course Materials. Existing review links on the schedule remain available.
Practice and Preparation
Attempt the practice paper without a converter or code execution. Show conversion steps, label byte addresses, and keep a register trace table. Use the practice coding instructions and your course repository to rehearse building, testing, and submitting files. Practice materials cover skills; their question layout does not predict the exam.
- Explain each answer, then check it against a reading or worksheet.
- Revisit mistakes using a new example instead of memorizing one result.
- Check that you can connect C values, addresses, and ARM64 registers.
- Test your SSH connection and review the permitted resources before exam day.
Exam-Related Updates
Additional resources and logistics updates will be linked here when released by the instructor. For now, use the review and practice materials above and watch the schedule for announcements.