CPN CPE Computer Engineering study plan

Derive CPI, MIPS, and speedup for at least five pipelined and non-pipelined CPU examples by hand

Draw and label the stages of a classic 5-stage RISC pipeline and identify data, control, and structural hazards in worked traces

Convert between number bases and two's complement representations, then compute overflow and sign-extension cases without error

Minimize three Boolean functions using Karnaugh maps and verify each result with a truth table

Explain cache mapping (direct, set-associative, fully associative) and compute hit/miss rates for at least four memory access traces

Compare RISC and CISC tradeoffs and justify a design choice in a short written argument

Design a synchronous finite-state machine from a word description, including state diagram, state table, and excitation logic

Analyze setup and hold timing for a simple register-to-register path and state whether the design closes timing

Trace process state transitions and compute average waiting and turnaround times for FCFS, SJF, round-robin, and priority scheduling on the same workload

Detect deadlock using a resource-allocation graph and apply Banker's algorithm to a small claim matrix

Implement and compare insertion, merge, and quicksort on the same input, recording operation counts and complexity

Implement a hash table with collision resolution and measure load-factor impact on probe counts

Apply at least four design patterns (strategy, observer, factory, adapter) to a single small problem and justify each choice

Write unit tests covering normal, boundary, and error paths for one module and report achieved coverage

Implement graph traversal (BFS and DFS) and a shortest-path algorithm, then verify against hand-computed expected results

Refactor a duplicated code sample into a cleaner structure without changing behavior, proving equivalence with tests

Subnet a given address block into at least four sized subnets and verify host ranges and broadcast addresses

Trace a packet across a small multi-router topology, listing source and destination MAC and IP at each hop

Explain TCP handshake, flow control, and congestion control with a labeled sequence diagram

Compare symmetric and asymmetric cryptography and select appropriate primitives for confidentiality, integrity, and authentication in a scenario

Identify and mitigate at least five common web or network vulnerabilities mapped to their underlying cause

Normalize a messy relation to third normal form and justify each decomposition step

Write SQL queries using joins, aggregation, and subqueries, then validate results against expected output sets

Explain transaction isolation levels and demonstrate a lost-update or dirty-read scenario

Compare paging and segmentation and compute effective access time with a TLB and page faults

Explain virtual memory, thrashing, and page-replacement behavior using a reference-string trace

Compute worst-case execution time and response time for a fixed-priority task set and determine schedulability with rate-monotonic analysis

Explain priority inversion and describe how priority inheritance resolves it

Describe interrupt latency, watchdog, and memory-constrained design considerations for an embedded target

Apply a professional code of ethics to at least three realistic engineering scenarios and articulate the conflicting obligations

Distinguish negligence, incompetence, and misconduct in engineering practice and state appropriate responses

Complete two full-length timed practice exams and record per-domain accuracy

Re-derive the five weakest concepts from scratch without notes and confirm correctness

Build a one-page formula and reference sheet covering architecture, logic, OS, and networking essentials

Review professional-responsibility topics and resolve any remaining uncertain items