CSCI 340(152):  Operating Systems Programming

E-version of most current syllabus available in

Fall 2001 Instructors and Sections

TRACS Call#	Section	Act	Days	Time	Room	Instructor
	CSCI 152-01	DIS	MW	0300-0415	OCNL 254	Dr. J
	CSCI 152-02
11166	CSCI 152-01	ACT	W	0500-0550	OCNL 124	Del Maschio
11167	CSCI 152-02	ACT	W	0500-0550	OCNL 124	Del Maschio

Prerequisites

• CSCI 311(151), Algorithms and Data Structures
• CSCI 320(171), Computer Architecture or equivalent

Description

Operating system fundamentals, including history, process and thread management, concurrency with semaphores and monitors, deadlocks, storage management, file systems, I/O, and distributed systems. 2.0 hours discussion, 2.0 hours activity.

Required Text

Operating System Concepts, 6/e Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Galvin, & Greg Gagne, 2002. John Wiley & Sons New York, New York. ISBN 0-471-41743-2 There is a set of slides that accompany the textbook ...

Additional Requirements/Expectations

There is one additional requirement for this class. Students are expected to have an account with one of the campus Unix systems. All programming assignments will be done on the Unix platform. Therefore, all students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Unix operating system. Although some Unix topics will be discussed, this is not a class on Unix; hence, you will be expected to discover other things on your own. You must take responsibility in honing your computing skills. Students should take advantage of gaining experience functioning within both the PC and Unix platforms.

Programming assignments written for other platforms will not be accepted.

Recommended UNIX Supplements:

	Learning the UNIX Operating System, 4/e Jerry Peek, Grace Todino, John Strang, 1997. O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. ISBN 1-56592-390-1
	UNIX in a Nutshell: System V Edition Daniel Gilly, 1992 (Second Edition). O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. ISBN 1-56592-001-5

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to:

1. help students become familiar with the fundamental concepts of operating systems;
2. help students become competent in recognizing operating systems features and issues; and
3. provide students with sufficient understanding of operating system design and how it impacts application systems design and performance.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student shall be able to:

1. exhibit familiarity with the fundamental concepts of operating systems;
2. exhibit competence in recognizing operating systems features and issues; and
3. apply a mature understanding of operating system design and how it impacts application systems design and performance.

Relationship of Course to Program Objectives

This course supports the achievement of the following program objectives:

• Problem Analysis and Solution Design: Significant
• Oral and Written Communication: Some
• Social and Ethical Issues: Minimal
• Applicability to Future Endeavors: Significant

Relationship of Course to Program Objectives

This course supports the achievement of the following program outcomes:

• Outcome A: An ability to apply knowledge of math, science, and engineering.
• Outcome B: An ability to design and implement programs as well as to analyze and interpret code and data.
• Outcome C: An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs.
• Outcome E: An ability to identify, formulate, and solve computing problems.
• Outcome G: An ability to communicate effectively.
• Outcome H: The broad education necessary to understand the impact of computing solutions in a global and societal context.
• Outcome J: A knowledge of contemporary issues.
• Outcome K: An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern computing tools necessary for computing practice.

Grade Evaluation

This course is designed to give students an equal opportunity of exposure to both Theory and Practice. Students are expected to demonstrate proficiency on both the theoretical and practical aspects of this course.

Theoretical Component  (50%)
	30%		Midterm Exam 1
	30%		Midterm Exam 2
	40%		Final Exam
Practical Component  (50%)
	30%		(In-Class or online) Quizzes
	70%		Programming Assignments

Students are required to earn a C- (70%) or better in both the Theoretical and the Practical components; otherwise, the minimum of the scores of the two components will be used to calculate the student's final grade.

Final Grades

Final grades shall be expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score of all evaluated materials. Letter grades will be given according to the following scheme:

Real Interval	Letter Grade	University Definition
[96,100]	A	Superior Work
[90, 96)	A-
[87, 90)	B+	Very Good Work
[83, 87)	B
[80, 83)	B-
[77, 80)	C+	Adequate Work
[73, 77)	C
[70, 73)	C-
[66, 70)	D+	Minimally Acceptable Work
[60, 66)	D
[ 0, 60)	F	Unacceptable Work

Note:  It is Dr. J's policy not to assign a final grade of D or D+ to graduate students. Hence,
graduate students with a class standing less than C- (70%) earn a final grade of F.

General Policies

Dr. J has some general policies that apply to all courses that he teaches. Students are expected to read and understand these policies upon registration of the course. What follows below are course-specific policies.

Tentative Schedule

The following tentative schedule is subject to changes without notice:

Week	Chapter	Coverage/Comments
1	1	Introduction
2	2	Computer system structures
3	3	Operating system structures
4	4	Processes
5	5	CPU scheduling     Midterm Exam 1, class time
6	5 6	CPU scheduling, continued     Process synchronization
7	6	Process synchronization, continued
8	7	Deadlocks
9	8	Memory management
10	9	Virtual memory
11	10	File system interface     Midterm Exam 2, class time
12	11	File system implementation
13	12	I/O systems
14	13	Secondary storage structure
15	14	Tertiary storage structure
16		Final Exam, as scheduled (see Class Schedule)