School of Electronics and Computer Science:
COMP2009 Operating Systems
Basic Information
| School | Dept- Electronics & Computer Science |
|---|---|
| Known as | COMP2009. |
| Session and Semester | Semester One, 2011 - 2012 |
| Credit | 10 Credit Points |
| Unit Leader | Klaus-Peter Zauner |
| Teachers | Dr Pawel Sobocinski |
| Moderators | Dr Tim Chown |
| Study | 100 nominal hours, of which apporximately 30% on coursework |
| Assessment | Examination 70%, Coursework 30% |
| Coursework | 1 programming assignment |
| Teaching | Lectures 24, Tutorials 12 |
| Prerequisites and Exclusions | Prerequisites: COMP1003 - Advanced Programming and (COMP1004 - Programming Principles or COMP1010 - 'C' Programming). |
| Referral | On referral, this unit will be assessed 100% by examination. |
| Syllabus Approved |
Description
Aims
To acquaint students with the purpose and essential features of modern operating Systems. To develop in them an understanding of the interesting algorithms and design trade-offs in these operating systems.
The course will address general principles of the design and implementation of operating systems. Examples will be drawn from the Linux (UNIX-like), Windows NT and MSDOS operating systems.
A very simple 32 bit operating system for the IBM PC architecture will be constructed
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The core functionality of modern operating systems.
- Key concepts and algorithms in operating system implementations.
- Implementation of simple OS components.
Intellectual Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
evaluate the key issues involved in implementing an operating system.
Practical Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
implement a piece of system-level code in the C programming language.
General Transferable (key) Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
make critical evaluations of competing commercial and "free" products.
Topics Covered
- Overview: Why operating systems?
- Structure of an operating system
- Introduction to disks and file systems
- A flat file system: original MSDOS
- Processes
- Synchronisation
- Message passing
- Scheduling
- Real-time
- Character I/O, interrupts
- Disk I/O, DMA
- Network I/O
- Global networks
- File systems revisited
- The UNIX file system
- Memory systems
- Memory management
- Security
- Object oriented development
- DOS, Windows and NT
Teaching and learning activities
Teaching methods include
- Lectures
- Tutorials
- Practcal software engineering and coding coureswork
Learning activities include
practical experience in system-level coding.
Methods of assessment
| Assessment method | Number | % contribution to final mark |
|---|---|---|
| Examination [exam] | 1 | 70 |
| Coursework [cwork] | 1 | 30 |
Feedback and student support during module study
Coursework will be marked and returned within three working weeks of the handin date.
Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes
The knowledge and understanding skills listed above will be taught in lectures. The intellectual skills will be taught in lectures and re-enforced through the coursework.
The purpose of the exam is to test understanding of topics that it is difficult to fully assess in a single assignment, and also to allow students to show that the abilities demonstrated in the coursework are their own.
Resources
Core Resources
- Tanenbaum, AS, Modern Operating Systems 2nd Edition, ISBN 0130313580, Prentice Hall (2001). [Library] [Shops]
Background Resources
- Stallings W, Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles 4th Edition, ISBN 0130319996, Prentice Hall (2000). [Library] [Shops]
- Schulman A, Michels RJ et al, Undocumented DOS, ISBN 020163287X, Addison-Wesley (1993). An unauthorised but interesting account of some of the inner workings of MSDOS. [Library] [Shops]
- Solomon DA and Russinovich, M, Inside Microsoft Windows 2000 3rd Edition, ISBN 0735610215, Microsoft Press (2000). The official account of the structure of Windows 2000. [Library] [Shops]
- Goodheart B & Cox J, The Magic Garden Explained, ISBN 0130981389, Prentice Hall (1994). A detailed account of the internal structure of the current version of UNIX. [Library] [Shops]
- McKusick MK, Bostic K & Karels MJ (eds), The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD UNIX Operating System 2nd edition, ISBN 0201549794, Addison-Wesley (1996). Another good account of a major UNIX operating system design. [Library] [Shops]
- Brooks F P Jr, The Mythical Man-Month and Other Essays on Software Engineering,, ISBN 0201835959, Addison-Wesley (1995). An all-time best seller describing lessons learnt from the development of OS/360. This is the 20th anniversary edition which updates some of the lessons. [Library] [Shops]
- Beck, M (ed)Linux Kernel Internals 3rd Edition, ISBN 0201719754 , Addison-Wesley (2002). The first published account of the internals of the OS you are probably using. [Library] [Shops]
- Speidel WC, Sons of the Profits, ISBN 091489000X , Nettle Creek (1967). An entertaining account of Seattle's history: understand Microsoft's heritage. [Library] [Shops]
Taught to
COMP2009
Pt II BSc Computer Science (Compulsory)Non-existing cohort: "csBScAi2" (Compulsory)
Non-existing cohort: "csBScDs2" (Compulsory)
Non-existing cohort: "csBScIm2" (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Computer Science (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Computer Science with Distributed Systems & Networks (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Computer Science with Image and Multimedia Systems (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Computer Science with Mobile and Secure Systems (Compulsory)
ECS Socrates Students (Optional)
Pt II BEng Software Engineering (Compulsory)
Pt II MEng Software Engineering (Compulsory)
Students who are not registered on an ECS approved programme may take this module subject to meeting its pre-requisites and the availability of resources. To confirm this, please can you contact the module leader (as listed above) in the first instance. They will then refer you on to the appropriate director of studies for formal approval of your selection.