A study involving the working of a modern operationg system

Design and implementation of UNIX and other operating systems. Topics include process and thread management, interprocess communication, synchronization and scheduling, multiprocessing, device drivers, kernel memory management, distributed and advanced file systems and STREAMS (knowledge of C assumed).

Lectures, 3 hours per week. (see notes)

Prerequisites: COSC 2P12 (minimum 60 percent), 2P13 (minimum 60 percent) and 2P91 (minimum 60 percent).

The lecture component will focus on fundamentals concerning the design and implementation of aspects concerning a variety of topics in a broad sense. The lab component will focus on practical immersion into a modern operating system, primarily FreeBSD. Students will be expected to complete a variety of labs concerning BSD, attaining experience on a Unix operating system.

1. Quiz (4 x 5%, held in class TBA - or when you least expect it.) (See Note 1)
   
2. Weekly Assignments and Readings (30%, expect 4 to 6, mini assignments) (See Note 2)
   
3. Practical Lab (50%) (See Note 3)
   

1. Quizes will be no more the 20min in length and will serve as a refresher for the previous week(s) lecture and assignment material. Quiz material may be taken from lectures or the assigned readings.
   
   
2. Mini assignments will follow assigned captures to be read from the text or other sources. It is expected that students complete the readings and the accompanying questions, as assigned from the end of the chapters.
   
   
3. Students will be given a modern PC (Dell Optiplex 990). FreeBSD will be installed and maintained by the individual. One 1 1/2 hr. lab period will be used for supervised instruction. Additional time on the computers may be needed and it is expected that students us out of class/lab time to complete tasks as required. At the end/(start of following) week, the instructor will inventory students progress, which will count toward the Practical Lab Mark.
   
   
4. The purpose of this course is to impart skills requisite to operating system design and implementation. It is therefore imperative that all students attend labs and complete the work as required. Assessment is largely based on the instructors subjective view on student participation.
   
   
5. It is strongly suggested that students with a laptop, bring these to lab, to serve as a reference source (Google will be your friend).
   
   
6. Plagiarism is frownd upon and will not be tolerated. End of chapter assignments are expected to be the work of individuals. Lab work may be collaborated on.

Course Schedule