• Course homepage: http://condor.depaul.edu/~glancast/443class/.rdmeframe.htlm

Back to CTI

Summary of the course

OBJECTIVES:

This course is an introduction to modern operating systems concepts and design with an emphasis on examining, understanding and modifying the kernel of Minix, a real operating system that is close to the POSIX standard for UNIX systems. The presentation will cover basic topics and introduce tools for running Minix and modifying and (re)compiling the operating system to include and use new functionality.

TOPICS:

The course will address general concepts of operating system structure, processes, memory management, file systems, device drivers, system calls and associated kernel data structures. Each of these general operating system concepts will also be examined in more depth in the context of examining the source code for Minix, adding new system calls and writing user level programs to test the new system calls.

Textbooks and printed resources

Tanenbaum and Woodhull, Operating Systems: Design and Implementation,
Third Edition, Prentice-Hall, 2006. ISBN 0-13-142938-8

Prerequisites

CSC373 and CSC374

Grading

HOMEWORK:
Paper homework exercises will be assigned. Some of these
will be collected and graded. Homework may also include some short programming practice problems.

School policies:

Online Instructor Evaluation

Course and instructor evaluations are critical for maintaining and improving course quality. To make evaluations as meaningful as possible, we need 100% student participation. Therefore, participation in the School’s web-based academic administration initiative during the eighth and ninth week of this course is a requirement of this course. Failure to participate in this process will result in a grade of incomplete for the course. This incomplete will be automatically removed within seven weeks after the end of the course and replaced by the grade you would have received if you had fulfilled this requirement.

Email

Email is the primary means of communication between faculty and students enrolled in this course outside of class time. Students should be sure their email listed under "demographic information" at http://campusconnect.depaul.edu is correct.

Academic Integrity Policy

Plagiarism

The university and school policy on plagiarism can be summarized as follows: Students in this course, as well as all other courses in which independent research or writing play a vital part in the course requirements, should be aware of the strong sanctions that can be imposed against someone guilty of plagiarism. If proven, a charge of plagiarism could result in an automatic F in the course and possible expulsion. The strongest of sanctions will be imposed on anyone who submits as his/her own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report, or other assignment which has been prepared by someone else. If you have any questions or doubts about what plagiarism entails or how to properly acknowledge source materials be sure to consult the instructor.

Incomplete

An incomplete grade is given only for an exceptional reason such as a death in the family, a serious illness, etc. Any such reason must be documented. Any incomplete request must be made at least two weeks before the final, and approved by the Dean of the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems. Any consequences resulting from a poor grade for the course will not be considered as valid reasons for such a request.