This Operating Systems course serves as a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices that underpin modern operating systems. It is designed for students to understand the critical roles operating systems play in the computing environment, acting as an intermediary between the user, the computer hardware, and application programs. The curriculum emphasizes the development of a robust foundation in operating system concepts, including process management, memory management, file systems, and more, using the Java programming language for practical implementations.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Write multithreaded programs and develop software that efficiently manages multiple processes.
- Demonstrate the operational mechanisms of interrupt service routines.
- Apply various synchronization mechanisms to ensure correct process execution.
- Understand and articulate the components and functions of the operating system kernel.
- Analyze both deterministic and non-deterministic behaviors of task systems.
- Explore and explain various CPU scheduling algorithms and their applications.
- Utilize memory allocation mechanisms effectively and understand the principles of demand paging.
- Develop and implement file-system functions, enhancing their understanding of how operating systems manage files.
- Apply concepts of multithreading to create responsive user interfaces and improve application performance.
- Introduction to Operating Systems: Overview of operating system roles, computer and OS components, and design issues.
- Process Management: Detailed exploration of threads, processes, thread management, context switching, and multiprocessor synchronization.
- Memory Management: In-depth coverage of memory management techniques, including segmentation, paging, and the use of garbage collectors.
- File Systems and Storage: Examination of file-system organization, file descriptors, and implementation of file-system functions.
- Concurrency and Synchronization: Concepts of mutual exclusion, kernel synchronization, semaphores, monitors, and deadlock resolution.
- CPU Scheduling: Analysis of preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling algorithms, including their impact on process management.
- Input/Output Management: Study of device organization, I/O structure, and strategies for managing hardware interaction.
- Advanced Topics: Introduction to virtualization, including types of virtualization, hypervisors, and the performance implications of virtualized environments.
The course combines theoretical lectures with practical laboratory exercises, encouraging students to apply the concepts learned in class to real-world scenarios. Through a blend of teaching methods, students gain hands-on experience in operating system design and application development.
Students are assessed through a combination of laboratory exercises, a midterm exam, and a final exam. The coursework is designed to test both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in operating system development and management.
This course is essential for students pursuing careers in software development, system administration, or any field that requires a deep understanding of the software that manages computer hardware resources. It lays the groundwork for advanced studies in computing and information technology.