1. Sarah Diesburg Operating Systems CS 3430
Course Information
Sarah Diesburg
Operating Systems
CS 3430

2. Class Info Sarah Diesburg (diesburg@cs.uni.edu) Office: 311 ITTC
Office hours: MWF 9:00-10:00am, 1:00-2:00pm, and by appointments
Class website: eLearning
Lecture MWF 2:00pm-2:50pm in ITTC 322

3. Why Study Operating Systems?
The OS is the largest and the most complicated software running on most machines
Where can I use it?
Software engineering
Database design and implementation
Network design and implementation
Distributed computing

4. Course Structure Theory Hands-on work
What pieces does an OS need? How do they work? Why are they important? How does design come into play?
Hands-on work
Linux familiarity
Operating system customization
Systems Programming
Any programming that involves the operating system, hardware, or middlewear between user apps and hardware

5. Why Use Linux? Linux is open source
We actually have access to the kernel code and can change it
Much of the Internet runs on UNIX/Linux!
Wonderful time to get some experience

6. Linux Share Desktop/laptop – Linux 1.73% Mobile Devices – Android 79%
Servers – Linux 66.8%
Supercomputers – Linux 98%
Source:

7. Why care about Systems Programming?
Operating Systems
Storage, networking, virtualization
Storage and Databases
High-performance and fault tolerance
Compilers
Optimizing languages, creating better ones
Large-scale Distributed Systems
Used by websites or SaaS. Services do things that need drivers that offer OS services.

8. Why care about Systems Programming?
GPU Computing
Understanding of parallel computing, resource management, and computer architecture
Embedded Computing
Internet of Things (IoT), smartphones
Being a “Better” Systems Administrator
Write better scripts, choose better drivers, pick better hardware, optimize services, etc.

9. Learning Objectives Operating system concepts Programming skills
Process management, CPU scheduling, synchronization, caching, file systems, and so on
Programming skills
User-level shell
Kernel module
Synchronization primitives (threads and mutexes)
File system
Drivers

10. Course Material Lecture notes (posted at the class website)
Optional textbook:
Silberschatz, Galvin, Gagne,
Operating System Concepts Essentials, 2nd Edition

11. Class Grading Six components Projects (with Lab 0) 47%
Homework over Lectures 8%
Exam %
Exam %
Final Exam 20%
Extra Credit ??

12. Late Submission Policy
Late project solutions will incur a 10% deduction each day the project is late
Project solutions received after two days from the original due date will receive 0 points
For example, a project solution submitted anytime on the Monday after the original due date of Friday will receive 0 points
Homeworks cannot be late

13. Academic Honesty
Discussing assignments is good, but copying code or answers is not.
You are responsible for being familiar with UNI’s Academic Ethics Policies (
All cases found will result in a letter to the provost

14. Academic Honesty
Any copied code from a current or previous class member may result in a zero grade for the assignment up to an F for the course
All code will be checked with a plagiarism checker against current and previous submissions
Both the supplier and the receiver of copied code will receive the same punishment