General Introduction

1
General Introduction

• CPRE 308 - Lecture 1

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Contents

• This presentation covers
• Contact Information
• Course policies, grading etc.
• Course material and objectives
• Homework, Project, and Weekly Labs
• Tips for getting the most out of the course

3
Contact Information
Instructor Office 3132 Coover Hall Office
Hours Monday 1030-1130 and Wednesday
130-230 Email kothari_at_iastate.edu Phone
294-7212 Appointments Walk in during the
scheduled office hours. Otherwise, make an
appointment by sending an email or contacting the
instructor in the class. Emails Minimize emails.
Avoid sending emails to conduct discussions.

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Course Material

• Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum,
  Second Edition, (ISBN 0-13-031358-0).
• Lecture notes posted on the web.
• Code examples from the XINU operating system
  posted on the web.

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What will you learn?

• You will get an overview of operating systems and
  how they operate.
• You will learn about concurrent programming.
• This course will provide a foundation for other
  important areas such as embedded systems, web
  programming, client-server systems.

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What does an OS entail?

• Processes and Threads
• Interrupts and System Calls
• Scheduling
• Concurrent Programming, Synchronization, and
  Deadlocks
• Memory Subsystem
• I/O Subsystems
• Devices and Device Drivers
• Access Control and Security

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High-level Objectives

• Learn the OS terminology and taxonomy.
• Learn to read, analyze, and organize, information
  on OS topics.
• Learn to design and apply concurrent programming
  strategies.
• Gain a practical experience on OS topics through
  labs.

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Learning Activities

• Listen to lectures and ask questions.
• Read the book chapters and note down the points
  you do not understand.
• Solve problems to grasp non-trivial OS concepts.
• Participate in class discussions and problem
  solving exercises.
• Do the structured labs.

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Code Examples

• Examples from the XINU operating system (aimed at
  providing concrete illustrations of OS design and
  implementation.
• Illustrations such as
• Scheduling of processes
• Implementation of semaphores
• Components and the design of a file system.

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Grading

• Will be based on
• Weekly Labs 25, Project 5, Quizzes 20, Midterm
  20 and the Final 30
• Grading will be pretty close to the straight
  scale with A 91 and above, B 81 - 90, etc.

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Project

• Project (Due on September 25th)
• In this project you will be creating your own
  version of a UNIX shell. It will not be as
  sophisticated as the real shell, but it will
  perform a similar function.
• A UNIX shell is simply an interactive interface
  between the OS and the user. It repeatedly
  accepts input from the user and initiates
  processes on the OS based on that input.
• Detailed handout is posted on the web.

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Weekly Labs

• Eight Labs
• Lab 1 Introduction to Linux
• Lab 2 Introduction to Unix processes
• Lab 3 Concurrent Programming
• Lab 4 Interprocess Communication
• Lab 5 Linux Scheduler
• Lab 6 Process Scheduling Algorithms
• Lab 7 File System
• Lab8 Security
• Very Important Read the lab very carefully the
  week before and ask questions if you have doubts.
• Details posted on the Web

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Weekly Quizzes

• Typically, a quiz every week on during the last
  15 minutes of Wednesdays lectures.
• Quizzes will be based homework problems.
• No makeup quizzes without prior approval.
• First quiz will be on August 30. It will test
  your ability to read and understand C code we
  will do a few C examples in class to refresh your
  memory.
• As homework, you should brush up your knowledge
  of C.

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Homework

• Problems from the book and problems based on Xinu
  code examples.
• Do the homework regularly. Do the problems as the
  related chapters are covered in the lectures.
• Homework will not be collected,, but there will
  be weekly quizzes based on the homework.
• Ask questions if you have difficulties in solving
  the problems.
• We will do some problems during lectures.
  Participate in solving the problems.

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General Instructions

• Attendance is mandatory.
• Inform if you are going to miss a class.
• Participate in class discussions.
• Check course website regularly.
• Follow submission guidelines.
• Keep regular contact with the instructor for
  help, questions, concerns, or comments.
• Minimize emails questions on course material,
  homework etc. should be asked in the class.

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Tips for Doing Well

• Active learning like learning to drive or swim.
• Think of the teacher as a guide interactive
  learning.
• Read the relevant parts of the book after the
  each lecture.
• Note down the points you have difficulty with and
  ask questions.
• Solve all the assigned problems.
• Read the lab assignment the week before.
• Do the labs on time and contact the TA if you
  have problems.
• Regular work (as opposed to working just before
  the due date).
• Provide constructive feedback so that I can
  direct my teaching appropriately

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University Policies

• Academic Honesty
• Do not copy solutions
• Do not copy quiz or exam solutions
• Serious consequences in case of dishonesty.
• Special Help
• As per the University and Departmental Disability
  Policy
• Contact the instructor to get special help.

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About Yourself

• Submit one page.
• I would like to know about
• Courses you have had and the ones you liked and
  why.
• Experience with Co-Ops
• Experiences if any of working with large software
• Any comments and questions you would like to
  share.

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Get Started

• Read the course website.
• Read the first lab.
• Read the first homework.