Course syllabus for Operating systems

Course syllabus adopted 2023-02-04 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameOperativsystem
  • CodeEDA093
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPCSN
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyComputer Science and Engineering, Software Engineering
  • DepartmentCOMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 12118
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0117 Examination 6 c
Grading: TH
6 c
  • 21 Okt 2023 am J
  • 03 Jan 2024 am J
  • 20 Aug 2024 pm J
0217 Laboratory 1.5 c
Grading: UG
1.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

Go to coursepage (Opens in new tab)

Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

The student should have good understanding of computer organization and basic knowledge in low level programming and be familiar with terms like assembler, interrupt and so on, i.e. contents of the course Machine oriented programming. The student needs to also have knowledge on data structures e.g. trees, linked lists, hash tables, i.e. contents of the course "Data structures", as well as some programming skills (at least 7.5 course points in programming). Knowledge of basic probability theory can be an advantage, but can also be acquired during the course via complementary reading.

Aim

Operating systems exist everywhere where computer systems exist, not just in desktops and servers but also in vehicles, phones and embedded industrial systems. This course provides an introduction to the design and implementation of operating systems. In particular, the aim is to explain the structure and function of an operating system and its cooperation with the computing system it supports; illustrate key operating system aspects and algorithms in operating system implementations; accompany with concrete examples and prepare students for future courses.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

After successful completion of the course participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: 1. The core functionality of modern operating systems: Processes/threads, scheduling, virtual memory and file systems, aspects of parallelism, kernels, shells, micro kernels, virtual machines. 2. Key concepts and algorithms in operating system implementations: synchronization, deadlock-avoidance/prevention, memory management, processor scheduling, disk scheduling, virtual machines, file systems organization 3. Implementation of simple OS components. 4. The participants will also be able to: * appreciate the design space and trade-offs involved in implementing an operating system. * Write C programs that interface to the operating system at the system call level. * Implement a piece of system-level code in the C programming language. * some programing using multithread synchronization constructs.

Content

The course provides an introduction to the design and implementation of operating systems. Topics covered include: concurrent processes, resource management, deadlocks, memory management techniques, virtual memory, processor scheduling, disk scheduling, file systems, distributed file systems and micro kernels, virtual machines and security and protection schemes. During its development, the course does not only present key components of operating systems, but also discusses their design and implementation challenge and their evolution from pioneer to modern mobile-based ones. Examples include Unix, Linux, Windows, mobile-devices operating systems.

Organisation

Lectures, exercises and labs. The labs are organized to (1) place emphasis on hands-on experience with operating systems design and (2) stimulate student interaction accounting for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Students practice by using and constructing essential modules in operating systems, such as multiprogramming, scheduling, memory management, implementation of unix-like shell functionality. Part of the labs will use Pintos, an educational operating system supporting kernel threads, loading and running of user programs and a file system. Pintos is among the international well-established platforms for top quality hands-on labs.

Literature

Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Herbert Bos: Modern Operating Systems (4th ed.). Prentice Hall Press, 2015.

or

A. Silberschatz, P. Galvin, G. Gagne: Operating System Concepts, Ninth Edition, Wiley 2010;

Articles.

Examination including compulsory elements

Approved laboratory hand-in exercises and grade 3, 4, or 5 on the written examination.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.