Operating Systems

More static, but detailed information can be found here, including: time and place, purpose, prerequisites, books, grading, and computer systems and labs.

Topics and Timeline

Here is the list of topics covered in this course.

• Introduction
• Processes
• Memory Management
• File Systems
• I/O Devices
• Misc (as time allows)

You might check out the assignment timeline to help you plan for exams, homework and projects.

The reading material for the various chapters are as follows:

• Chapter 1
  • Sections 1.1 - 1.5
• Chapter 2
  • All Sections
• Chapter 3
  • Sections 3.1 - 3.6
• Chapter 4 (Processes)
  • Sections 4.1 - 4.4 and Section 4.7
• Chapter 5 (Scheduling)
  • Sections 5.1 - 5.4
• Chapter 6 (Synchronization)
  • Sections 6.1 - 6.7 and Section 6.10
• Chapter 4 (IPC)
  • Sections 4.6
• Chapter 4 (Threads)
  • Sections 4.5
• Chapter 8 (Memory Management)
  • Sections 8.1 - 8.6 and Section 8.8
• Chapter 9 (Virtual Memory)
  • Sections 9.1 - 9.10
• Chapters 10-11 (File Systems)
  • Sections 10.1 - 10.4
  • Sections 11.1 - 11.5, 11.7
• Chapter 12 (I/O Subsystems)
  • Sections 12.1 - 12.3, 12.7
• Chapter 13 (Secondary-Storage)
  • Sections 13.1 - 13.3, 13.7

Slides

Slides from the in-class lectures will be available the day following class. Here are the electronic versions of what we have so far:

Homework

There are 4 (maybe 3) short homework assignments. Homeworks are to be turned in individually. Discussion of problems among students is encouraged, but when it comes to ultimately solving the problem, your answers must be your own.

Homework and due-dates will be placed here as they are defined. Here is what we have so far:

• Homework 1, (February 9th), Solution
• Homework 2, (March 8th), Solution
• Homework 3, (April 19th), Solution

Programming Projects

There are 4 (maybe 3) programming projects that are designed to give you some coding experience and expose you to practical systems issues.

You will work alone or in a group of two for the project. I'd prefer to limit the groups to only 2, but groups of 3 are also possible. If you really want a group with a different number of students, come talk to me.

Projects and due-dates will be placed here as they are defined. Here is what we have so far:

• Project 1: Mini Shell, (February 2nd), shell.c
• Project 2: Mini Chat, (March 1st), proj2.tar (extract using tar xvf)
• Project 3: Macro Shell, (April 5th), proj3.tar (extract using tar xvf)
• Project 4: Threaded Client-Server and Virtual Memory Tools, (May 3rd)

Samples

In this section, there will be code samples discussed in class, practice exams or any other demonstration-type class materials.

Final exam stuff:

• Topic list
• Practice exam
• Solution to practice exam

Mid-term stuff:

• Topic list
• Practice exam
• Solution to practice exam

Some sample thread code that adds and subtracts an integer (compile with -lpthread):

• add1.c - add and subtract to an unprotected variable.
• add2.c - add and subtract to an variable protected by a mutex

Sample code for using TCP sockets:

• talk.tcp.c - client talk code for TCP
• listen.tcp.c - client listen code for TCP

Misc:

• get-opt.c - code that parses command line arguments (fairly) painlessly.
• make-zombie.c - code that shows how zombies are created.
• make-orphan.c - code that shows how orphans are created.

Here are some sample programs concerning Process stuff :

• fork.c - Simple use of the fork() call
• execl.c - Simple use of the execl() call

Here are some code samples of the SOS:

• dispatcher.c - the dispatcher code
• system.h - the global system header file
• timer.c - the procedure called when a timer interrupt occurs
• semaphore.c - the semaphore implemenations
• use-proc-table.c - code showing a two-processor solution to access processor table
• mem-alloc.c - code to show basic memory allocation

Here are some samples showing the use of software signals:

• signal.c - simple use of a Unix signal handler.
• signal2.c - another simple use of a Unix signal handler.
• signal3.c - still another simple use of a Unix signal handler.
• signal-usr.c - using user-defined signals
• signal-alarm.c - using signal to catch alarms.
• signal-child.c - using signal for parent-child communication.

Here are some code samples from Linux:

• sched.c - the main kernel scheduling code
• sched.h - the header file for sched.c
• linux-pcb.h - the Linux process control block (pcb) structure.

OS Hotlinks

Linux

Linux is a completely free Unix operating system. Linux runs primarily on 386/486/Pentium PC's, but has been ported to various other architectures. If you like Unix, want to learn more about system administration and have access to a PC, I recommend checking it out. Read a short info sheet or a more detailed info sheet for more information. You might also want to check out "The Cathedral or the Bazaar", an interesting look at open source software development, such as Linux.

You might also try the Linux Source Navigator, a CGI interface to browse the entire Linux kernel source. The Navigator formats the raw source tree on-the-fly, using italics, bolds, colors and hyperlinks to present the source in a much more managable format. Right now, there's just a 2.0.0 kernel set up to use i386 architecture, but more versions may be there shortly.

I, Cringely

Nachos

Misc

Some useful course material (e.g. slides, notes, Java simulations, etc.) includes:

• Various Java Simulations of Operating Systems
• Virtual Memory Simulation (Java)
• List of Interactive Demos

You can also have a look at the Yahoo! Operating Systems pages and related WWW pages:

• The UNIX Reference Desk
• Linux Information
• Minix Information Sheet
• Windows NT Information
• Windows NT Road Map
• Internet Resources for Windows NT
• Free Operating Systems
• The Open Group Research Institute
• ACM Special Interest Group on Operating Systems

Or perhaps you would like to know more about some of the companies involved in commercial Operating Systems:

• Microsoft
• Apple
• IBM
• SunSolve and Sun MicroSystems
• Silicon Graphics (SGI)
• Compaq's Digital Products